Presidential Elections (Amendment) Act, 1946

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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1946.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section

Section 1

Interpretation.

Section 2

Amendment of section 20 of the Principal Act.

Section 3

Amendment of First Schedule to the Principal Act.

Section 4

Polling cards.

Section 5

Appointment of deputy local returning officers.

Section 6

Duty of local returning office to conduct election.

Section 7

Appointment by the Minister of local returning officer.

Section 8

Emergency provisions in relation to polling on islands.

Section 9

Notification of name of President elect to certain persons.

Section 10

Repeals.

Section 11

Short title and collective citation.

SCHEDULE.

Acts Referred to Presidential Elections Act, 1937 No. 32 of 1937 Number 29 of 1946.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1946.

AN ACT TO AMEND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ACT, 1937 . [4th December, 1946.] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:— Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act— the expression “the Principal Act” means the Presidential Elections Act, 1937 (No. 32 of 1937); the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Local Government and Public Health.

Amendment of section 20 of the Principal Act.

2.—

Section 20

of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b), that is to say— “(b) the poll, if any, at a presidential election shall commence at the hour of 9 o'clock a.m. and be kept open till the hour of 9 o'clock p.m. and no longer, unless, in the case of any particular presidential election, the Minister by order directs that the poll at that presidential election shall be kept open until the hour of 9.30 p.m., in which case the poll at that presidential election shall be kept open until the hour of 9.30 p.m.;”

Amendment of First Schedule to the Principal Act.

3.—The First Schedule to the Principal Act is hereby amended in the following respects— (a) by the insertion after Rule 22 of the following Rule— “22A. The local returning officer for a constituency— (a) shall appoint, as the place at which he will open the ballot boxes,— (i) in case the constituency consists wholly or partly of a county borough, some place within the county borough, or (ii) in any other case, some place within the constituency, but may, with the consent of the Minister (which shall not be given unless the Minister is satisfied that there is not, within the constituency, any place available and suitable for the counting of the votes), appoint some place outside, but convenient to, the constituency, (b) shall open the ballot boxes at the place so appointed, (c) shall, at least forty-eight hours before the hour of 9 o'clock a.m. on the day next after the close of the poll, give to every agent, appointed under Rule 24 of this Schedule and of whose appointment he receives notice in accordance with Rule 25 of this Schedule, notice in writing of the place so appointed”; (b) by the substitution of the following Rule for Rule 23— “23. At the hour of 9 o'clock a.m. on the day next after the close of the poll in each constituency and at the place appointed by him under Rule 22A of this Schedule, the local returning officer for that constituency shall begin to open the ballot boxes used at the poll in that constituency, take out the ballot papers therein, count and record the numbers thereof, and then mix together the whole of the ballot papers contained in the said ballot boxes.”; (c) by the substitution of the following Rule for Rule 24— “24. Every local agent of a candidate may appoint agents to attend on behalf of such candidate the opening of the ballot boxes in his constituency by the local returning officer and the proceedings consequent on such opening.”; (d) by the deletion, in Rules 27 and 39, of the word “seven” and the substitution therefor of the word “eleven”.

Polling cards.

4.—(1) Whenever a presidential election is adjourned in pursuance of subsection (1) of section 12 of the Principal Act for the purpose of taking a poll, and such adjournment has not been cancelled under subsection (4) of section 16 of the Principal Act, the local returning officer for each constituency shall send by post in accordance with this section to every elector whose name is on the register of Dáil electors for such constituency and is not on the postal voters' list for such constituency a card (in this section referred to as a polling card) in the prescribed form informing such elector of his number (including polling district letter) on such register and of the situation of the polling place in which such elector will be entitled to vote at such election.

Appointment of deputy local returning officers.

5.—(1) Whenever a presidential election is adjourned in pursuance of subsection (1) of section 12 of the Principal Act for the purpose of taking a poll and such adjournment has not been cancelled under subsection (4) of section 16 of the Principal Act, and the same person is the local returning officer for two or more constituencies, he shall, under Rule 1 of the First Schedule to the Principal Act— (a) in case those constituencies are two and no more, appoint, in respect of one of them, a deputy local returning officer to open the ballot boxes and count the votes, (b) in any other case, appoint, in respect of each of the constituencies (except one), a deputy local returning officer to open the ballot boxes and count the votes, and every deputy local returning officer so appointed in respect of a constituency shall open the ballot boxes and count the votes cast at the election in that constituency.

Duty of local returning office to conduct election.

6.—Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of section 5 of this Act, the local returning officer for a constituency shall conduct a presidential election in such constituency unless he is prevented from so doing by illness or other reasonable cause sufficient in the opinion of the Minister.

Appointment by the Minister of local returning officer.

7.—If the local returning officer for a constituency is prevented by illness or other cause from carrying out all or any of his duties as such officer at a presidential election, and if he has not made an appointment under section 5 of this Act or if no arrangement has been made for carrying out his duties as such officer, the Minister may appoint, if he thinks fit, a person to be the local returning officer for such constituency to carry out such duties of the local returning officer as remain to be performed.

Emergency provisions in relation to polling on islands.

8.—(1) Where— (a) a presidential election is adjourned, in pursuance of subsection (1) of section 12 of the Principal Act, for the purpose of taking a poll, and such adjournment has not been cancelled under subsection (4) of section 16 of the Principal Act, and (b) a polling station (in this subsection referred to as the appointed polling station) for a polling district in any constituency is situate on an island, the local returning officer for that constituency, if he is of opinion that, owing to stress of weather or transport difficulties, either— (i) it is probable that polling at the appointed polling station cannot be held on the appointed polling day, or (ii) it is probable that, if the poll were held on the appointed polling day, the ballot boxes used at the appointed polling station could not reach the appointed place for the opening of the ballot boxes used in that constituency at that presidential election at or before the hour of 9 o'clock a.m. on the day next after the appointed polling day, may give public notice in such polling district stating his said opinion and setting out the subsequent provisions of this subsection, and thereupon the following provisions shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Principal Act, have effect— (A) the local returning officer may hold the poll at the appointed polling station on the first day, after the third day after the adjournment of the election, on which in his opinion transport between the island and the mainland is reasonably safe, (B) where owing to transport difficulties the poll at the appointed polling station cannot begin at the hour of 9 o'clock a.m. it shall begin as soon as possible after the said hour, (C) where, after the polling at such polling station has continued for not less than four hours, the presiding officer is of opinion that, if the poll were further continued, the ballot boxes could not be expected to reach the appointed place for the opening of the ballot boxes used in that constituency at that presidential election at or before the hour of 9 o”clock a.m. on the day next after the appointed polling day, he may then close the poll, (D) no alteration shall be made in the form or contents of the notice of the poll under Rule 3 of the First Schedule to the Principal Act by reason of the alteration under this subsection of the day and hours of poll in the appointed polling district.

Notification of name of President elect to certain persons.

9.—As soon as may be after the presidential returning officer at a presidential election has declared a candidate (in this section referred to as the President elect) to have been elected as President, the presidential returning officer shall, in the manner directed by the Government, inform the President, the President elect, the Taoiseach, the Chief Justice, the Chairman of Dáil Eireann, the Chairman of Seanad Eireann and the Secretary to the President, of the name and address of the President elect.

Repeals.

10.—The enactment mentioned in the second column of the Schedule to this Act is hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of the said Schedule.

Short title and collective citation.

11.—This Act may be cited as the Presidential Elections (Amendment) Act, 1946, and the Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Presidential Elections Acts, 1937 and 1946.

SCHEDULE.

Enactment Repealed in Part.

Number and Year Short Title Extent of Repeal No. 32 of 1937 The Presidential Elections Act, 1937 .

Paragraph (b) of section 20 ;

Rules 23 and 24 of the First Schedule .

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