Election Still a Puzzle

Australian Ballot "Balls Up" Many voters.

THEY USED VARIETY OF MARKS

Some Voters Mutilated All But Their Own Ticket.

One Man Used Zero Mark Opposite Name of a Candidate.

["Ottawa Weekly Herald," 24 Dec 1908, page 6, column 3]

Although the Australian ballot law has been in force for a good many years in Kansas, now, and although the ballot in its present form has seen service in numerous elections, always with wide comment on the rules to be followed, there is still a lot of difficulty among the voters in expressing their wishes through the ballot.

The recount of the ballots in the south commissioner district, which ended Saturday, has brought to light errors that are astonishing. Without a recount, these errors are witnessed by none but the precinct judges of election, and no specific report is made by them when the vote is thrown out.

The largest change in the commissioner count was made in Williamsburg where 24 ballots rejected by the judges were counted by the contest board. The election board took the position that a mark has been made in the circle at the head of a ticket invalidated the ballot. This was the law up to a few years ago, when the law was changed to permit a mark elsewhere after the mark had been made in the circle.

Some voters crossed out all the tickets except the one which they wished to vote, taking the utmost pains to mutilate with pencil marks every other portion of the ballot except their favorite ticket. Some wrote messages, such as "Yes," and "No," on their ballots.

One man in Cutler township voted a straight party ticket except on one county office. On this office he crossed to another ticket and made the proper cross mark opposite the name of the candidate on that ticket, and then, to make his intention more clear, he came back tot he objectionable candidate for that office on his party ticket and made a cipher in the square opposite the name. Of course this invalidated the ballot.

Cases were found where a vote was case, for but one county candidate with no other mark elsewhere on the ballot.

The great difficulty of the voters and of the judges in interpreting the vote, was with the cross mark itself. It was evident from the ballots that the voter was often not satisfied with his first cross, and would undertake to make the mark more plain. In some cases he would produce a marking that the law could not recognize on a valid ballot.

The law is particular in providing that a ballot shall be marked in but one way for this reason: An irregularly marked ballot is easily identified. If a man wanted to sell his vote he could agree to mark his ballot in a certain way-but very slightly different from the regulation-and by having his purchaser present at the count could prove his delivery of the goods and get his money.

No good plan seems available or making the ballot any simpler than it is, and still have it secret. It has sometimes been suggested that each precinct have a registration of voters, the same, as is now done in the cities, and that before being allowed to register as a qualified voter, the applicant he compelled to go through a form of voting both a straight and "mixed" ticket, on a blank ballot similar to the one to be used at the forthcoming election, but without any political

names of actual candidates on the tickets.