Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-09-19
PRECINCT REGISTERS.

The people are to be congratulated that
it has been definitely and wisely settled by
She Supervisors of Sacramento county that
precinct registers shall be prepared in ac-
cordance with the previous order of that
body. The purpose and scheme of the
law is in the interest of the purity of
elections and the inviolability of the ballot
box. The later statute that reduces pre-
cincts to an area to contain not more than
$50 voters is in the same direction and
natural, though delayed, supplement of the
precinct register idea.
1t should now be the aim of all voters to
aid the county officials to the utmost in
making the precinct registers accurate.
To this end whenever a voter removes
from a residence given when he registered
upon the Great Register, he should at once
notify the Clerk of the change, and thus
secure the proper entry of his new resi-
dence. If any one neglects to do this, and
thereby cuts himself off from voting in
November, he will have only himself to
blame. Such publicity has been and
will be given of the duty of the voter
In this respect that no one viii
be excusable for any failure that deprives
him of his vote. But if it happens that
some are cut off, it is better far that
dozen or so, or, for the matter of that that
many more lose their votes, than that the
wisely devised scheme of the law should
not be availed of, and the door for fraud
thus left invitingly open. Every reason
that exists for precinct registers in San
Francisco exists here, and no argument
can be advanced against them for either
place that is worthy of consideration.
1t must be borne in mind that the law
disfranchises 10 man through registration
On the contrary it exerts itself to secure
him his voting right, and so conserve the
sanctity of the ballot-box that his ballot
when cast shall count for the purpose and
have the influence intended by him. If,
therefore, any fail to notify the Clerk of
change of residence made prior to thirty
days next preceding the election, it will
not be the fault of the law, and hence it
lies in the mouth of no one to complain.
If one changes his residence after the
thirty days Immediately prior to the cleo
tion begins to run, he should at Its expi-
ration notify the Clerk, that in the next
election he may oe properly placed upon
the precinct register. But as voter does
not gain residence in one precinct until
he loses it in another, that is to say,
the law dees not recognize the possibility
of voter upon the great register with
out residence-he who changes residence
within the thirty days preceding election,
does not lose his former registration, and
is, for all vsting purposes, a resident of the
precinct out of which he has removed un-
til he has gained, by thirty days residence
in it, the right to vote in the precinct into
which he has removed. The voter, there
fore, who is compelled to change his resi-
dence within thirty days next before the
election, will vote in the precinct from
which he has removed. 1t will thus be
seen that no hardship of any serious char
acter can follow the adoption of the pre-
cinct register system, while its benefits are
almost Unreasonable, and will, if availed
of sincerely, all but put out of the power
of ballot-box suffers to commit frauds at
the polls. With precinct registers-to
which no man will object who desires clean
and honest elections and fair counts-citi-
zens will have 1t in their power to know
every person who comes to the polls, and
10 challenge successfully every fraudulent
vote. With but $50 voters in precinct,
and those designated by name and resi-
dence upon precinct register, the right OF
every man to vote can be easily tested, and
this very fact will deter the fraudulently
inclined from attempting to outrage the
most sacred privilege of the citizen.