Weekly Trinity journal., 1876-11-11
HONEST VOTING.

We DO not doubt but majority Of the
honest voters Of each political party are
in favor OF such a system of election laws
as will secure fair, free, and untram.
meled expression Of popular opinion at
the ballot-box. The aim and end Of
every election is, of course to obtain the
views of the majority upon each question
Of political import, and when that is a
failure, it follows, as n logical conse-
qucnce, that there is defect in the law
which renders it useless to its purpose.
Hence the passage BY the various States
Of stringent registry laws, all with the
one object of protecting the ballot box
from illegal voters, ard at the same time
securing to each undoubtcd citizen the
right OF suffrage to which be is entitled.
There are certain prerequisites to citi-
zenship, which vary with mans cir
cumstances, rendering certain formula
necessary in some cases which are not
/ necessary in others. SO, too, in registra-
ton, citizens Of foreign birth were requr-
ed to make different proof Of citizenship
from that required of native born. This
was held to be great hardship 10 foreign
/ born citizens, and WAS the cause Of a fine
display Of demagoguery upon the part of
the Democratic press and politicians ir
the election Of 1867, when the Registry
law Of this State first went into general
effect. The Registry law was Republi-
can measure designed to protect the puri-
ty of the ballot box, but its first opera
tions worked a real hardship upon foreign
/ born citizens, and the Democratic party
went before the people pledged to it, re-.
peal. How much faith is tc be pat in
! Democratic pledges can be learned when
we know that the law yet stands upon
our statute books, rs an evidence Of brok-
en- Democratic faith, although that party
has had full and absolute control Of the
State government nearly All the time
since the law went into effect. The truth
/ is that the honest portion Of Democracy
are, equally with ourselves Interested in
preserving the purity Of elections, and
the general features Of the law, when re-
ieved from the crudities and impcriec-
ton which characterized them at first,
have II most wholesome effect upon our
elections. Where its provisions are faith
/ fully adhered to, Illegal voting becomes
an impo-sibilty, and if illegal votes are
{ permitted to enter tie ballot box, it is
only through fraud and maladmini,tra-
ton upon the part Of public ohicial..-
Therefore when the Federal Supervisor
of San Francisco published list o! near
ly four thousand names which were not
properly entered upon the Great Register
of San Francisco, it at once became ap-
parent that there had been gross ncgli-
gencc or criminal carelessncss upon the
part OF the county officials Many Of
these persons were registered upon certi-
fcates from other counties, showing that
the entries were wrong in the first in
stance. When it became apparent that
this was the case, it at once raised great
commotion among the parties who thus
found themselves deprived apparently o.
a night they had her. t ore believed
themselves secure Of exercising. 1t was
even seriously proposed to have an extra
session OF the Legislature to legalze all
these illegal entries, but a Attorney
General Hamilton was ready with "a con
venicnt opinion, declaring, in effect, that
al on the register were legal votes No
matter how they got there, that eXtremi-
ty was avoided.
Now comes Il question Of pureing the
Great Registers of all names not legal y
entered. Ifnot legally entered regis
tration is null aud void in law, even
though the person named may for years
exercise the right Of sull'agc. But in
case the legal votes of Il county were so
nearly divided up, on two candidates that
one was chosen by the votes Of men i'm
properly registered, would not that open
/ fair ground of contest? In our opinion
it certainly would, and such a contingent
cy should be provided against. We do
not have TO 60 further than the Court
/ House of our own county to show where
a name was borne ON the Great Register
for years, while the final papers Of natur
allzution were taken out ut compura-
lively recent date. Another entry is that
of one who came to take out final papers
years ago, had no declaration OF intention
and was refused. Now lie appears to be,
by his own sworn declaration citizen Of
many years standing. There is evident
/ ly "scrcw loose somewhere" which
had better be frightened. For with these
facts which come under our personal OBJ
servation for a startng-point, it is hand
to say what "A thorough search OF our own
Great Re gister might reveal. In many
cases, no doubt, parties register and take
the required oath innocen,ly, and the
fault lies wholly with the registration Of
Gccrs. In others it is equally true that
there is Il deliberate intention Of frau !,
aud without doubt city like San Fran
cisco will furnish many examples Of the
last named class.