Government in the United States, National, State and LocalGarner, James Wilford
History
Government in the United States, National, State and Local
Garner, James Wilford
United States -- Politics and government
A ballot used in Chicago in 1906 contained the names of over 330
candidates and was over two feet in length and nearly two feet in
width. From this bewildering array of names the voter was compelled
to pick out his choice for the following offices: state treasurer,
state superintendent of public education, trustees of the
University of Illinois, representative in Congress, state senator,
representative in the state assembly, sheriff, county treasurer,
county clerk, clerk of the circuit court, county superintendent of
schools, judge of the county court, judge of the probate court,
members of the board of assessors, judges of the municipal court
for the two-year term (nine to be elected), members of the board of
review, president of the board of county commissioners, county
commissioners (ten to be elected on general ticket), trustees of
the sanitary district of Chicago (three to be elected), clerk of
the municipal court, chief justice of the municipal court, judges
of the municipal court (nine to be elected), judges of the
municipal court for the four-year term (nine to be elected). In
Oregon in the election of 1912 the ballot contained the names of
177 candidates and 37 laws and amendments.
To vote ballots containing many names requires a good deal of care, if
not experience, to avoid error which will result in having it thrown
out, for the regulations governing the marking of the ballot are very
strict and must be observed if the vote is to be counted. Accordingly,
elaborate instructions covering large sheets are posted throughout the
election district and at the polls for the guidance of the voters, and
these have to be carefully studied by inexperienced voters who desire to
avoid mistakes. Sample ballots also may be provided for practice. One
result of the increasing complexity of the ballot is to give an
undesirable advantage to the professional politicians who understand how
to vote such ballots, and to discourage those who are not politicians.
_Voting Machines._--A few states have adopted voting machines,
especially for their large cities. These are so arranged that the voter
may, by going into a booth and pulling a number of knobs, register his
vote quickly and without the danger of spoiling his ballot. When the
polls are closed the results are already recorded on a dial, and the
long delay in counting the returns is eliminated. The chief objection to
the voting machine, however, is the expense, and this has prevented its
more general adoption.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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