The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-11-16
MINORITY REPRESENTATION.

While many of the foremost thinkers in
political economy are discussing the de-
moralizing tendency, the growing patronage
of the Government, Municipal, State and
National, exerts over large class of re-
spectacle, intelligent people, and devising
preventives or checks to the evil tendency,
no plan yet devised, in our opinion, would
60 further to heal this great canker in pol
itics than well devised system of minori-
ty representation in all elective bodies. In
some of the States where the people are
altering their constitutions, attempts are
being made to engraft this feature in the
new charter. At the late election in Illi-
nois, the lower branch of the Legislature
was chosen by cumulative voting. This is
the first instance of an application of this
principal in a large community. In prac-
ticing this system the following forms of
ballot are used: Suppose there are four
delegates to be chosen to the Legislature.
The minority party in place of nominating
four candidates, nominate one or two, and
every voter will then be privileged to cast
what is equal to two ballots for each candi-
date, or the whole four votes may be con-
fined to one name if the party is weak, and
that candidate will be sure of his election
if his party numbers above one-fourth of
the electors, and he receives the vote of his
party. The following would be the forms
of ballot that might be voted:
Jacob sob Brown Jacob Tp Brown Jacob Brown 2.
John Smith, John Smith, l.
Peter Bright. s. Thompson, 4.
Under this system an unworthy candi-
date would be almost sure to run behind,
while favorite and representative man
would often receive the entire vote his tick
ct was entitled to. The minority being
able pretty nearly to calculate its strength,
would concentrate it on the candidates that
it could most certainly carry, and the
squabbling, lying and cheating, which the
system in vogue induces, would be cut
short. The fear of total party defeat, and
the hope of signal victory has helped to
defeat more worthy men and elect more
notorious rascals than any other single
motive influencing our politics. 1t is in
fact the very bane Of modern politics.
We consider minority representation one of
the most salutary reforms that could be
inaugurated. Each party knowing its
strength would feel sure that the candi-
dates of both would be elected in proper
ton to the relative numbers of the parties.
Some of the gains of the system are thus
summed up:
SIT is to soon to decide definitely the full
effect of the minority vote in the illinois,
Legislature. But papers of the State, of
both political parties, agree that it has sue
ceede6 in several important points. 1t has
produced better class of nominations, in
the first instance, and, in several cases, has
compelled the withdrawal of Objectionable
regular candidates. 1t has secured repre-
sentation of parties in the Assembly nearly |
proportional to their strength on general
vote in the State. 1t has prevented any
Republican district, however strong, from
excluding wholly the Democrats, and any
Democratic district, however strong, from
excluding wholly the Republicans; SO that
no man in any district is without repre-
sentative for whom he himself voted. And,
finally, it has made the election more pure
than before, from the fact that no scheme
of fraud could be matured in advance,
with any security that it would affect the
result"