The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-10-01

- The action of the County Com mis-
sioners in redistricting Pigeon Town.
ship and creating an additional num-
.tfr ber,ef voting precincts meets with the
general approval of the community,
excepting only small class OF. WIRE
working politicians. The necessity
~ and expedieney of the measure is so
apparent that its wisdom cannot be
successfully attacked.
At the approaching State and eoun-
ty election, there will. be polled in
Pigeon Township about forty-fve
hundred votes, and as the precincts
were heretofore constituted,it would
..,ss have been necessary to, receive be-
.as tween fifteen hundred and two thou
sand ballots at single poll. The re-
suit of the last city election estab-
lished the fact that under the present
Registry Law, q0hep strictly complied
aoith, not more than $50 votes
az. could be received att one pre-
cinct, and then with the greatest
Inconvenience to voters. Under the
Law, when the voter appears at the
polls to deposit his ballot, he is re-
,quired to give his name the street
and number of his residence, and if
his name is on the Registry.itis made
the duty of ! the Election Board to
compare his statement with the Reg
-a jA istry, and if found correct, to check it
off before receiving his ballot and en-
fs tering his name in the poll-list. If
the name of the voter is not on the
.a1I Registry, he must present an affidavit
,f conforming strictly to the requires
ments of the law, which must be ex-
fe amined by the Election Board, and if
found correct, and it is decided that
-l,os the ballot shall be re 3eiyed. it is made
-ai the duty of the Board to enter opp6e
- posite the name on the pOlI-list the
street and number of the residence of
H the voter, and statement that his
name is not on the Registry. In ad-
dition to all these requirements, every
.l-t1 person who presentsahimselft to vote.
whether he be registered or comes
with the legal affidavit, may be chal-
ienged by any one, and be examined
SE q under oath under the old election
law and the question of his right to
vote be undetermined by the Election
Board. .LE
Ihese are some ct the requirements
of the Registry law which must be OBJ
served. An examination Of the whole
law viii satisfy any candid man that
ss to enforce it. strictly, but COMPARE
lively small number of votes can he
received in one day. The division of
the township under the old orders Of
L. o. -, +,
con have resulted in the, absolute dis
'~~ franchisement of multitudes of voters,
and place the polls under the con-
a troll of an excited crowd. -sfatai siia..
MOI The County Commissioners would
have been grossly derelict in their
duty if they had permitted such a
~ state of affairs to- continues Ever
since the last city election it has been
conceded by all parties that the pub
Hs -a lie necessity demanded greater fachir
ties for voting. The. strict. letter of
$500 the law could no more fully Fave been
complied with the day after the April
election, or at any subsequent day,
than it was last week when the order
for re-districting was made.
We have already referred to the
benefits and conveniences to voters by
the creation of more precincts. The
action of the Commissioners Injuries
e.--F no one, neither does it deprive any
legal voter of any of his rights. It Is
simply making the, ballot-box free
and accessible to all who are entitled
to its privileges The Commissioners
could have done no less than thew
have done. Their action is approved
Sbeo9 by all who desire the purity of the
ballot-box, and a peaceable election.
-- NO good citizen and no impartial
judge will, throw any obstacle in the
way OF the execution of so just a
measure. - a-11|