Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1856-10-23
From tie Indiana Journal
WhO Can Vote! Who are Residents!
The Law upon these Points.

nv liON9NtS tlldb any iclSOu
offering TO vote may be challenged as I'M
qualified. by any person entitled TO vote
at such polls" The same statute requires
that 'in all cases the Inspector aud each
Judge shalt challenge any person offer
ing to vote, whom lie shall know or sus
pect not to be qualified; and to any per
son so challenged. such Board shall de
clare ;he qualifications If electors" The
statute further prov ides that IF such per.
SON insist that he is entitled to vote. -
the Board shall administer to him an
oath. the form of which the statute pre-
scribos.- z. S. 262, 27i.
From these provisions of our Statute
the following deductions obviously flow;
Every legal voter may challenge any
person who offers to vote.
Every Inspector or Judge an election
must challenge, if he believes there is
just cause for so doing.
AS it is incumbent upon the Inspector
faithfully TO discharge his duties. if n per
son Offers to vote Of whose qualifications
he is en,Iely ignorant, YET whom be does
not know or suspect TO be unqualified. it
would seem TO be right lin order 20 pre-
serve the purity o! the bailo. box, and Il,
the same time not 10 expose the voter to
the suspicion implied by challenge and
an oatt) TO ask any pertinent question
without swearing him concerning his
qualifications.
Whenever n challenge is made, il is
the duty Of The Board, before administer
ing any oath 10 the party challenged.
fully to explain 10 him the requisite quail
iiica,ions of legal voter; aud this ex
PLANTATION ought TO embrace substantial
ly the following points:
|. Every voter must be twenty one
years of age.
2 He must be citizen of the United
States; or. at least, he must have resided
in the United States one year. and have
declared his intention 10 become a citi
zen according to the act of Congress-
that is, las ii is commonly expressed BY
foreign born persons he mus, have ''got
his first papers"
3. lie must. for the last six mol.ths
have been o resident of the State OF Indi
ana. md must. al the time. be resident
of the township in which he offers to
vote. This residence the courts have de.
fined 10 be, not mere abiding at place.
In ;he language of Judge Story, Two
things mus; concur 10 constitute" it:
first, residence; ard secondly the infcn-
ton OF making il the home OF the party.
There must be the fact AMI INTENT" o. rs
Pother says. there must be the intent
and the act. To make legal residence
at sny place there must. therefore. be an
actual abiding in The township qcith the
intent permanently to remain there
No mere temporary sojOufn can amount
TO it. If man leave his home in Gin
cinna,i TO remain here for year, or any
other period, but with the intent to re-
turn after tie business on which he came
is accomplished, he does not thereby lose
his residence in Cincinnati. nor acquire
a new one here. lie might, in such
case, lawfully vote during thst time in
the former place; but he could not vote
at all here.
The practice therefore of importing
voters to particular place. who when
the election is over intend 20 return to
thei! ole homes, does not make them law
ful voters al such place. 1t is gross
fraud upon the elective franchise, which
no honorable man should countenance
And it is the right of every voter and the
duty of every Judge and inspector of
elections to guard the ballot box against
such practice.
No respectable lawyer, who regards his
own reputation, will deny that the forego-
ing is a true account OF the legal term
residence. 1t is proved to be 50 by the
following. among many other authori
ties S.ory's conflict of la vs.. section II
to 10; | American leading cases, 702 To
IA. Z Mass Rep. |; 3 Pickering, 80;
5 Cranch 233