The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1880-11-18
BALLOTS ILLEGALLY MARK ED.
Have the &c publ leans of New York
Fallen u Ia the Trap They
- Set Last winter.
Votes for Garfield Thrown ont in
Osw wegO-Cases in Lewis, 81.
La w. renee, JcGfersOn
Morl.I. SpeciaI.

New n Ork WOrh. special -
ALBANY Nov. 1.-THE evidence is
fast, .accum mulating that helRepubli-
cans of this State have placed the
State in the hands of the Democrats in
spite of their enormous use OF money,
bribery, colonization and frauds. In
short. that they have violated their
own lava law passed last winter to
enable them to get the advan tage of
their oppOnents-and voted for Presi-
Dental electors on an illegal ballOt-a
ballot which their own law declares
/" shall be unlawful for any person to
print or distribute or cast" That such
AN unlawful ballot was used and voted
upon by the Republicans throughout
the evidence from different sections.
The question lis at least of sufficient
seriousness b require thorough in
vestigafiOn and adjudieatiOnand brings
up the point whether an illegal ballot,
ballot which the law says shall be
unlaWful for any person to cast, can be
counted when cast. The inspectors of
election IN one ward of Oswego have
decided that the ballots cannot be
counted and have thrown out 172 of
such unlawful Republican ballots for
electors, being all the Republican b IL
lots cast for President in that precinct.
! These have been counted in the press
reports of that city, yet the inspectors
have ruled them out as illegal i'll not
conforming to the Stature. This action
makes test case at once, and seems ut
least to leave the Republicans the only
alternative of insisting that their own
law is unconstitutional, or else con-
ceding that the vote of New York shall
be cast for General Hancock.
The ballots which were cast through
out the State for the Hancock electors
were furnished by, the State Commits
tee, and in every particular complied
with the requirements or directions OF
the law of 1850. 1t is likewise unde-
Unable that ballots issued and cast in
various parts of the State for Garfield
electors did not comply; with these re-
-quirements, but are, on the other
hand, in direct violation of the law in
short, Illegal ballots, made illegal by
statute enacted by the Republicans
The emse4vess.i The law requires that
the ballots shall have caption" as
both the Democratic and Republican
ballots for electors had; but it further
presoribes certain. things that ballots
shall not have, and this part is just as
mandatory as the provisions i'll regard
to what the ballot shall have Among
the things which the Legislature at
the last session decreed the ballot
should not contain is, that they shall
be without any impression, mark OF
device, or other peculiarity whatsoever
upon or, about them, to distinguish one
from another in appearance. The Re.
publicans violated this provision of the
law by printing the. Garfiald ballot.
with device in order to distinguish
them from the. Hancock ballots. The
design of this print on the back of the
| ticket was made apparent at the vari.
| Gus polling places throughout the
I'State-it was used in direct violation
I'Of the law. and for the very purpos,
which the statute was enacted To pre-
vent. The law was passed in order Il
| preserve the secret Of the ballot and Il
prevent any person from knowing 10y
the appearance of the ballot how cit
izen voted. The Republicans used th'
ballot to defeat that. purpose of the Law
and the better to carry out their intim
idatiOn. So. f.,