Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1872-12-26
Cumulative Voting.

our present electoral system, and
the opportunityit frequently gives
to one portion of a community to
override, in the exercise of pow
er, an almost equal number of It's
fellow-citizens, has led to much
thought and discussion in regard
to devising some plan by which
minorities can be proportionately
represented in legislative assem-
blies. Several plans have been
suggested, but the one which
seems to have met with the most
general favor is that known as
the cumulative vote"
The theory of all representa-
tive institutions is, that the ma
jority should rule; and cumula.
tive voting while it does not d.
rectly contravene this theory, &c.
cures to the minority a fair share
of representation, which, though
it cannot control legislation, can
at least have the opportunity of
making itself heard on any ques-
ton.
r. Under the present system the
minority in any electoral district,
though less than the majority by
only a single vote, has no chance
Of sending even one member to
represent it. 1t is to provide for
such contingencies that the cumu
lative system has been devised.
Briefly this system may be des-
cribed as follows
Each voter has as many votes as
.sthere are candidates to be chosen,
and may diAide those votes equally
among Observation-Disclosures cumu-
late them-whenCe the name of
the system-upon one. IT. for IN
stance, three members are to be
chosen, each voter mVy cast one
ballot fer each of the three men,
bers or two ballots for one men,
Der and one ballot for another ;
or all three of his ballots for one
member alone. Thus, in a county
containing l 200 voters, and elect
ing three members to the Legisla-
ture, where the political parties
are divided in the proportion of
500 to 400, it is manifest that one
third of the voters of the county
(400l would be without any req
resentation to press their own Pc
cu'iar views. Under the cumula-
tive system this minority could
secure one out of the three rep
ressntativcs chosen, and thus the
parties would stand in the legis-
lative body as two to one,o or in ex-
act proportion to the relativenum-
Der of voters by whom they were
chosen.
Suppose the majority nominn-
ted three candidates, A., B., and
c.; the minority only one D.
Each majority voter casting one
vote for each of his candidates,
and each minority voter cumulat-
ing his three votes on one candi.
date the vote would be. A, 500;
B.. 500; c., 500, D., 1890. Here
D., the minority candidate, would
be elected, and only two o. the
majority candidates could take
their seats.
Whether this plan would in.
deed be a cure for the evil of the
present system or not is, at least,
doubtful. 1t might complicate
the calculations of politicians, so
that the most astute would get
the advantage; and would also in
crease the difficulty of counting
votes or detecting frauds. 1t has
recently been tried in Illinois and
in some portions of Pennsylvania,
but how it will finally work re-
mains to be seen. lis probable
that at first it would be carried out;
but as wire pullers became more
and more familiar with its mode
cooperation, very little doubt ex-
lists in our mind that like all 9TH
er human plans for Representation
of purity in politics, it would be
wanting. The only true safe
guard, after all, lies in educating