asked the Minister for Defence what steps are taken to ensure that members of the Defence Forces may vote in absolute secrecy; and what steps may be taken by a member of the Forces if he has reason to believe that the secrecy of the ballot is not being observed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Voting by Defence Forces.
34.
I assume that the Deputy is referring to the arrangements for the recording of votes by members of the Permanent Defence Force whose names are on the Postal Voters' Lists for their respective constituencies. Such a member receives the following documents from the Returning Officer for his constituency shortly before the date of an election:—
(a) a ballot paper;
(b) a Receipt for Ballot Paper;
(c) an envelope addressed to the Returning Officer (referred to as a "Covering Envelope"); and
(d) a smaller envelope marked "Ballot Paper Envelope" bearing the number of the ballot paper.
Immediately on his receiving these papers, the intending voter is required to:—
(1) sign the Receipt for Ballot Paper;
(2) record his vote by marking the ballot paper secretly in accordance with the instructions contained on the back of the Receipt for Ballot Paper; and
(3) place the marked ballot paper (without showing any person how he has marked it) in the "Ballot Paper Envelope", fasten the envelope and place it, properly fastened, together with the signed Receipt for Ballot Paper, in the larger "Covering Envelope" addressed to the Returning Officer, fasten the latter and post it without delay.
All Officers Commanding are instructed to ensure that all personnel of their units are paraded and that the arrangements and facilities provided for the recording and posting of votes are clearly explained to them. In this connection such officers are required to make suitable and adequate arrangements to provide the voter with facilities to record his vote in privacy. Officers and non-commissioned officers are made available to interpret the relevant military instructions for individuals who seek assistance in regard to the method of recording a Postal Vote but strict injunctions are issued that no advice or supervision which might be regarded as tending to influence a voter or deprive him of his right of secret voting may be offered or exercised by an officer or non-commissioned officer and that no effort may be made by an officer or non-commissioned officer to ascertain how a voter has marked his paper.
Where an individual expresses a desire to post his ballot paper in person at a convenient Post Office instead of at his military station, he is afforded a local leave pass to do so.
If a member of the Permanent Defence Force has any complaint in regard to the secrecy of his vote he may submit this complaint to his superior officer. If this officer does not deal with the complaint to the member's satisfaction and if the member thinks himself wronged there is provision in the Defence Act, 1954, under which the complaint may be submitted to the Minister for Defence.
Mr. O'Malley
No supplementaries?
Wait for the results.