The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1878-11-14
CORRESPONDENCE.
Ber Leave 10 Differ.

Sol MMLER:-In the Chief of the 7th inst, Mr.. C.
asks you the following question:
"If man has been in Township thirty days,
| counting the day of moving and the day of cleo
such Township Also, whether, if he moved away on
election day. he could vote before leaving provided
there had been an election on that dayr
To which you reply, follows:
"Tea DAVIS in a Township 10 all that is required IL
the roter has been in the State sir months and 10. the
County thirty days. The days of moving and of vot-
ing are two days, and would count in making Up
the 30 days. His moving away that day would
make no difference. He is a citizen until he has
gone Thousands Of cases of this kind occur, every
election"
The first, itGleised clause of your answer, is
most obviously wrong-and am quite sure the re-
mainder of your answer is also wrong-and may lead
to the offering and receiving of illegal votes. Sec
ton of article five of the State Constitution
tGen. Stat. of 1865 page AZ provides that every
male person, of twenty-one years, and upwards"
etc., "who shall have resided in Kansas six months
merit preceding any election and in any Tornship
Wardin rhieh he offers TO rote at least thirty days ,er
preceding such election, shall be deemed a qualified
eector." You will see, therefore, that County is
not mentioned but that thirty days residence Gin the
Township or Ward IN mhieh he offers 10 rote," is
specifically required. am inclined to think. also,
that the day of the election be excluded, both
in determing the six months residence in the State,
and the required thirty days residence in the Town
ship or Ward, "nert preceding any election" and
inert preceding such election" according to wellset
tied rules of construction, must he held to import
and mean, next preceding the day of the election
"day, in all such cases, is entirety; il is ndi-
visible. Thirty days" residence is required. Sup
pose took up my residence in Troy, at exactly fire
o'clock, p M, the 18th day before the day of the
election. Now, under your construction could le-
gally vote at nine o'clock m of the following day,
when it lacked eight hours of being full thiry days
residencelr certainly could not, if thirty days"
means thirty full days of twenty-four hours each;
but (f your construction is correct) could vote be-
tween the hours of five and six, p III. of that day.
Would not such a rule be absurdityl But "thirty
days" residence 'next preceding the election, is
quired; and in order to meet this requirement, and
avoid all questions requiring for their solution the
division of "a day" into hours particular times,
the usual and proper construction s to regard the
day which the residence is made, acquired, as
full day, without regard to the hour at which the
act acts constituting residence performed
c0nsummated, and add thereto twenty-nine other
days before Tor next preceding) the day of the cleo
ton. This construction is that usually given by
courts, and is undoubtedly correct. 1t follows,
therefore, that the proper answer to Cs inquiry is
that in determining the required six months resi-
dence in the State and the required thirty days
idence in the Township Ward, to authorize per-
A.B.C.
November 10th, 1873.
There, &C." your question is answered by a law
yer-one of whom we are not which. Now catch
your man, and jug him for Illegal voting.-EDl