Supreme Court
Decision Information
Abstract: Application for a declaration that the Liquor Plebiscite declaring Rae Edzo is void and calling a new election to be held - Petitioners cited irregularities in election procedure in the following areas as grounds for the application - 1) Late opening of a polling station - 2) Compilation of election lists - 3) Lack of interpretation services - 4) Confusion over residency requirements - 5) Advance poll not held - 6) Discrepancies in lists and in numbers of ballots cast - 7) Notice period too short, notice itself insufficient - 8) Oaths not administered - 9) Initialling of ballots.
Decision: Application dismissed - Irregularities are to be expected to some degree in any election - General adherence to statutes and regulations will suffice - Onus on the Petitioners to show that, on a balance of probabilities, irregularities affected the result - Court found no evidence that the outcome was affected by the irregularities that occurred - Irregularities were the result of necessity, custom and not an attempt to corrupt the process.
Subjects: Elections - Validity
Liquor control - Plebiscites