During the emergency special provisions were found necessary, on the dissolution of the Dáil, to ensure that members thereof would remain in office until a general election had been completed. Certain other provisions were found necessary to facilitate voters at a time when transport was deficient and to expedite the counting of votes. The purpose of this Bill is to repeal those temporary provisions which related to the emergency. One of the principal objects of the Bill is to enable the Dáil to be dissolved immediately upon the calling of a general election and until a new election takes place. By that means the unvarying tradition in regard to elections will be operative once more.
In connection with this measure we found that some provisions were very effective and, in our opinion, should be part of the ordinary electoral law of the land. Therefore, this Bill also effects certain minor consolidations and makes certain temporary provisions part of the permanent law. I will now indicate what those provisions are.
Section 2 of the Bill deals with hours of polling. Prior to the emergency, under the existing electoral legislation, the hours of polling were declared to be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the Minister had no power to vary them save in some circumstance of extreme emergency. We feel that circumstances may arise which could not be defined as extreme emergency, such as a general election held during harvesting operations or during a transport strike when it is desirable to give the Minister power to postpone the closing of the poll to 9.30 p.m. In the ordinary course of an election held in June, which is the usual time for general elections not held for special reasons, the Minister would not be likely to exercise that power. But members of the House can conceive circumstances when that extra time might make a considerable difference in securing a good poll.
Section 3 deals with the counting of votes at a general election or by-election. Prior to the passing of the emergency Act votes could be counted outside a constituency by the returning officer responsible. The time at which the ballot boxes were to be opened was not defined precisely. The returning officer was not compelled to open the boxes and commence the counting within a specified period. The counting could be adjourned at 7 p.m. on the evening of the first day of counting unless the returning officer and the agents of all the Parties concerned were in agreement that it should continue. This section requires the opening of the boxes and the counting to commence at 9 a.m. on the morning succeeding the day of the poll. It requires the votes to be continuously counted and dealt with until 11 p.m. Thereafter the counting can continue subject to agreement with the agents of the Parties and the returning officer. The effect of this provision should be that, in the ordinary way, the result of an election in a constituency could be announced in 48 hours. Section 4 deals with the issue of polling cards—cards sent to each registered voter indicating his polling place and the number of his vote.
A temporary measure was passed during the emergency, applicable to general elections, but not to by-elections, enabling these polling cards to be issued. The purpose, as members of the House will know, was to acquaint voters with the new polling places provided because of transport difficulties and of the necessity of having the maximum distance between polling places and persons' residences not more than from one and a half to two and a half miles. We consider that polling cards should be provided for as part of the ordinary electoral legislation. We think that it is a good thing that the returning officer should notify each voter where he should go to exercise the franchise and the number of his vote. It is true that election literature sent by various Parties and candidates can be so widely distributed that the electors will, in the ordinary way, be informed as to their polling places and as to the numbers of their votes. But, in many cases, this literature is not universally distributed. If a voter comes to a polling booth carrying with him his polling card and not a leaflet that, to some small degree, increases the secrecy of the ballot. I should make clear that the possession of a polling card does not indicate that the person necessarily has the right to vote. The question of the right to vote is still decided by whether the person's name is on the register or not and no action can be taken against a returning officer who fails to issue a proper polling card.
Section 5 deals with the appointment of deputy returning officers. Under pre-emergency legislation, a returning officer could appoint a deputy but he was not required to appoint a deputy where votes in more than one constituency had to be counted under his supervision. It would be possible for a returning officer to proceed from one constituency to another in order to supervise the opening of the ballot papers and the counting of the votes. In that way, the result of an election could be delayed. Section 5 provides for the appointment of deputy returning officers in such cases. Section 6 is consequential on Section 5.
Section 7 makes it easy for the Minister to appoint a returning officer should an existing returning officer become ill or incapacitated. Under pre-emergency legislation, the Minister could use his general emergency powers but there was no specific provision in the electoral Acts to enable him to appoint a returning officer should the occasion necessitate this action. Section 8 deals with the holding of the poll on the larger islands where polling places are provided.
In previous elections, it has been found that, owing to weather conditions, the transport of ballot boxes from the island to the mainland has been delayed. It has also been found impossible on certain occasions to hold the election on the island on the same day as that appointed for the polling on the mainland. Returning officers have been doubtful as to their powers in this matter. They could apply for the issue of a "difficulty order" under pre-emergency electoral legislation, but it is considered desirable to give returning officers discretion and to enable them to arrange for the holding of an election a few days earlier than the appointed day for the mainland and, if necessary, to arrange for the opening of the poll at an hour different from 9 a.m. and to close it within a certain period clearly indicated in the Bill if weather conditions necessitate such action. The returning officer is definitely given discretionary powers in this regard.
The remainder of the Bill deals with repeals. We are repealing emergency legislation and making it apply to all general elections and all by-elections in the future. We are doing a certain amount of minor consolidation by repealing sections in the 1927 and 1935 Electoral Acts which refer to matters dealt with in this Bill, so that they will all relate to the Electoral Act, 1923, and this Bill will be a Bill amending the Electoral Act, 1923. In that way, legislation by reference is being obviated. I do not think that there is anything of a controversial character in the Bill and I trust it will have the unanimous support of the House.