The Kansas herald of freedom., 1859-09-17
The Registry Of Voters.

pear in the copies of the registry placed
in the hands of the judges of the late city
election. The registry law gives no war
rant of authority for this erasure of the
names of voters. The assessor is required
to make registry of the qualified voters,
and, that ne may not be imposed upon by
persons not qualified to vote, the law pro.
vides, in Sec. 8, that the assessor, "for
that purpose, shall have full power to ad-
minister oaths to persons applying to be
registered, touching their qualifications as
voters" In all subsequent registries, the
assessor is required to transcribe the names
appearing on the registries of the previous
year, and add the names of those not al
ready registered. No warrant is given
him for striking out the name of any per-
son who has once been registered.
On or before the fifteenth of August of
each year, the city or township clerk re-
ceives the registry from the assessor, and
it becomes his duty, on the 18th and 11th
days before any election, to attend at the
usual place o. meeting of the township
board or city council, ''to register the
names of such persons as shall personally
apply to be registered, and who have not
been already registered" No power is
given the city or township clerk to strike
from the registry any name thereon. The
evident principle of the law in Kansas is,
that name once registered cannot be
erased by the assessor or CLERK. Were the
discretionary power of erasure placed in
the hands of such officers, it would place
the rights Of voters too much at the mercy
of partizan officers. The registry law of
New York authorizes the erasure of the
of the name of an unqualified voter, upon
the affidavit of two persons as to the lack
of qualifications of such voter.
Our law proceeds upon the presumption
that no man has a right to vote unless his
name is registered. Yet a person who
does not possess the legal qualifications of
Of voter, may not vote merely because
his name is on the registry, but may be
challenged, and required to swear in his
vote, just as before the registry law was in
force. This is the portion of the election
law which protects the polls from illegal
voting on the part of those who have been
wrongly registered.
The registry of this township, as pub
lished is imperfect, one name being James
Mo, and twenty-one having no
Christian name. The publication of the
registry is incomplete, not coming up to
the requirements Of the law, which speci-
ies that the registry shall have three col
umns, lone of which shall contain the
names of voters in alphabetical order, one
their occupation or profession, and the
other their place of residence; and, if in
a city, designating the street and block
where they reside" Where newspaper
is published in township or city, the
clerk is required to publish the registry in
such paper for three weeks. A mere al
phabetical list of the registered voters is
not complete registry such as the law
requires, and where that alone is published
the provisions of the registry act fail to be
fulfilled. The lists of registered voters
now posted, and at present advertised in
the Lawrence Republican, though certified
to by the township clerk, as a true copy
of the registry of the voters of Lawrence
township, do not constitute q legal publi-
cation of the registry; and, if the publi-
cation of the registry. or posting up of
written or printed copies of the same, are
to its validity, then Lawrence
has no legal registry for the October cleo
ion, and, so far as the registry act is con-
,erned, is disfranchised. The registry act |
S nullity so far az Lawrence is concern |
ID, or the strong Republican vote of this
ownship is cut of from the polls by
Titiated registry.
However, this blllnder may be provided
or in advance, by Sec. 18th of the elec-
ion law. That provides: awhenever it
hall satisfactorily appear that any person
las received the highest number Of votes
or any Office, the eanyassers shall give to /
uch person certificate of his election.
notwithstanding The provisions Of laW may
ot haze been fully complied tcith, in noticing
r conducting the election, 50 that the sciN
the people may not Be defeated By any
This saving clause carries down the
ssistry law and its provision that none
ut registered voters may vote, quite as
,uch as any other portion Of the law. The
nactment of registry law is mere farce, I
nth such provision following it, and the
eavy expense attending its enforcement j
burden upon the people for worse t
ian nothing. No board of judges is un- t
er any necessity to enforce the registry t
if they neglect it, their sction Z
rendered valid by Sec. IS. lp
The registry law furnishes very good
L
rocess for bleeding the pockets of the n
aople; but, with such saving clause, is 5
? safeguard for the purity Of the ballot :