The Georgetown news., 1855-10-04
NO. 81.
The Present ELECTION I.n,r.

ne IOllOWlDg SeuSIOI6 aTtlCle Is from tie
San Diego Herald, one Of the strongest Dem
ocratic papers in the State. 1t abounds in
much good sense, and states facts that can
not be contrOycrted:
Common. sense has been popularly under
stood to be the controlling clement in legis-
lation among the American people. This
may have been the case up to the time Of
the enactment of the present voting law i'll
California. But that enactment is q tri-
umph Of numbering stupidity eclipsing all
enterprises ever before heard Of in that lire
OF business.
Ii 1t had been proposed to get up law
to open wide door to fraud. to conceal
from the people the manner and results of
the voting, to delay the counting and the
declaration Of the ballots to the latest mo-
ment, and thereby give time to tamper
with the balIot-boX and contents, to pre-
vent the access Of the people to the polls,
ana discourage their watchfulness against
double voting, stuf1ing, and stealing, the en-
actment III question, accomplishes these
things as completely as human ingenuity
will allow
Take for example, our election in this
township last Wednesday. We. sunnose
the balloting was conducted as strictiv in
accordance with law as was found possible
and yet are We certain there was no Illegal
voting on that occasion? Can we be pCsi-
tive OF it, when it is provided that any per-
son. On being challenged may "swear in"
his vote? The honest voter is rarely if ev-
er challenged. The scoundgel who will vote
falsely, will swear falsely.
Nothing in the present law prevents
man from voting in every precinct in this
county he can travel to during the day
To say there is no man among US who would
be guilty of double voting, is 20 say that
we are a more virtuOus community than the
rest of mankind. THIS proposition is lard
to prove.
We know well that residents of San
Francisco and other parts of the State,
have voted in this town at general cleo
tions, without challenge. We rather think
this is not lawful, but no objection that we
know of has ever been raised to this pro-
ceeding.
The present 'slow-coach process of count
ing the votes, delays the knowledge of the
result until the officers Of the polls, (who
may be always honest, bat are not inyara-
bly.) choose to declare it. In the mean
time, as is the notorious practice in San
Francisco. the wrong tickets stolen from
the box, the right ones stuffed in, and any
candidate made sure Of his election.
The judge or Inspector of election, who
reads of the tickets in the process Of count
ing, may without detection, substitute in
the reading, another name in the body Of
the ticket, for the one that is there. if he
wishes to help out friend Of his, or a pc
litical candidate Of his own faith.
Now OF all these and other abuses, there
is one simple remedy. And that is Re-
GIsTRY Law, with provisions like the fol
lowing:
l. Every person entitled to vote, shall
have his name enrolled in the Register, up
on his claim being acknowledged by the
/ city or county authorities.
/ 2. When the ballot is deposited. the vo-
ters name should be checked on a printed
Register
3. The votes are to be publicly counted,
and compared with the names checked on
the Register at the end Of every hour DUR
ing the election day, and the result to be
posted up for public inspection. Ten min.
utes before the closing hour another count
is to take place, and at the. termination Of
the time the whole result made known to
/ the world
There you have the system in nutshell.
Everything open and above-board,-
ing always in broad daylight, before the
face Of the public Of all parties, no midnight
box-stufers can ply their vocation. The
! open exposure of each hours balloting, pre-
vents any unusual and impossible increase
or decrease Of the number, or any change in
! the votes.
All voting twice, Or any where out of
ones precinct or ward is thus prohibited,
and people who go abroad to eectioneer,
will find it to their interest to stay at home
on election day.
We hope that at the next session of the
Legislature, this measure will be earnestly
urged by our representative elect, and if
candor, honesty and sincerity are to be en-
couraged and sustained as worthy princi-
pies in our State, when the question comes
up, it will be advocated by good men Of all
parties, and passed by triumphant major
ity.