Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1868-11-26


lation which, in my judgment, requires
the attention OF the General Assembly
tat its present session, relates TO the pre-
/ vention of frauds upon the elective
( franchise. Intelligent men of all parties
are persuaded that at the recent impOr-
! tant State and National elections great
abuses of the right of suffrage were prac-
ticed. | am not prepared TO admit that
the reports commonly circulated and be
iieved in regard TO such abuses, would
50 far as the elections in Ohio are con-
cerned, be fully sustained by thorough
investigation o. the facts. But it is not
doubted that even at the elections i'll our
own State frauds were perpetrated TO
such an extent that all good citizens
earnestly desire that effective measures
may be adopted by you to prevent their
repetition. NOelabOrate attempt TO pOr-
tray the consequences OF this evil is re-
quired. Ii it is allowed TO increase. the
confidence of the people in the purity OF
elections Will be lost, and the exercise of
the right of suffrage will be neglected.
/ To corrupt the ballot box is to destroy
our free institutions. LIE. all good eiti-
zens, therefore, unite in enacting and en-
forcing laws which will secure honest
elections.
REPRESENTATION OF NINORITIES IN
ELECTION BOARDS
submit 10 your judgment the pro-
priety of such amendments to the eiec-
ton laws az will provide, first, iOr the
representation OF minorities i'll the
boards of judges and clerks of the eiee-
tions and second, for The registration of
all the lawful voters i'll each Uownship,
ward ani election precinct, prior to the
election. ......-
That the boards OF election ought TO be
so constituted that lninoritie5 lis well as
majorities will have fair representa-
tiOn in them, is 81 plainly just that in
some parts in the states, even i'll tunes
of the highest political excitement, such
representation i.;rs been obtained, in the
absence of law, by arrangement between
the eommitte OF the RIVAL political paI-
ties. 1t is not probable that any mode
of selecting Judges and clerks 0felections
can oe adopted which will, in every
case, accomplish this object. But i'll all
cases where the strength ofthe minority
is half, or nearly half as great as that of
the majority, the desired representation
of the minority may be ensured with
sufficient certainty by several different
plans. For example, il may be proved
that at the election of the three judges
who are to decide all questions at the
polls, each elector may be allowed to
vote for two candidates only, and, that
the three candidates having the highest
number of votes shall be. declared elect,
ed, and in like lnanaer that at the eiec-
ton of the two clerks Of elections each
-electOr may vote fOr one candidate My,
and that the two candidates receiving
the highest number of votes shalli be
declared elected. ...i- ..-. .-..
do not lay much stress on tine partie-
iIlar plan here suggested, but your at
tention is Invited to the Importance of a
fair representation of the minority in all
boards Of elections, not doubling that
your wisdom will be able to Ievise u
suitable measure to accomplish it.
REGISTRY LAW. .--t r. ..i,
All parts of the State of Ohio are now
so closely connected with each other, and
with other States, by lines of railway,
that great and constantly increasing fai
cilities are afforded for the preparation
of the class of frauds, on the elective
franchise, commonly known as ''colOniZ-i
ing" In the cities, men called repeat
els," it is said, are paid wages according
to the number of unlawfai ystes they
succeed in casting at the same election
The increase of p0puiatioti adds to the
difficulty of detecting and preventing
fraudulent voting, in whatever mode il
may be practIced. Ii is manifestly inn
possible, amid the hurry anu excitement
of an election, that tile legal right tol
vote, of every person who may offer his
ballot. should be fully and fairly investi-,
gated and decided. The experience oil
many of the older States lIiIs proved that
this can best be done ct some period nriOr