as may be present, and then to lock it up and seal it (Rule 23).

He should then place it near him and keep it in his view.

duties of

30. The presiding officer has all the powers of a deputy Powers and returning officer under the previous law (s. 10). He has presiding officer power to ask the authorized questions and administer the during poll. authorized oaths (s. 10). The presiding officer may delegate to his clerks any of his powers, except that of ordering the arrest, exclusion, or ejection of any person (Rule 50). The attention of each presiding officer will have been particularly directed by his declaration of secrecy to the provisions of s. 4, and should be directed to the powers of maintaining order conferred by s. 9. It will be his duty to see that secrecy of voting is strictly maintained, to prevent unauthorized persons from entering the station, to direct the constables on duty only to admit a limited number of voters at any one time (Rule 21), and to see that each voter votes secretly in accordance with the Act, and without undue delay, and leaves the station immediately after giving his vote (Rule 25).

agents.

31. Candidates may appoint agents for the purpose of Functions of detecting personation (6 & 7 Vic. c. 18, s. 85), an offence the personation definition of which is extended by s. 24. These agents are also entitled, under Rule 26, to be present at the voting of illiterate voters. They are to take the same declaration of secrecy as the presiding officer (Rule 54), and are expressly prohibited from interfering with the voters or applicants for ballot papers, from attempting to look at the ballot papers or obtain information as to how any vote is given, and from communicating to any person any information about any vote or the number of any ballot paper (s. 4). It will be the duty of the presiding officer to see that the agents conform to the directions of the Act, and to remove them if they misconduct themselves (s. 9).

32. The mode of voting in ordinary cases is described in s. Mode of voting. 2, in Rules 24 and 25, and in the directions contained in the second schedule. The result is as follows:

When the voter comes up to vote, the presiding officer or his clerk (see Rule 50) will ascertain that he is entitled to vote at that particular station (Rule 18), he will then mark one of the official ballot papers with the official mark, so that it be visible on both sides; call out the number, name, and description of the voter, as stated in the copy of the register; enter such number on the counterfoil of the ballot paper; place against the number of the voter in the register a tick, which will denote that the voter has received a ballot paper,

Spoilt votes.

Mode of voting in exceptional cases. Rule 26.

but will not denote the particular ballot paper which he has received; and will then deliver the ballot paper to the voter.

The old law as to the questions which may be asked of the voter, and the oath which may be administered to him, remains unaltered.

The voter having received his ballot paper, is to proceed at once to one of the compartments, is there secretly to mark his ballot paper, and fold it up so as to conceal the mark or marks which he has made, and so as to leave the official mark visible on the back, and to take it so folded, without showing the front of the paper to any person, to the presiding officer himself (not a clerk, see s. 2), show him the official mark, place the ballot paper at once in the ballot box, and immediately leave the station.

The presiding officer must take care that no person interferes with the voter while he is giving his vote, puts into the ballot box any paper which has not the official mark on the back, takes a ballot paper out of the station, or otherwise infringes the provisions of ss. 3 and 4. If any person attempts to put into the ballot box any ballot paper which has not the official mark on the back, or to take any ballot paper out of the station, or in any other way to infringe the provisions of ss. 3 and 4, the presiding officer should order him to be arrested, or at all events removed (see ss. 3 and 9).

33. If a voter accidentally spoils a ballot paper he may return it to be cancelled, and may be given another (Rule 28).

34. In three cases only is the ballot paper allowed to be marked by any person other than the voter himself, and then only by the presiding officer. These are—

(1.) Persons incapacitated by blindness or any other physical cause;

(2.) Jews, if the polling takes place on a Saturday, and they object on religious grounds to mark their votes; and

(3.) Persons unable to read.

If a voter declares that he is unable to read, he must make before the presiding officer a declaration of inability to read in the form prescribed in the second schedule. This declaration must be read by the presiding officer to the voter, signed by the voter with his mark in the presence of the presiding officer, attested by the presiding officer, and kept by him to be sent to the returning officer (see Rule 38).

In any of these three cases the presiding officer, or one of his clerks, is, in the presence of the personation agents, if they

are in attendance (see Rule 55), to mark a ballot paper in the way directed by the voter, place it in the ballot box, and enter the name and number of the voter on a list headed "the list of votes marked by presiding officer," mentioning in such list the reason why the vote has been so marked (Rule 26).

It must be remembered that the declaration of secrecy and the penalties under s. 4 apply to votes given under these circumstances.

35. The mode of tendering a vote where a person claims to Tendered votes vote after another person has already voted in his name, is prescribed by Rule 27. The register is now made conclusive by s. 7, and therefore no vote can be tendered, except in the case of personation.

36. The presiding officer is not allowed to open the ballot box, which under s. 2 is, at the close of the poll, to be sealed up so as to prevent the introduction of additional ballot papers.

As soon as practicable after the close of the poll, the presiding officer is, in the presence of the personation agents, if any are in attendance, to make up into separate packets the ballot box and the several papers there mentioned, seal the packets with his own seal, and allow the agents, if they wish, to affix their seals, and then, unless he is himself the returning officer, to deliver the several packets, together with the ballot paper account mentioned in Rule 30, to the returning officer (Rule 29). Care should be taken that the several classes of documents mentioned in the different paragraphs of Rule 29 are made up in separate packets, as only some of them are allowed to be subsequently opened by the returning officer.

Counting Votes.

roceedings at close of poll.

37. The returning officer is to count the votes as soon as Time of counting practicable after the close of the poll (Rule 32).

38. The candidates are allowed to appoint agents to attend Agents.

at the counting, but they must give the returning officer notice of the name and address of each agent one clear day before the opening of the poll (Rules 31, 52).

1

39. The returning officer is to give notice to the agents of Notice to

the time and place of the counting of votes (Rules 32, 52).

agents.

40. The returning officer may, in addition to any clerks, Assistants and

appoint competent persons to assist in counting (Rule 48).

clerks.

Process of

Decision as to the validity of voles.

Vote of return. ing officer.

Declaration of poll and return of writ.

of the returning officer. It is obvious that this sanction ought not to be given except for the purpose of assisting the returning officer in the counting. All officers, clerks and agents authorized to attend at the counting must take the declaration of secrecy (Rule 54).

42. Before beginning to count the votes, the returning officer is to open the ballot boxes, count and record the number of papers in each box, so as to check any attempt at fraud, and then mix all the ballot papers together in such a way that it may not be known which papers came out of any particular ballot box (Rule 34).

Directions as to counting the votes will be found in Rule 35. In counting and recording the number of the ballot papers, and also in counting the votes, the returning officer must take care to keep the ballot papers with their faces upwards, and must take all proper precautions to prevent any person from seeing the numbers printed on the backs of the papers (Rule 34).

Provisions are contained in s. 4 as to secrecy at the counting of the votes as well as at the proceedings at the poll.

43. Any ballot paper which has not the official mark, or on which votes are given to more candidates than the voter is entitled to vote for, or on which anything except the number printed on the back is written or marked by which the voter can be identified, is to be void and not counted (s. 2).

The power of deciding on the validity of votes rests with the returning officer alone, and cannot be delegated (s. 2). The returning officer is to mark "Rejected" on any ballot paper which he may reject as invalid, and to add "Rejection objected to," if an objection be in fact made by any agent to his decision. The rejected votes are to be classified under different heads (Rule 36). If a vote is rejected on any other ground than those specified in Rule 36, it must be entered under a special head. The returning officer is to make out a report of the rejected papers so classified.

44. The returning officer is prohibited from voting except in the case mentioned in s. 2. In a case of equality of votes, if he cannot vote, he must make a double return.

45. As soon as the result of the poll is ascertained, the returning officer is to declare elected the candidate or candidates for whom the majority of votes have been given, and to return their names to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery (s. 2). The return is to be made by a certificate indorsed on

the writ (Rule 44), and may be sent by post. The indenture
by which the return was formerly made is abolished.

NOTE.--Care should be taken that there is sufficient time
for the return to reach the Clerk of the Crown within
the prescribed time, as in the case of Hurdle v.
Waring, 9 C. P. 435, it was held that the return of a
member was not made until the writ reached the
hands of the Clerk of the Crown. The election of a
member for Poole took place on the 3rd February, on
the 4th the returning officer indorsed the writ and
delivered it to the postmaster at Poole, who forwarded
it by the 12.30 morning mail; it reached London
about 6 p.m., and was sent to the Clerk of the Crown
where it arrived about 8 o'clock, but after the office
was closed, and did not reach the Clerk of the Crown
until the morning of the 5th. It was held that the
return must be reckoned as having been made on
the 5th.

46. Public notice of the names of the candidates elected Notice of and of the total number of votes given for each candidate, is election. to be given as soon as possible (Rules 45, 46).

counting.

47. Upon the completion of the counting, the returning Proceedings officer is to seal up in separate packets the counted and at close of rejected ballot papers. He is not to open the packets con- Rules 37, 38. taining tendered ballot papers, marked copy of register of voters, or counterfoils, but he is, in the presence of the agents, to verify the ballot paper account in manner directed by Rule 37, so as to see that all the ballot papers are accounted for, and that no wrong papers have been introduced, and to make out a report of the result of such verification. The returning officer will finally forward to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, as the poll books used to be forwarded (see 6 Vic. c. 18, s. 93), his reports made up into a packet and the several packets mentioned in Rule 38, taking care to indorse on each packet the description of its contents, the date of the election to which they relate, and the name of the county or borough for which such election was held (Rule 38).

Expenses of Election.

48. The necessary expenses of the election will, if properly Expenses of incurred, be payable as heretofore by the candidates (s. 8). election. The enactment (2 & 3 Will. IV. c. 45, s. 71) which formerly fixed the amount payable to deputy returning officers and poll clerks, has been repealed. The enactments requiring an indenture for the purpose of the return have been repealed,