Photo by Noel Thompson
Under old election laws, spirit licence outlets were not allowed to open on election days to sell alcoholic beverages to patrons.

Hartley Neita, Gleaner Writer

Spirit licensed premises were required to close on election days. The relevant regulation stated that "every person who is the holder of any wholesale licence, town retail licence, village retail licence, or tavern licence granted under the Spirit Licence Law shall take all necessary steps to cause such premises to be closed to the public on Election Day during the hours between the opening and the closing of the poll".

And every person who was the holder of any hotel licence or special hotel licence or club licences granted under the Spirit Licence Law shall take all necessary steps to prevent the sale of alcoholic liquor at any time upon election day between the hours appointed for the opening of the poll and the hour appointed for the closing of the poll. For the elections in 1944, the Commissioner of Police also called upon all liquor establishments to be closed on election night as well.

Music

Another regulation was that "no person shall, for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of any candidate, hire any band of music, and no person shall play in any band of music at any meeting or in any procession held for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of any candidate.

Treating within the law

It was also an offence for anyone to treat, and a person would be found guilty of treating within the law if he corruptly by himself or by any other person, either before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly gave or provided, or paid wholly or in part the expenses of giving or providing any food, drink, entertainment or provision to or for any person for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person to vote or refrain from voting, or to any person for having voted or refrained from voting. And a person was also guilty of treating if he accepted or took any such food, drink, entertainment or provision.

Another offence for which an offender could be fined or imprisoned was for "undue influence".A person was punished for this if he made use of or threatened to make use of any force, violence or restraint, or threatened to inflict by himself or by any other person any temporal or spiritual injury, damage, harm or loss upon any person in order to induce such person to vote or refrain from voting or to punish any such person for having voted or refrained from voting. And note, very carefully, that the threat of spiritual injury referred to the threat of obeah!