St. Landry democrat., 1884-04-19
Scratched Tickets.
n. o. states.

The inquiry is made in another col
umn by correspondent as to whether
voter can write out his own ticket
with the names of such candidates as
he desires to support. The question is
an interesting and important one and is
eliciting some discussion, as will be
seen by the communication of IAN Old
Citizen
Section 90 of the election law Of 1889
provides that tall the names of persons
voted for shall be printed on one ticket
or ballot of white paper, of uniform size
and quality, ito be furnished By the Sec
Rotary of State" While this is the let
ter of the law it is so palpably and
grossly violative of the plainest and
dearest constitutional rights of the cit
liens that it is unworthy of respect or
any attention, as no court in the land
will sustain it.
The right Of suffrage is the preroga-
tive of every American citizen, guaran-
teed to him by the Constitutions of the
| United States and of the State. No
legislature eau deprive him of that priv
ilege except for the causes specially
enumerated in the Constitution. 1t is
true the legislature can direct the man
ner of holding elections, but it cannot
by such regulations deprive the voter of
his right to express his preference for
the candidates in any way he may
please, by prescribing conditions for
voting which may at times be impossi-
bic to be observed.
When law, then, requires that cleo
ton tickets shall be printed, and only a
certain size and quality OF paper shall
be used for printing them, which can
only be procured from but one person
in the State, it is quite plain that this is
a restriction, and very dangerous one,
upon the right of suffrage not counte-
nanced by the constitution and not to
be tolerated by the people.
At all elections scratched tickets"
are voted, and the printed names are
frequently erased and others substitute
ed in writing. Thisi is the right of every
elector to vote for whomSoever he
pleases, whether the names be printed
on the ticket or not. 1t has even been
held that if a voter has acritteR upon his
ballot the name of candidate for
particular office, and fails to strike out
the printed name of the candidate for
that office, the qCritten name mast be
counted. This is upon the most reason
able and sensible theory that the writ
ing is the highest and best evidence of
the intention and choice of the voter.
Therefore ticket fully arritten out in
stead of being printed should and must
be received and counted as the unmis-
taxable and undoubted choice of the
voter.
The custom recently obtained here of
printing election tickets with the names
SO closely together as to prevent their
erasure or the substitution of other
names either by writing or by printed
Slips pastors" as they are called-is a
great injustice to all voters and repre-
hensible effort to compel the voting of
d certain ticket by making its alteration
difficult if not impossible. The fullest
freedom should be given to the people
to exercise their right of suffrage.
Every facility and convenience should
be provided 10 the way Of polling places
and no attempts by fraudulent or de-
ceptiye tickets should be countenanced,
by which fair expression of the popu-
lar will may be defeated. The whole
purpose of the law should be to secure
free, fair and honest elections, without
which there can be no solid or good
government: and when it fails in that
object there will be an end to the Re-
public.