APRIL 27.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1185

(5) No person shall sign his name as witness to any signature upon any form of application for a postal vote-certificate—
(a) Without having first satisfied himself as to the identity of the applicant, or
(b) Without having seen such signature written, or hearing the person signing declare that the signature is in his own handwriting and that the name so signed is his own proper name, or
(c) Without first satisfying himself by inquiry from the applicant that the statements contained in the application are true, or
(d) Unless before he so signs his name such application is completed by the insertion of all necessary particulars and by all proper deletions, or
(e) If he is disqualified from acting as an authorized witness by reason of the provisions of clause (2) of this regulation.

(6) Every person who makes a false declaration for the purpose of obtaining a postal vote-certificate, or who persuades or induces, or associates himself with any person in persuading or inducing, any person to make false application for a postal vote-certificate or postal ballot-paper, shall be guilty of an offence.

(7) On the back of the said application form numbered 9 there may, if the Chief Electoral Officer thinks fit, be printed, prefixed with the words “the following extracts from the Electoral Regulations, 1928, are quoted for the guidance of applicants,” a copy of clauses (1) to (6), both inclusive, and (23) of this regulation.

(8) A Returning Officer on receipt of an application for a postal vote-certificate shall refer it to the Registrar of Electors for verification that the applicant is registered as an elector of the district, and after satisfying himself that the application so verified is in order in other respects shall deliver or post, by registered letter, to the elector a postal vote-certificate and postal ballot-paper. If the application is received by a Returning Officer of a district other than that of which the elector is registered as an elector, such Returning Officer shall telegraph particulars to the Returning Officer for the district of which such elector is registered as an elector and shall not issue a postal vote-certificate or postal ballot-paper until authorized to do so by the Returning Officer for the district of which the elector is registered as an elector. The authority to issue may be given by telegraph.

(9) The postal ballot-paper shall be in the form numbered 10 in the Schedule hereto.

(10) The postal vote-certificate shall be in the form numbered 11 in the Schedule hereto, and on the back thereof there may, if the Chief Electoral Officer thinks fit, be printed, prefixed with the words “the following extracts from the Electoral Regulations, 1928, are quoted for the guidance of voters and witnesses,” a copy of clauses (1), (2), (15) to (18), both inclusive, and (23), of this regulation, and a copy of clause (3) of Regulation 8 hereof.

(11) All applications for postal vote-certificates and postal ballot-papers received by a Returning Officer shall, if they relate to the district for which he is Returning Officer, be kept by him, or, if they relate to another district, shall, after being enfaced by him with the date of the issue of a postal vote-certificate and postal ballot-paper, be sent forthwith to the Returning Officer for that district.

(12) All applications for postal vote-certificates and postal ballot-papers shall be open to public inspection at the office of the Returning Officer during ordinary office hours until after the election, when they shall be sent to the Clerk of the House of Representatives in the manner provided by section 155 of the said Act.

(13) The Returning Officer shall number all applications for postal vote-certificates and postal ballot-papers received by him in numerical sequence, and shall number each postal vote-certificate and postal ballot-paper with a number corresponding to the number on the application; and he shall place his official mark on each postal ballot-paper issued by him.

(14) An elector to whom a postal vote-certificate has been issued shall not be entitled to vote at any polling-place unless he first delivers to the Deputy Returning Officer for cancellation his postal vote-certificate and postal ballot-paper.

(15) The vote of an elector to whom a postal ballot-paper and postal vote-certificate has been issued shall be exercised in the following manner:—
(a) The elector shall exhibit to an authorized witness his ballot-paper (unmarked) and postal vote-certificate.
(b) The elector shall then and there, in the presence of the authorized witness, sign his name on the postal vote-certificate in the place provided, and, if he signs by making his mark or with an illiterate signature, may add, or cause to be added by the authorized witness, following his signature, the same three selected numerals which he placed for purposes of identification on his application for a postal vote-certificate and postal ballot-paper.
(c) The authorized witness shall then and there sign his name on the postal vote-certificate in the place provided, and shall add his designation under which he acts as an authorized witness, his address, and the date.
(d) The elector shall then and there, in the presence of the authorized witness, but so that the authorized witness cannot see the vote, write on the ballot-paper the name of the candidate for whom he wishes to vote, and shall fold it so that the vote cannot be seen.
(e) The ballot-paper shall then and there be placed in an envelope, which, after being sealed, shall, together with the postal vote-certificate, be enclosed in another envelope addressed to the Returning Officer of the district of which the elector is registered as an elector.
(f) If the elector is blind, or unable to read or write, the authorized witness, if so required by the elector, may mark the elector’s vote on the ballot-paper according to the instruction of the voter; and the authorized witness shall, in every such case, sign his name at the foot thereof, and if so required by the voter, allow another person to inspect such ballot-paper.
(g) The authorized witness shall not, unless the elector is blind or unable to read or write, look at or make himself acquainted with the vote given by the elector, and, except as provided in the last preceding paragraph of this clause, shall not allow any person (other than the elector) to see or become acquainted with the elector’s vote, or assist the elector to vote, or to interfere in any way with the elector in relation to his vote.

(16) Every authorized witness shall—
(a) Comply with the preceding regulations in so far as they relate to him;
(b) See that the directions in the preceding regulations are complied with by every elector exercising a vote by means of a postal ballot-paper before him, and by every person present when the elector votes; and
(c) Refrain from disclosing any knowledge of the vote of any elector exercising a vote by means of postal ballot-paper before him.

(17) Any person to whom an envelope containing or purporting to contain a postal ballot-paper is entrusted by a voter for the purpose of posting or delivering to a Returning Officer, and who fails forthwith to post or deliver the envelope, shall be guilty of an offence.

(18) Any person present when an elector is exercising a vote by means of a postal ballot-paper shall—
(a) Obey all directions of the authorized witness;
(b) Refrain from making any communication whatsoever to the elector in relation to his vote;
(c) Refrain from assisting the elector or in any manner interfering with him in relation to his vote; and
(d) Except as provided in paragraph (f) of clause (15) of this regulation refrain from looking at the elector’s vote or from doing anything whereby he might become acquainted with the elector’s vote.

(19) No person shall sign his name as witness to the signature of any person upon a postal vote-certificate or a postal ballot-paper—
(a) Without having first satisfied himself as to the identity of the person signing the same; or
(b) Without having seen such signature written; or
(c) If he is disqualified from acting as an authorized witness by reason of the provisions of clause (2) of this regulation.

(20) All postal ballot-papers, accompanied by their respective postal vote-certificates, must be delivered at the office of the Returning Officer for the district of which the elector is registered as an elector before the time prescribed for the close of the poll, and any envelopes containing postal ballot-papers received after that hour shall be enfaced with particulars of the time and date of receipt, and marked “informal.”

(21) The Returning Officer shall produce at the scrutiny of the rolls, held under the provisions of section 145 of the said Act, all applications for postal vote-certificates and postal ballot-papers, together with the unopened envelopes containing postal ballot-papers received by him before the close of the poll and shall—
(a) Compare the signature of the elector on each postal vote-certificate with his signature on the application for the certificate, and, if so requested, allow the scrutineers to do likewise;