Committee Reports > List of Committees > Seanad > 1925 > Committee on Procedure for the Triennial Election > Report - Procedure for the Triennial Election

SEANAD EIREANN.

COISTE I dTAOBH NÓS-IMEACHTA DO THOGHACHÁN CINN TRI mBLIAN.

FOR TRIENNIAL ELECTION.

1. This Committee was appointed by resolution of the Seanad on the 30th April, 1925, in the following terms :—

“The a Special Committee be appointed to examine and report upon the position of the Seanad as regards the first Triennial election thereto to be held pursuant to Article 32 of the Constitution. The Committee to consist of seven members to be chosen by the Committee of Selection; four to form a quorum, and at least three to be members who will vacate their seats on the 7th December next.”

The members of the Committee are: the Cathaoirleach, the Leas-Chathaoirleach, and Senators Bennett, Brown, de Loughry, O’Farrell, and Mrs. Wyse Power.

2. The Committee met on the 3rd, 10th and 16th June, 1925, and they decided to recommend the adoption by the Seanad of the annexed Resolution.

(Sighnithe) GLENAVY,

Cathaoirleach an Choiste,

16° Meitheamh, 1925.

RESOLUTION.

The Seanad doth hereby resolve and decide that the proposal and selection for nomination for so much of the panel as shall be nominated by Seanad Eireann for the purpose of the next election of members to Seanad Eireann shall be conducted in accordance with the following rules:—

1. The Cathaoirleach, or in his absence the Leas-Chathaoirleach, shall be the Returning Officer for the purpose of the selection.

2. All outgoing Senators, who signify in writing their consent, shall be proposed by the Leas-Chathaoirleach or other Senator authorised by him. All other candidates must be proposed by not less than two Senators, with due regard to Article 33 of the Constitution, in so far as it enacts that special reference is to be had to the necessity for arranging for the re presentation of important interests and institutions in the country.

3. Every candidate, other than an outgoing Senator, shall be proposed on a separate form which shall be in the terms set out in Part II. of the Schedule hereto, and shall contain the particulars required thereby.

No Senator shall be entitled to propose more than one candidate.

4. The Cathaoirleach shall cause proposal papers to be supplied to any Senator requiring the same during the period commencing at the time of the passing of this Resolution and ending at 12 o’clock noon on the 24th day of June, 1925, which period is herein referred to as the “time for selection.”

5. Proposal papers must reach the Cathaoirleach or such other person as he may appoint for the purpose during such hours, and at such places, as the Cathaoirleach may fix, but not after the expiration of the time for selection.

6. The Cathaoirleach may reject as invalid any proposal paper which does not comply with the requirements of this Resolution, or which purports to propose a person who is not qualified to be elected as a Senator or is placed under disability or incapacity by the Constitution or by law, and the decision of the Cathaoirleach that a proposal paper is valid or is invalid, shall be final for all purposes.

7. As soon as practicable after receiving a valid proposal paper, but not later than the 25th day of June, 1925, the Cathaoirleach shall cause a notice of such proposal to be issued to each Senator, and such notice shall contain the name in full of the person proposed, his address, profession or occupation, and a statement of such person’s useful public service or special qualifications or attainments in reference to important aspects of the Nation’s life.

8. Any candidate duly proposed may by notice in writing, signed by him and delivered to the Cathaoirleach, withdraw his proposal at any time before the expiration of the time for selection, and in any such case the Cathaoirleach shall as soon as practicable cause notice of the withdrawal to be issued to each Senator.

9. The voting shall be by secret ballot.

10. The voting paper shall be in the form set out in Part II of the Schedule hereto, and the names of candidates proposed shall be arranged alphabetically in the order of their surnames.

11. The voting shall take place at the sitting of Seanad Eireann on the 1st day of July, 1925.

12. As soon as may be, after the commencement of such sitting the Cathaoirleach shall cause one voting paper to be handed to each Senator who is present at such sitting.

13. Any Senator who may inadvertently spoil a voting paper may deliver it to the Cathaoirleach and obtain another voting paper.

14. At or before the adjournment of Seanad Eireann, but not later than 4 o’clock in the afternoon of the 1st day of July, 1925, each Senator shall deliver his voting paper to the Cathaoirleach.

15. The Cathaoirleach shall cause the voting papers to be counted and the result of the selection determined in accordance with the Rules contained in Part I of the Schedule hereto.

16. The Cathaoirleach shall declare the result of the selection by causing to be displayed in some convenient place a statement giving the particulars required by Rule 12, in Part I of the Schedule hereto.

17. In the event of the death or disqualification of any person so selected between the date of proposal and the date of formation of the panel, the continuing candidate credited with the greatest value at the last count, or, where at such count there were no continuing candidates not selected, the candidate last excluded, shall be deemed to have been selected in his stead.

18. Save in the case of the signature of Senators proposing the candidates and of the candidates consenting to such proposal, which signatures must be in the handwriting of the persons concerned, expressions in this Resolution referring to writing shall include printing, typewriting and other modes of representing or reproducing words in visible form.

19. This Resolution may be cited as the Seanad Election Resolution, 1925.

SCHEDULE.

Part I.

1. The selection shall be conducted in accordance with the following Rules.

2. (1) Every elector shall have one transferable vote.

(2) An elector in giving his vote—

(a) must place on his voting paper the figure 1 opposite the name of the candidate for whom he votes;

(b) may in addition place on his voting paper the figure 2 or the figures 2 and 3, or 2, 3, and 4, and so on opposite the names of the other candidates in the order of his preference.

3. The forms contained in Part II. of this Schedule, or forms to the like effect, shall be used for the purposes to which they are expressed to be applicable.

4. A voting paper shall be invalid and not counted—

(a) on which the figure 1 standing alone, indicating a first preference for some one candidate, is not placed; or

(b) on which the figure 1 standing alone, indicating a first preference is set opposite the name of more than one candidate; or

(c) on which the figure 1 standing alone indicating a first preference and some other number is set opposite the name of the same candidate; or

(d) which is unmarked, or void for uncertainty.

5. (1) The Returning Officer shall reject any voting papers that are invalid. The Returning Officer shall then ascertain the number of First Preferences recorded on the voting papers for each candidate, and shall then arrange the candidates on a list (hereinafter called. “the Order of Preferences”) in the order of the number of First Preferences recorded for each candidate, beginning with the candidate for whom the greatest number of First Preferences are recorded. If the number of First Preferences recorded for any two or more candidates (hereinafter called “equal candidates”) is equal, the Returning Officer shall ascertain the number of Second Preferences recorded on all the voting papers for each of the equal candidates, and shall arrange the equal candidates as amongst themselves on the Order of Preferences in the order of the Second Preferences recorded for each such candidate, beginning with the candidate for whom the greatest number of Second Preferences is recorded If the number of First and Second Preferences recorded for any two or more equal candidates is equal, the Returning Officer shall, in like manner, ascertain the number of Third Preferences recorded on all the voting papers for each of such equal candidates, and arrange such candidates on the Order of Preferences accordingly, and so on until all the candidates are arranged in order on the Order of Preferences. If the number of First, Second, Third, and all other preferences recorded for any two or more equal candidates is equal the Returning Officer shall determine by lot the order in which such candidates are to be arranged on the Order of Preferences.

The Returning Officer shall then cause the valid voting papers to be arranged in parcels, according to the first preferences recorded for each candidate.

(2) For the purpose of facilitating the processes prescribed by these Rules, each valid voting paper shall be deemed to be of the value of one thousand.

(3) The Returning Officer shall count the number of papers in each parcel, and in accordance with subsection (2) of this Rule credit each candidate with the value of the valid papers on which a first preference has been recorded for such candidate.

6. The Returning Officer shall then add together the values in all the parcels and divide the full total value by a number exceeding by one the number of vacancies to be filled. The result increased by one, any fractional remainder being disregarded, shall be the number sufficient to secure the return of the candidate. This number is herein called the “quota.”

7. If at the end of any count or at the end of the transfer of any parcel or sub-parcel of an excluded candidate the value credited to a candidate is equal to or greater than the quota, that candidate shall be deemed to be selected.

8. (1) If at the end of any count the value credited to a candidate is greater than the quota, the surplus shall be transferred in accordance with the provisions of this Rule to the continuing candidate or candidates indicated on the voting papers in the parcel or sub-parcel of the selected candidate, according to the next available preferences recorded thereon.

(2) (a) If the value credited to a selected candidate arises out of original votes only, the Returning Officer shall examine all the papers in the parcel of the selected candidate, whose surplus is to be transferred, and shall arrange the transferable papers in sub-parcels according to the next available preferences recorded thereon, and shall make a separate sub-parcel of the non-transferable papers.

(b) If the value credited to a selected candidate arises out of original and transferred votes, or of transferred votes only, the Returning Officer shall examine the papers contained in the sub-parcel last received by the selected candidate, and shall arrange the transferable papers therein in further sub-parcels according to the next available preferences recorded thereon and shall make a separate sub-parcel of the non-transferable papers.

(c) In either of the cases referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b) in this sub-section, the Returning Officer shall ascertain the number of papers and their total value in each sub-parcel of transferable papers and in the sub-parcel of non-transferable papers.

(3) If the surplus is equal to or greater than the total value of the papers in the sub-parcels of transferable papers the Returning Officer shall transfer each sub-parcel of transferable papers to the continuing candidate indicated thereon as the voter’s next available preference, each paper being transferred at the value at which it was received by the candidate whose surplus is being transferred.

When the surplus is greater than the total value of the sub-parcels of transferable papers the non-transferable papers shall be set aside as not effective, at a value which is equal to the difference between the surplus and the value of the sub-parcels of transferable papers.

(4) If the surplus is less than the total value of the transferable papers, the Returning Officer shall transfer each paper in such sub-parcel of transferable papers to the continuing candidate indicated thereon as the voter’s next available preference, and the value at which each paper shall be transferred shall be ascertained by dividing the surplus by the total number of transferable papers, fractional remainders being disregarded, except that the consequential loss of value shall be noted on the Result Sheet.

(5) A surplus which arises on the completion of any count shall be dealt with before a surplus which may arise at a subsequent count.

When two or more surpluses arise out of the same count the largest shall be first dealt with and the others shall be dealt with in the order of their magnitude.

If two or more candidates have an equal surplus arising out of the same count, the surplus of the candidate credited with the greatest value at the earliest count at which the values credited to these candidates were unequal shall be first dealt with.

Where the values credited to such candidates were equal at all counts, the Returning Officer shall deal first with the surplus of the candidate recorded in the Order of Preferences as having received the greatest number of first preferences.

9. (1) If at the end of any count no candidate has a surplus and one or more vacancies remain unfilled, the Returning Officer shall exclude the candidate credited with the lowest value and shall transfer his papers to the continuing candidate or candidates indicated on the voting papers in the parcel or sub-parcels of the excluded candidate as the voter’s next available preference, and shall credit the continuing candidate or candidates with the value of the papers transferred.

(2) (a) The parcel containing original votes shall first be transferred, the transfer value of each paper being one thousand.

(b) The sub-parcels containing transferred votes shall then be transferred in the order in which and at the value of which the excluded candidate obtained them.

(c) For the purpose of determining whether a candidate is a continuing candidate the transfer of each parcel or sub-parcel shall be regarded as a separate count.

(3) In the transfer of each parcel or sub-parcel a separate sub-parcel shall be made of the non-transferable papers which shall be set aside at the value at which the excluded candidates obtained them.

(4) If, when a candidate has to be excluded under this Rule, two or more candidates are each credited with the same value and are lowest, regard shall be had to the total value of original votes credited to each of those candidates, and the candidate with the smallest total value shall be excluded, and where the total values are equal, regard shall be had to the total value credited to those candidates at the earliest count at which they had unequal values, and the candidate with the smallest value at that count shall be excluded.

If two or more candidates are lowest and are each credited with the same value at all counts, the Returning Officer shall exclude the candidate recorded on the Order of Preferences as having received the smallest number of First Preferences.

10. Whenever any transfer is made under any of these preceding Rules, each sub-parcel of papers transferred shall be placed on top of the parcel or sub-parcel, if any, of papers of the candidate to whom the transfer is made, and that candidate shall be credited with the value ascertained in pursuance of these Rules.

11. (1) If at the end of any count the number of selected candidates is equal to the number of vacancies to be filled no further transfers shall be made.

(2) (a) When the number of continuing candidates is equal to the number of vacancies remaining unfilled, the continuing candidates shall thereupon be deemed to be selected.

(b) When only one vacancy remains unfilled and the value credited to some one continuing candidate exceeds the total of the values credited to the other continuing candidates, together with any surplus not transferred, that candidate shall thereupon be deemed to be selected.

(3) When the last vacancies can be filled under this Rule, no further transfer shall be made.

12. The Returning Officer shall record the total of the values credited to each candidate at the end of every count. Such record shall include—

(i) The value of the non-transferable papers not effective; and

(ii) The loss of value owing to disregard of fractions, and may be in accordance with the form set out in Part II. of this Schedule, or in a form to the like effect.

13. The Candidates shall be deemed to have been selected in the order in which their surpluses were transferred.

A Candidate credited at the end of a count with a value exactly equal to the quota shall be regarded as having the smallest surplus at that count for the purposes of this Rule.

When two or more candidates are deemed to have been selected under Rule 11 (2) (a) such candidates shall be deemed to have been selected in the order of values credited to them respectively at that stage, the candidate credited at that stage with the greatest value being deemed to have been the first selected of such candidates, and so on, and if two or more candidates are credited with equal values at that stage the order of selection of such equal candidates shall be ascertained in the same way as the order of exclusion of such candidates would be ascertained under Rule 9 (4), with the difference that the candidates who would be the last to be excluded under that Rule shall be deemed to have been the first selected of such equal candidates, and the candidate who would have been the first to be excluded shall be deemed to have been the last selected.

14. In these Rules—

(1) The expression “continuing candidates” means any candidate not deemed to be selected and not excluded.

(2) The expression “first preference” means the “figure 1” standing alone; the expression “second preference” means the “figure 2” standing alone in succession to “figure 1,” and the expression “third preference” means the “figure 3” standing alone in succession to the “figures “1” and “2” set opposite the name of any candidate, and so on.

(3) The expression “next available preference” means a second or subsequent preference recorded in consecutive numerical order for a continuing candidate, the preference next in order on the voting paper for candidates already deemed to be selected or excluded being ignored.

(4) The expression “transferable paper” means a voting paper on which following a first preference a second or subsequent preference is recorded in numerical order for a continuing candidate.

(5) The expression “non-transferable paper” means a voting paper on which no second or subsequent preference is recorded for a continuing candidate:

Provided that a paper shall be deemed to have become a non-transferable paper whenever—

(a)the names of two or more candidates (whether continuing or not) are marked with the same number, and are next in order of preference; or

(b)the name of the candidate next in order of preference (whether continuing or not) is marked—

(i) by a number not following consecutively after some other number on the voting paper; or

(ii) by two or more numbers; or

(c) it is void for uncertainty

(6) The expression “original vote” in regard to any candidate means a vote derived from a voting paper on which a first preference is recorded for that candidate.

(7) The expression “transferred vote” in regard to any candidate means a vote derived from a voting paper on which a second or subsequent preference is recorded for that candidate.

candidate.

means the number by which the total value of the votes, original and transferred, credited to any candidate exceeds the quota.

(9) The expression “count” means—

(a)all the operations involved in the counting of the first preferences recorded for candidates; or

(b)all the operations involved in the transfer of the surplus of a selected candidate; or

(c)all the operations involved in the transfer of the votes of an excluded candidate.

(10) The expression “deemed to be selected” means deemed to be selected for the purpose of counting, but without prejudice to the declaration of the result of the selection.

(11) The expression “determined by lot” in Rule 5 means determined in accordance with the following directions:—

The names of the candidates concerned having been written on similar slips of paper, and the slips having been folded so as to prevent identification and mixed and drawn at random, the candidates concerned shall as amongst themselves be arranged on the Order of Preferences in the order in which the slips containing their names are drawn beginning with the candidate whose name is on the slip drawn first.

PART II.

FORM I.

FORM OF PROPOSAL PAPER.

We, the undersigned, A.B. & C.D., being Senators, do hereby propose the following person as a proper person to be included in the panel to be constituted pursuant to Article 33 of the Constitution of Saorstát Eireann.

And we further declare that the said Alexander Devereux is a citizen of Saorstát Eireann, that he is qualified to be a member of Seanad Eireann, that he is subject to no incapacity or disability under the Constitution of Saorstát Eireann or by law.

Signed A.B.

„ C.D.

I, the undersigned....................do hereby declare that the foregoing particulars are true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief, and that I consent to this proposal.

Signed,....................

....................

FORM II.

FORM OF VOTING PAPER.

INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS.

The Voter votes:—

(a) By placing the figure 1 opposite the name of the candidate he likes best.

He is also invited to place—

(b) The figure 2 opposite the name of his second choice.

(c) The figure 3 opposite the name of his third choice, and so on, numbering as many candidates as he pleases in order of his preference. The number of preferences is not restricted to the number of vacancies.

FORM III.

FORM OF RESULT SHEET.

Result Sheet.

Number of valid votes ..................................

Full total value of valid votes............

Number of members to be selected........................

Quota (value sufficient to secure the selection of a candidate)

................................................................................................

Signed ..................................

Returning Officer.