Eldon Cobb Evans

“ There have been a number of objections to the manner of voting provided by the Australian-ballot laws of the several states. The most important of these are: Is it within the power of the legislature to grant or deny assistance to electors in marking their ballots? Are the devices for voting a straight ticket by a single mark valid? Can the legislature limit the choice of the electors to the candidates whose names are printed on the ballot? ”

“ Those in favor of helping the ignorant elector declare, first, that he has as much interest in voicing his needs by means of the ballot as the educated, and to deny him assistance is to disfranchise him; secondly, that if he votes without assistance, he has to do so in a haphazard way and may vote for the wrong candidates; thirdly, that there is little danger of corruption, as the election officers are bound to secrecy. ”

“ Connected with the question of what constitutes a valid indication of an elector’s intention is the question of what is a distinguishing mark, which is everywhere prohibited by statute. It is impossible to state any rule applicable to all cases. “The intent of the voter must be determined by an inspection of the ballot, and upon whether there is any mark thereon by which it may be identified, irrespective of any conjectures as to the purpose or circumstances under which the mark was made.” ”

“ Although the circle and emblem are popular with the party bosses, because they insure a large party vote, they are detrimental to the best public interest.
There is no doubt, however, that our ballot is too long and unwieldy. There are so many officers to be elected that even the most conscientious electors cannot possibly know the merits of all the men, and the average voter knows very few of those for whom he votes. The result is that the citizen votes only for the men he knows, or else he blindly votes for the party slate. ”

“ Practically every reform statute has had to run the gantlet of constitutional objections, and the Australian ballot is no exception to this rule; for every important section of this act has been attacked in the courts as being unconstitutional. The state constitutions at the time of the introduction of the Australian ballot commonly had three provisions relating to the conduct of elections: that “elections should be free and equal,” that all votes should be by ballot, [1] and that a definition be given of the qualifications of electors. ”

“ The only persons who can have an interest in elections as they are, are the leaders and managers, whose power depends upon their successes in manipulating the ballot so that the suffrage will express, not the will of the people, but the success of their schemes. ”

“ The common Socialist vignette is a picture of two clasped hands in front of a globe. This is their vignette in Indiana, Delaware, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Utah, Alabama, Louisiana, and Kentucky; but in Rhode Island they have a pair of scales; in New York, Ohio, and Michigan, an arm holding a torch; and in Oklahoma, an extended hand. The Social Labor party is the only political party which has a single emblem. It is an arm and hammer in the position of striking. Alabama is the only state to permit political parties to print on the ballot a motto or party shibboleth. ”

“ The Australian ballot was objected to on the ground that by limiting the right to have their names printed on the ballot to the nominees of parties of a certain size, or to candidates petitioned for by a certain number of electors, it destroyed equality and freedom in voting and discriminated against voters who were not members of such political parties. ”

“ The last resort of a corrupt machine to stave off defeat is in the counting of the votes. The result of the election may be entirely changed by declaring opposition votes to be void because of some alleged defect in the ballot, or by a deliberate miscounting of the total votes for the respective candidates. The laws compelling election boards to be bipartisan has failed to prevent this last abuse. It is of course obvious that the selection of honest officials is an essential of the Australian system or any other system for that matter. ”

“ Independent columns are always placed at the right of the party columns. After the order has become established and a party’s adherents instructed where to find the ticket, the party is very loath to change, even for a position on the ballot deemed originally more advantageous.
In the states possessing the party-column type of the ballot, the law usually provides for placing a circle or square at the head of each party ticket close to the party title, and the elector can vote for all the party nominees by making a cross (X) in such circle. ”

“ The Virginia Supreme Court in overruling this objection said:
The vote by ballot ex vi termini implies a secret ballot. The secrecy of the ballot is a right which inheres in the voter and of which he cannot be lawfully deprived. It must be, however, in some degree subordinate to the right to vote by ballot, of which it is but a part; and the main object, which is the right to vote, must not be defeated by a too rigid observance of the incidental right, which is that of secrecy. ”

“ While the ballot was superior to the viva voce system as a method of electing public officers, it was open to serious objections and capable of great abuse. In fact, elections in the United States thirty or forty years ago were not a very pleasant spectacle for those who believed in democratic government.
1. In the first place, the ballot was not secret. In many states there was no regulation of the form or appearance of the ballot whatsoever. As a result, the ballots of the opposing parties were so different that it could be accurately told how an elector voted by the color of his ticket. ”

“ Thirdly, the Australian ballot is too complex, cumbersome, and impractical, and surrounds the voter with restrictions which practical experiment has shown to be unnecessary. The New York Sun declared that the law was not electoral reform but electoral repression:
The great pledge for the security of popular institutions in this country is universal manhood suffrage. Whatever tends to increase the number of legal voters and to make citizens more active participants in the affairs of government is wise and salutary. ”

“ Every elector entitled to vote, and who shall vote in the election of Members of the Legislative Council or House of Assembly, as the case may be, shall vote at the voting place in the district or division for which his name appears on the electoral roll, and shall present himself to the Returning Officer or his deputy at such voting place, and state his Christian and surname, abode and profession, or occupation ”

“ Almost every mark which a voter could make or neglect to make has been discussed in the state courts. Although the statutes regulating the manner in which a voter shall indicate his choice are held mandatory, yet through all the decisions is the theory that a voter should not be disfranchised if he has made an honest effort to comply with the requisites of the law. ”

“ Every state which has adopted the Australian ballot requires the exclusive use of the official ballot in public elections. Although Governor Hill demanded strenuously the equal right of private organizations to furnish ballots, the use of ballots furnished only by the state is seldom disputed. It is accepted also, practically without question, that the ballots shall be distributed only by sworn clerks stationed within the polling-place on the day of election, and that no ballots shall be taken from the room before the closing of the polls. ”

“ This sounds like exaggeration, but it is truth; and these are facts so notorious that no one acquainted with the conduct of recent elections now attempts a denial—that the raising of colossal sums for the purpose of bribery has been rewarded by promotion to the highest offices in the government; that systematic organization for the purchase of votes, individually and in blocks, at the polls has become a recognized factor in the machinery of parties; that the number of voters who demand money compensation for their ballots has grown greater with each recurring election;... ”

“ The instrument used for marking the ballot is generally a pencil, or pen and ink. In Nevada, [27] Oklahoma, [28] California, [29] and Louisiana [30] a stamp is used. The reasons for using the stamp are to have a uniform mark, and to avoid any peculiarities which might be resorted to in an attempt to identify the ballot. The uniform mark required to be made is the cross (X) . In Louisiana the elector in voting for individual candidates obliterates the white square at the right of such candidate’s name. ”

“ By an act of the legislature in 1706, the use of the written ballot was continued and provision was made for the illiterate voter. [22] If the illiterate voter brought a ticket to the polls, the judge of election was required to open the ticket and to read aloud the names written thereon, and to ask the elector if these were the persons for whom he wished to vote. If the answer was in the affirmative, the ballot was deposited in the box provided for that purpose. In case such elector brought no ticket he could give verbally the names of the candidates of his choice. ”

“ Secondly, the less educated do not stay away from the polls; the percentage of registered electors voting in the less educated wards is higher than in the more educated wards. Thirdly, the office-group plan is more favorable to independent voting, because it is as easy to vote independently as to vote straight. The Massachusetts form compels some consideration of each candidate, and in those states where the office-group type prevails, independent voting is high. [22] Fourthly, there is a falling off from the head of the ticket through fatigue, but this is not universally true. ”

“ The defense of the Indiana form is based on the assumption that most electors desire to vote a straight ticket and that this system is a convenience to facilitate voting. [26] The fact that most American voters were accustomed to seeing all of a party’s nominees in a single column, and to voting a whole party ballot at a single operation, explains the success of this form. Because of its appeal to party loyalty the party column is favored by the professional politicians because they are sure of a larger party vote. ”

“ The movement for reform, which reaped its first fruits of victory in Louisville and Massachusetts, received great impetus by the unprecedented use of money in the election of 1888. The effect is easily seen in the record of legislation of the next four years. In 1889 seven states enacted reform laws based on the Australian ballot. [1] In the legislative sessions of the following year five states and one territory placed this law on their statute books. [2] Before the presidential election in 1892 thirty-two states and two territories had provided for the Australian ballot ”

“ In Minnesota, Nevada, and Pennsylvania an elector instead of an officer marks the ballots. In Minnesota and Nevada the number of ballots one elector may mark for another is limited to three and one, respectively, but in Pennsylvania there is no limit to the number one man may prepare.
Before the voter leaves the booth or compartment where he prepares his ballot he is required to fold it so as to conceal its face, and in Delaware [51] he is required to fold it and place it in an envelope. ”

“ They honestly believe that Butler’s election would injure their property. They know that idle hands are waiting to do their work. It is not the be expected that they will look on indifferently and see their employees vote for a destructive like Butler. Human nature is much the same in Massachusetts and Mississippi. Only methods are different. Brains, capital, and enterprise will tell in any community. It is very improper to intimidate voters, but there is a way of giving advice that is most convincing” (Forty-sixth Congress, second session, Senate Report 497, pp. 2–3) . ”

“ An elector will not be disfranchised by using an official ballot which through the fault of the election officers does not conform to the statute prescribing the size of the ballot, quality and color of paper, character of the type, or color of the ink. [57] Neither will he be disranchised if the county clerk included unauthorized names on the ballot; [58] nor because the ballot does not state the political affiliations of the candidates; [59] nor because the names of all independent candidates are not printed in one column as required by statute ”

“ But a number of ways have been found to circumvent the safeguards of the law. One method was to bribe opposition voters to stay away from the polls. Another is known as the “Tasmanian dodge” or “endless chain.” By some method or other an official ballot is removed from the polling-place and is marked by a vote-purchaser on the outside. This marked ballot is given to a bribed elector who votes that ticket and brings back the one given to him by the ballot clerk unmarked. ”

“ In 1888 it was commonly reported that one item in the Republican expense account was one hundred thousand dollars paid to W. W. Dudley toward the expense of carrying Indiana by “blocks of five.” [90] The use of money has indeed become a serious menace to American institutions, and was filling thoughtful citizens with disgust and anxiety. Many electors, aware that the corrupt element was large enough to be able to turn the election, held aloof altogether.
Intimidation was just as rife as bribery, and was largely traceable to the same cause—the non-secret ballot. ”

“ The provisions of the New York law are typical. It provided that "each and all ballots used at any such election shall be upon plain white printing paper, and without any impression, device, mark, or other peculiarity whatsoever upon or about them to distinguish one ballot from another in appearance, except the names of the several candidates, and they shall be printed with plain black ink." ”

“ In the virtual establishment of manhood suffrage many classes were included who had not developed to such a degree that they could be intrusted with the ballot. The population, which had been rural, was modified by the growth of a large urban class. These great political and industrial changes put a heavy strain on our election machinery. ”