New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-10-20
REVISION OF THE REGISTRATION
Striking OFF the Names of the Fraud.
uleutly Registered.

uleutly Registered.
Tho following communication was 70
ceived some days ago by the State Regis
trar of Voters:
ROOFS ConMrrHs on REGISTRATION ARD ELRcTIoN,
Democratic and Conservatiye Party,
state Of Louisiana,
New Orl' ans. October I. 1876. J
Hon. n. Hahn. State Registrar Of vote rs, ETC.:
DEAR Simultaneous casos of alleged
illegal registration have been brought BE-
fore the United States commissioner, and it
is probable that many more will be before
the close of registration. Where the COM
missioner finds that persons have registered
in fraud, and has committed them, or placed
them under bonds to appear before the
United States Circuit Court, should not
their names be erased from the registration
hstsi The charges are false residence, mi.
n0rity, false names. and the like.
It occurs to me that the proof which sat
iefies the commissioner in these cases
should be sufficient to secure the erasures,
and that certified statement of the CON-
missioner should be ample evidence to that
end.
An early reply will be favor.
WILLIAM r. WHITAKER,
Attorney Registration Committee.
Yesterday the State Registrar transmit
ted the following reply, in which the sug-
gestion made above is adopted:
STATE or LoursuHx.
O6ce State Registrar of vetere.
Sew Orleans. OctobH 10. 1876.
Hon. William R. whitaker, Attorney Committee
ON Registration and Canv Assing, Democratic
and Conservative Party Of the State Of Louis
DEAR SR-Your communication of date
of October was duly received, and
sAould have given you reply sooner but
for the reason that your request in behalf
of your party involves the most delicste
and dif6cult duty that the officers charged
with the conduct Of the registration aro
called upon by law to perform-the duty
of erasing from the list Of registered voters
the names of oil persons who arc not resid'
ing in the parish or precinct ON the tenth
day before tho election-and therefore /
wished to consider the subject carefully,
that there might not be reason for COM
plaint or misunderstanding hereafter.
Section Elk of tho registration act pro-
video ''that it shall be the duty of the State
Registrar of Voters to erase from the lists
Of registered votors the names Of I'll per-
sons reported by the sections Of the several
cemeteries of the parish Of Orleans as de-
shall be proven in the manner hereinafter
established to have been 1raudulently reg
istered in said parish"
Section twenty one, registration act, last
paragraph, c0nfers substantially the same
powers upon the assistant supervisors Of
registration in TIE parish OF Orleans, viz:
'tAnd the said supervisor OF registratiOn
shall also examine and revise the books of
registration of his parish or ward Of the city
rE ahol1 nkp 10
the names of all persons who are not re-
siding in the parish or precinct on the tenth
day before the election, and The names re-
manning on said books of registration. as
corrected by the supervisor of registration
and assistant supervisors of registration as
aforesaid shall constitute the registry of cii-
GEMS qualified to rOte in the said parish or
,card at the nert election
Tho same section twenty -one) contains q
trary and malicious erasuree, that the
name of no pei son shsal be stricken from
the registration books in his absence, ex-
cept upon the testimony Of at least two re-
spectacle citizens, qualified electors of the
parish" etc.
Taking the three above cited provisions
Of the law together. it seems that they are
partly mandatory upon the assistant super
visors of registration, and partly prohib-
lJOFys UI0t COIuu8uOluk uIm " purge LILO
registry lists of all improperly registered
names, ana at the same time not permitting
him to do so without good cause, i. O., 1.-THE
testimony of at least two respectable citi-
zens,' etc., and, again, not making it COM
pulsery upon the assistant supervisor to
erase upon such testimony, but vesting him
with . largo discretion.
With this review of the powers and du-
ties Of registration officers under the law,
am prepared to say that this request for
your party appears to me to be ressonsonsr
1 have noticed carefully the courae pur-
sued by the commissioner before whom all
the cases of persons charged with fraudu-
lent registration have been brought this
year. and am satisfied, with you, that he
has been fair, just and non-partisan in aal
his rulings aud decisions upon registration
matters, and am willing, - requested by
in oil questions of registration and the No
vision Of the registry lists of this parish
1.-THE only parish involved in your requost,,
and believe that all the assistant eupervis-
ors of registration of the parish of Orleans
will be willing to abide by his decisions.
will instruct the assistant supervisors
. Of registration as requested, that the proof
which satisfies this commissioner in these
cases should be eufficient to secure the
from him should be ample evidence to that
end. PLEASE forward any certified state
ments Of the commissioner through this
office, and they will be transmitted to the
various wards.
Trusting that this reply will prove salts
factory to your committee and to yourself,
and go far toward settling the question Of
the revision of the gistry Lists, am, very
respectfully,
MICHAEL HAHN,
nf