The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1878-11-15

lppointed at each poll, and though
he Democratic managers at mot IL
he polls admitted them into the pJil
ing places, yet they threw every OBJ
,tacle they could in their way, aud Ia
no instance would they allow them to
exercise any authority, save TO stand
by aud witness the voting. In some i'll
stances the authority of the Superyis
ors was entirely iguored. In one case
the managers ordered Supervisor out
OF the polling place, and upon his re
fusing to go, they ordered the State
Constables to eject him, which they
did. This was the Lit. Pleasant poll,
in this county. At the Palmetto En
CINE House, in tine Third ward of this
city, the Supervisor Was severely beat
en- by Democratic voters, and driven
away from the polls The authority of
the United States Marshals was treated
with utter contempt; and to save them
selves from arrest by city and State
they Were compelled to
refrain from exercising any authority.
In this city the Democratic managers
of elections arbitrarily refused at least
2 900 colored voters the right TO vote.
Unless a coloTed man was known to
one of the managers of election, he
was refused, unless he could bring
witnesses to prove where he resided.
MANY were turned off under pretext
that they were not twenty one years OF
age, or rather that the managers were
doubtful of it. At the last session of
the Legislature, two voting precincts
in st. Andrews Parish were abolished,
and the 900 colored voters of that Sec
ton left without polling place. The
parish is only separated from the city
by Ashley river, and used to be con-
nected with Charleston bv bridge,
which you will probably recollect was
bnrned at the evacuation of the city by
the rebels. The people crossed to the
city of Charleston for the purpose OF
voting, out the Democratic managers
would not receive their votes, though
the City Of Charleston was the only
place where they could vote. The
Legislature also abolished all voting
places on the State road between
Charleston aud Summerville, and yet
when people came to charleston to
vote, Democratic managers denied
them the privilege, telling them to go
and vote where they lived, although
they knew full we'll that there was no
polling place where they resided.
Notwithstanding all these outrages the
Republicans carried this county ny at
least 4, 600 majority; but, to their utter
surprise, when the ballot boxes were
opened at the various polls, the boxes
were found to contain, in most cases,
several hundred more ballots than
there were names on the poll list. Out
of thirty two polls in this county at
twenty of them the ballots were large
ly in excess of the names on the poll
list. Every ballot was stuffed with
tickets of the kind / inclose. These
tickets were not circulated during the
election, but had been printed by the
Democratic Executive Committee end
distributed among the managers only.
The regular Democratic tickets as well
as the Republican tickets were five
lines as large. In most instances, es
peciaIIy where very few Democratic
votes were cast, the managers, after
counting the ballots and ascertainins
the excess, returned them to the ballot
box. but were careful to leave them un
folded, and proceeded to draw out the
number of ballots in excess. They
were careful, however, to throw out
none of these small tickets, but in
every instance large Republican bal
lots were drawn out and destroyed.
At Mt. Pleasant 4S2 Republican ballots
we're thus drawn out and destroyed
and this poll, where Republicans had
voted five to one against the Demo
Gratis. was made to give a Democratic
majority of S26.
1.-The most outrageous cases of bal
lot box stuffiug occurred at the polls ir
Ward Three of this city.
AT poll known as Palmetto Eogint
House, one of the managers. w. l..
Doggett, the foreman of the Ne'cs and
Courier Job Printing Office, stuffed
2, 500 of these little tickets in the boz
after the DOL was closed. The mana
gers, finding that there was 1863 bal
lots in the box, declined to throw out
any, but counted them all and return
ed the vote of that poll as 461 fol
Mackey, and 31nS for O'Connor. Al
the other polls in this ward, the same
act was performed, and the managers
returned 121 for Mackey, and ,S66 fol
O'Connor. So that one ward out oi
eight in the city was made to give q
majority of 4, 392 votes for O'Connor.
The utter impossibility of voting
1869 persons at one poll, and in the
space of twelve hours, need hardly bt
argued. As the managers swore eact
voter separately, and in many caset
consumed three or four minutes ques
tioning voters. it is safe to say that the
average time consumed in voting eacf
man was one minute, which would al
low 720 votes to be rolled, provided
there was a continuous stream of vot
ers during the II hours the polls wert
opened. Yet at this poll the mana
gers make a return under oath tha
1869 persons voted in the space of 1;
hours. By this method, Charleston
City is made to give O'Connor a ma
iority oil 6,527, or a majority large
than the entire Democratic vote of the
city.
Throughout this county aud entir'
District, boxes were stuffed In som'
way, not only in Charleston, but il
Clarendon. Not satisfied with stuffinl
the ballot boxes. the Democrats, find
ing it impossible to stuff the ballo
boxes at Washington Engine House
in the Sixth Ward, because of the Wig
lance of tbs United States Supervisor
put out the lights and stole the BOZ
and destroyed it, because / had ma
jority of about 500 there.
ION Edisto Island, where l. 900 Re
publican voter reside, and where tn
Democrats have only about forty o.
fifty votes. the Democratic Commis
sioners failed to open the polls, thu
actually disfranchising these voters.
sit is useless writing any more o
these disgusting details. l Isee no rem
edy for the wrongs we are compelled
to submit to. The publication of then
l am afraid, will do little good, bu
still publish them far and wide, so tina
the world may know to what crimes 81
called respectable Democrats of Soutl
Carolina will descend. The inmates o
the South Carolina Peuitentiary wouls
not be guilty of the acts committed ol
Tuesday by the Democrats of thi
State. Yours truly.
E. W. MACKKY."