§ MR. COOTE (Huntingdon, S.)asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been called to the "patent model," now on view in the Conference Room, for recording the numbers of votes at elections, and momentarily ascertaining the state of the poll for each candidate; and, whether he will be prepared to recommend its adoption generally throughout the Country, especially in counties, so as to afford facilities to the returning officer to declare the poll on the day of the election?
THE SECRETARY OF STATE (Mr. CHILDERS) (Edinburgh, S.)Yes, Sir, I have carefully examined the model in the Conference Room, which appears to me a very ingenious and not too elaborate contrivance for recording the votes given to candidates at elections. Its object is to record the number of votes given at each polling place to the respective candidates, so that the total poll may be made up in a few minutes after the returns from those polling places have been received. This, however, is inconsistent with one of the chief objects of the Ballot Act, Section 34 of which provides that the whole of the ballot papers from all the polling places must be mixed together before they are counted. It appears to me that this provision of the Act is one of great importance, and if it is to be maintained the proposed machinery could not be adopted.
§ MR. COOTEIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that in many places the ballot papers are not mixed, but counted from the boxes from the different polling stations?
MR. CHILDERSWhere that is the case, all I can say is that the Returning Officers and all concerned are violating the law.