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Subject Area: Economics
Subject Area: Political Theory
Subject Area: Law

Section 7.—: Voters’ Titles Pre-established. - Jeremy Bentham, The Works of Jeremy Bentham, vol. 3 [1843]

Edition used:

The Works of Jeremy Bentham, published under the Superintendence of his Executor, John Bowring (Edinburgh: William Tait, 1838-1843). 11 vols. Vol. 3.

Part of: The Works of Jeremy Bentham, 11 vols.

About Liberty Fund:

Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.


Section 7.—

Voters’ Titles Pre-established.

Art. I. The following are the evils, for the avoidance of which the arrangements in this Section are ordained:—

1. Vexation and consumption of time, in the proof of claims to the right of suffrage, and in contestations respecting it.

2. In case of disagreement, eventual litigation, with the vexation and expense attached to it.

3. Consumption of time in such sort as incidentally to produce non-election or null-election; or at least the excluding of persons in number more or less considerable, from the exercise of their rights of suffrage.

4. In case householders’ votes alone are by law admitted, intrusion of inmates’ votes.

For the avoidance of these evils, it has been thought good that, antecedently to the day of voting, the title of each voter shall have been established.

Art. II. For this purpose, at each polling office, three several register books are to be kept; namely—

1. The application book. In this book, entries are made of applications made for blank vote-making certificates.

2. The voters’ book. In this book, persons, by or for whom application is made as voters, are set down in the alphabetical order of their surnames.

3. The filled-up certificate book. This book is composed of the duplicates of the vote-making certificates in the state they are in when filled up. They are kept in the office, to form a standard of comparison for the corresponding duplicates, when produced on the polling day, in support of each person’s claim to be admitted to vote.

Art. III. [ ] days at the least before the appointed polling day, to enable himself to give a vote, the proposed voter must take out two copies of a blank form of a vote-making certificate, as per Section 2.

The place at which he applies for this purpose, is the polling office of the polling district within which the habitation in respect of which he proposes to vote is situated.

He may apply in person, or by any person appearing for him, as agent for this purpose.

In the application book, before the blank certificates are delivered, entry is made of the name and habitation of the proposed voter, on whose behalf the application is made.

The description given of his name is that which is prescribed in Section 2.

The description given of the habitation is that which is prescribed in Section 10.

If the applicant is the proposed voter himself, note of his being so is taken, by entering under the word application, with which one column of each page in the book is headed, the word personal; adding, as per Sections 9 and 10, the description as given by him of the habitation in respect of which he claims to vote: also whether as householder or as inmate.

If he be any other person, then, under the words application by agent, with which another column in the same page is headed, are inserted the name and habitation of the proposed voter; as also the name and abode of the agent.*

To each such entry is prefixed an indication of the year, month, and day of the month on which the application was made: also the name of the applicant, signed by him.

This done, on payment of [3d.] for each, the blank certificates are delivered.

Art. IV. The use of the voters’ book is to exhibit the names of voters in alphabetical order, that being the only order in which reference can at all times, without loss of time, be made.

Whenever a pair of blank certificates has been delivered, and entry has accordingly been made in the application book, as per Article III,—the name of the proposed ovter is entered in this book, according to the situation of his surname in the alphabet.

In a line with it are written the words certificate delivered, together with the month and day of the month, and the page in the application book.

For each of these indications, a column, headed accordingly, is provided.

Art. V. The instruments being thus delivered, [ ] days at the least before the day of election, the proposed voter must come in and produce them at the polling office, by himself or agent, filled up as per Section 2.

These the clerk examines; and if he finds the duplicates sufficiently conformable to each other, and to the directions contained in the tenor of them, as per Section 2, he returns one of them forthwith to the person by whom it was produced.

But first he writes or stamps on it the words Examinedand found correct, and re-delivered, to be used in giving the vote: together with the month, the day of the month, and his signature.

The other he retains for the use of the office. It constitutes a page in the book called the filled-up certificate book.

He attests it in like manner; and, instead of the words Examined and found correct, and re-delivered, &c. he writes or stamps on it the words, The duplicate hereof was examined, found correct, and re-delivered, to be produced on giving the vote.

Art. VI. For remedy against misconception, error, or fraud, in the composition of vote-making certificates, it is thus ordained:—

If in either duplicate of a pair of filled-up certificates, any error is observed by the clerk, intimation of such error, and of the alteration necessary for correction, is afforded by him.

It is expressed by entries briefly made in the margin of the instrument, and authenticated with signature and date, as per Article V.

If the correction thus required be of such a sort as that, for the prevention of fraud, it is in his judgment necessary that a fresh meeting of the vote-makers should have place,—he thereupon, after entry made of the errors and of the alterations requisite, gives intimation of such necessity, and of the cause thereof, to the person applying, and writes or stamps upon the paper the words, A fresh meeting is required.

If in his judgment such fresh meeting is not necessary, he stamps or writes the words A fresh meeting is not required.

If in his judgment, consideration being had of the state of the errors, and the situation, quantity, and quality, of the corrections requisite, the same instrument cannot conveniently be made to serve,—he delivers a fresh blank instrument, having first written or stamped on the corrected instrument, the words, Returned for Returned for incorrectness asabove explained; fresh pair of blank certificates at the same time delivered:—with date and attestation as above.

If in one only of the duplicates error requiring correction is observed, he retains for the filled-up certificate book, the correct duplicate. But, for the memorandums, instead of the words, Duplicate hereof found correct, and re-delivered to be produced on giving the vote, he inserts the words, This duplicate found correct: the other found incorrect, and re-delivered for correction.

If in both duplicates error requiring correction is observed, he returns them both, noted as above.

In this case he delivers blank certificates, or not, as the case may require.

Art. VII. For remedy against accidental loss or defacement of vote-making certificates, before or after filling up, it is thus provided:—

Suppose any such accident to have happened, the proposed voter, by himself or agent, makes application at the office for a fresh certificate, or fresh certificates, as the case may be.

He declares the nature of the accident: for example—Lost by accident, destroyed by accident, defaced by accident. If defaced and not lost, he produces it.

Of this declaration, entry is made in the application book, in the same manner as in the case of an original application.

For such entry the same fee is paid.

Such application may be made more than once: but if, from the number of successive applications, already made by or in behalf of the same proposed voter, it should appear to the clerk that it was through sinister design, or wantonness, that they were made, delivery may be and ought to be refused by him.

In this case, entry shall be made by him, noting the number of the times, and adding, Delivery refused on suspicion of sinister design or wantonness.

So likewise, if it be suspected by him that a person, applying in the name and character of a proposed voter, is not such proposed voter, but an impostor:

Or that a person, applying in the name and behalf of a proposed voter, was not authorised by him:

In all these cases he shall, in the application book, make entry of the ground on which, as above, delivery was refused.

Art. VIII. On payment of a fee of [3d.] for the whole, these and all other books of the office are, in office-hours, open to the inspection of all persons, so far as may be without hindrance to the more material parts of the business.

[* ]In this, as in other cases, powers for extraction of evidence would be necessary to the persons charged with the inquiry. But, as the details would occupy much room, and would contain little that is peculiar to the present case, they are not here inserted. One thing, almost peculiar to the present case, is—that the object of the inquiry is to administer benefits, namely, rights of suffrage to those who are the subjects of it, and not burthens, as in the case of taxes. Hence, instead of being shrunk from, the inquiry would generally, if not universally speaking, be met with alacrity.