Municipal and Official Handbook of the City of Auckland, New Zealand/Electoral Department
ELECTORAL DEPARTMENT.
ELECTORS' ROLL.
The Electors' Roll is compiled biennially prior to the election of the Mayor and Councillors.
The franchise embraces not only "Ratepayers," but also "Freeholders" and "Residentials."
The qualifications are as follows:—
RATEPAYER—Is a person whose name appears in the "Occupiers" column of the Valuation Roll. (The meaning of the word "Occupier" in this case is, either the owner of the property or the lessee, irrespective of who actually pays the rates.)
FREEHOLDER—Is a person who signs a claim of enrolment, declaring that he, or she, is the actual registered beneficial owner of a freehold estate in land of the capital value of not less than £25.
This qualification is used when the owner of land has leased his or her property to some other person, and is not primarily responsible for the rates.
RESIDENTIAL—Is a person who either actually resides within the city, or who, not being a resident, pays a rent within the city.
The latter qualification permits the enrolment of persons who rent offices, etc., in the city, but who reside outside the city limits.
Each individual seeking the franchise must be 21 years of age, and must be a British subject by birth or by naturalisation.
In the case of husband and wife, any qualification possessed by one of them is deemed to be possessed by each.
No person enrolled has more than one vote, and no person enrolled as a "Residential" is permitted to vote on any proposal relating to loans or rates.
Persons enrolled as "Residentials" who fail to vote at General Elections are omitted when the next Roll is compiled, notwithstanding the fact that persons may have voted at a subsequent by-election. In cases of this sort it is necessary for new enrolment claims to be made.
ELECTIONS.
The municipal elections embrace not only the election of the Mayor and 21 Councillors, but also the election of members for the Auckland Harbour Board and Auckland Hospital Board.
The last election was held on April 27th, 1921, and out of 31,641 names on the Electors' Roll, 20,420 persons voted, or 64%. This is a record vote for the City of Auckland.
The mayoralty was uncontested, but for the election of City Councillors and members of the Auckland Harbour Board and Auckland Hospital Board, the following are the figures:—
| Votes recorded. | ||
| 50 Candidates nominated for 21 seats on Council | 277,141 | |
| 6 Candidates nominated for 3 seats on Harbour Board | 42,939 | |
| 13 Candidates nominated for 5 seats on Hospital Board | 73,291 | |
| A total of | 393,371 | votes |
To issue the ballot papers and count this large number of votes, 32 booths were engaged, and the following officers employed:—114 deputy-returning officers, 114 poll clerks, and 27 assistant enumerators (after 7 p.m.).
The hours for polling were from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. It was 4 o'clock the following morning before the results could be handed to the press for publication.
At the official count, which took three days to complete, there were 56 clerks engaged.
Other issues determined by the votes of the people are:—
A new body, the Auckland Electric Power Board, came into being subsequent to the passing of the Auckland Electric Power Board Act, 1921. The electoral district embraces the City of Auckland, the boroughs of Onehunga, Otahuhu, Mount Albert, Mount Eden and Newmarket; the road districts of One Tree Hill and Mount Roskill; the town districts of Ellerslie, Papakura, Papatoetoe and Manurewa; and the County of Manukau.
The first election of members of the Board took place on February 28th, 1922. There were 21 candidates for 12 seats. The franchise permitted only ratepayers to vote: the term ratepayer, in this case, meaning the names of persons appearing in the "Occupiers" column of the Valuation Roll. The number of electors entitled to vote at this election was about 27,800, the City proportion of same being 13,168, or 47%.