Daily globe., 1879-06-26
MARKED BALLOTS.
The Supreme Court sustains the Lower
Court In Declaring tho Act Unconstitu-
tienal in that 1t Destroys tho Secrecy OF
the Ballot.

Court in Declaring the Act Unconstitu-
tlenal in that 1t Destroys tho Secrecy of
the Ballot.
In August last Hon. j. B. Brisbin began
suit in the district court against the judge
of election for the district in which he voted,
for the purpose of testing the constitution
ality of the law of the previous legislature
requiring the numbering of ballots of cleo
tors. Mr.. Brisbin held that the numbering
of the tickets infringed upon the secrecy of
the ballot, contemplated by the constitution,
and that the law was unconstitutional. The
case was argued at length before the judges
of the district court in banc, and decision
rendered in favor of Mr.. Brisbin. Appeal
was had to the supreme court, the result of
which is given bel wv. It is, in short, an af-
6rmation of the decision of the Ramsey
county district court as expressed in the
opinion of Judge Wilkin. The following is
the decision in full:
John B. Brisbin, respondent, vs.. James Cleary,
Martin J. Clure and Adolph Henschall, ap-
pellants.
Chapter "a, laws of 1873. being an act regu-
lating elections in incorporated cities of over
1000 inhabitants. after providing in section
that the manner of voting at such elections
shall be by ballot, proceeds as follows: THE
ballots shall be folded by the voter and deliv-
cred to one Of the judges of election, who
shall forthwith lay the same on the top of the
ballot box, at the same time in an audible
voice proclaim the name of the person Offering
to vote to the board; and if the judges be sat-
is6ed, according to the evidence as herein de-
scribed, that the person Offering the vote is
legal voter the clerks of election shall enter
the name Of the voter and his number unuer
the proper heading in the poll book, and the
judges shall endorse on the back of the ticket
offered the number corresponding with the
number of the vote on ths poll book, end
shall Immediately put his ticket in the ballot
box
Section 6. article vii, Of the constitution of
this State declares that ''sll elections shall be
by ballot except for such town officers as may
be directed by law to be otherwise chosen
As We are of opinion that elections of city
regard to elections of town officers, the ques-
tion in this case is whether the provisions in
regard to the numbering of ballots are constitu-
tional. The answer to this question depends
upon what is meant by voting by ballot. As
IN case of words and phrases in general, the
meaning of this phrase is to be arrived at by
inquiring what it Is generally understood to
monty used by persons who may be presumed
to use the English language correctly.
Such an inquiry shows that as applied to
elections of public officers voting by ballot
signifies a mode of designating an elector's 8
choice of person for an Office by the
person in recepticle provided for the purpose,
in such way as to secure the elector the priv
lege of complete and inviolable secrecy in re-
gard to the person voted for This privilege
of secrecy may properly be regarded as the dis
tinguishing feature of ballot voting as COM
pared with open voting, as, for instance, voting
viUn U0ce.
The object of the privilege is the indepen-
dence of the voter. These views of the nature
of the vote by ballot, and It's objects are sane
toned bv Temple VS.. Mead. Vt, 34l; Com.
VS.. Troelper, s. & R., 80; Kudar's case 2;
Parsons equity cases, 553; The People VS..
Cicott, 16 Mich, 2ss; People VS.. Pease, 81 N
tice; Williams VS.. Stein, IS Ind, S.
State VS.. Hilmantel, 2s Wis. 422, Cody's con-
stitutional limitations GAS, Brightby's Lea,
cases ON elections, 376; ,:ote McCrary's law of
elections, sections 1874, 1876, 400, 413; encyclo.
pedia Britannia, title ballot.
The statutory provisions with regard to the
numbering of tickets above quotcd, clearly iu-
terferes with and violates the voters constitu-
tional privilege of secrecy It is therefore az.
unconstitutional provision. The voter cannot
be required to submit to its application to tn.
ticket offered by him, and If upon refusing t.
SO submit he is debarred from voting, ne may
maintain his action for damages against the
persons debarring him.
1t is proper to add as having some tendency
to support the views to which we have arrived
that the recent constitution of Pennsylvania
in 1873, of Missouri in 1875, and of Colorado
in 1876, expressly provides that while election
| shall be by ballot, the tickets shall be nun
bered upon plan similar to that prescribed by
our statutory provision above quoted. It IS I;
fair inf that khia Constitutional f.