Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1869-04-30

y
the facts, when person offering {
vote is challenged as unqualified o
the ground of minority alienage.- o
lnon-residence, has prescribed a serie
of interrogatOries, found IN the thin
| teenth section of the g Act to preserv
the purity of elections"
These provisions are general, and ap
ply to all citizens alike. without an
distinctions in regard to occupation
pursuit, or otherwise. By the act o
April 18th, 1868, the interrOgatOries o
said 18th section shall be propOundeC
to the person offering to vote who shall
be CHALLENGED as unQuained because
student, and in addition thereto the
six inteErOgatOries above recited in the
! act of the first session of this General
Assembly proposed to be repealed BY
the bill under consideration. All OF
which shall be answered by the person
challenged under oath. p e
Thus we have the qualifications OF
Il electors prescribed by the Constitution
and statutes made hereunder, appIi-
cable to all citizens alike, excepting the
\ act of April 18th, 1858, which prescri bes
an additional and severer test of quail
featiOns to the citizen claiming the
right to vote who is a student in any
/ school or college in Ohio. The test thus
4 prescribed is such an one as was design
! ed to and will exclude from the elec-
/ tive franchise large class of those thus
aimed at. 1t is an attempt to legislate
| against a class of the citizens of Ohio
/ by designating them by their calling or
pursuit, which seems to the undersign-
ed obnOxiOus to the principles of Amer
can LEGISLATION. and repugnant to the
provisions of our Constitution.
BY that instrument, but little au-
thority to the General Assembly is del
egated over the subject matter of ouali-
fications of electors. This body can
only designate the length Of residence
in county, township, or ward, of the
voter, and may exclude from the right
of voting persons convicted of Infamous
crime These two provisions comprise
all the power repOsed in the Legisla-
ture by the Constitution upon this sub
ject. Tilis was, not the result Of acci-l
denton the part of the Constitutional
Convention, but was the result of de-
sign, begotten by wise political fore
cast.
Much light is thrown upon this prop
Osition by the debates of the Conven-
ton. When this article was under con-
sideration in the Convention, Judge
Ranney said =" he only desired that the /
Convention should define the elective |
franchise; and hoped that the ConYen-
tion was not about to leave rights Sc
important to be sought for in the acts !
of the General Assem- bly.7
Mr.. Larwi1 was in favor of striking |
out the word " county," in the hope
that the matter might be fixed in the /
Constitution. By that instrument a |
citizen ought to be able to ascertain /
what are his rights. The people expect |
that we shall determine that question |
in the Constitution, and hoped that the
length of residence would not be left |
to be fixed by the General Assembly.
Mr.. Mason contended that the Con-
stitution should define what is resi-
dence in a county; and said that the |
Legislature ought to know that it has /
nothing to do with Ii.
In the spirit of these and similar de-
Article ". of that instTu-
ment was framed; and there we find |
perfectly defined all the qualifications /
necessary to constitute an elector I'M
Ohio, except, as before stated, the /
length of residence in county, town I
ship, or ward; and this is left to the /
General Assembly, but by necessary
implication, must not exceed one year.
Then, by the Constitution of Ohio, if
a person, whether a student or not, is
white male citizen of the United States,
of the age of twenty-One years, and
has been resident of this State one
year next preceding the election, and
Of the county, township or ward such
time as the General Assembly has pro-
vided by law for other citizens, he is
possessed of all the qualifications of an
9lectOr, and the General Assembly pos
Sesses no power to restrict, abridge, or
enlarge the same.
1t cannot be assumed that the pur-
suit or occupation of a student neces-
sarily precludes the ability to acquire
residence. This is the very thing to be
proved by those who favor the law of
1868. 1t is we'll known that often his
residence is fixed for an indefinite pc
rod at the place where the college or
institution of learning is located.
There he is liable to taxation, there for
an indefinite time is his home, and to
all legal intents. if of full age is his
residence in many, if not in majority Il
of instances. The law Is, that a person
being at place is prima facie evidence
that he is domieiled there.
Webster defines residencestO be . the
place of abode, or the act of dwelling
or abiding in place for continuance
of time.'' The word means . a-dWel-
ing place for the time being; as contra
distinguished from a mere temporary
locality of existence" +" A person resi-
dent y is defined to be one g dwelling
or having his abode in any place"
Worcester quotes Burrill's definition
with approval !: Resident@0ne who
resides in a place /; an inhabitant."
Bouvier says that residence '' is gem
orally transient in its nature, " that it
becomes domicn when it is taken up
with the intention of remaining there
for an unlimited time.
In Putnam vs.. johnson (I0th Mas, i
1887, this very question of whether a I
students residence at college is such a
residence as will confer the right to /
vote was in issue; it being one OF. the |
requisites for voting in Massachusetts
that the electOr shall vote where he re-
sides. The Court held in these words
e. A resident at a college or other semi
nary for the purpose of instruction
would not confer a right to vote in the 1
town where such institution exists, if
the student had not severed himself
from his fathers control, but resorted /
H. IL L. L, All
under his direction and management.
But such residence will give right to
vote to a citizen not under pupilage, /
Notwithstanding it may not be his eX-
pectatiOn to remain there for ever. The |
objects intended by the constitutional |
limitation of the right of suffrage to |
the town. in which the voter has his |
home, We're opportunity to ascertain |
the qualifications of the voter and the |
prevention of frauds upon the public !
by multiplying the votes of the same |
person, The plaintiff had lived long
enough in AndoYer to give the select |
men the means of scrutinizing his |
claims, and there was no other place
where he could have a pretense for |
voting.''
In the case of Daniels vs.. The state !
Oath N. H., 3S3), which was suit by a
student against the selectmen of Plain
field, New Hampshire, for refusing to
= u
the Presidential election on the Sd of
November, 1860, the Court expressly
held that if the student had come there
with the intentionsof remaining per-
manently, or for some indefinite time, /
it would make the place his actual resi-
dence, having no other place which he
regarded as a home.
In Maine it is held that .'Nyhen a per-
son takes up his abode in a given place
without any present intention to re-
move therefrOm, such place of abode
becomes his residence or home, and
will continue to be his residence or
home, notwithstanding temporary per-
sonal absences, until he shall depart
with the intention to abandon such
home" Inhabitants of Warren VS..
Inhabitants of Thomaston, 49 Maine,
4O6.)
These authorities clearly establish
the legal Specification of the words
" resident y or residence" In this
sense it was used in the Constitution.
1t had obtained fixed Specification,
and when used by the Convention was
used in full recognition thereof.