St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-15
DIVIDING THE CITY.
Tho Business of the Council Committee
on Election Precincts.
IT is A RATHER MIXED MESS,
Owing to Provisions Of the General
Is Election Law and City Charter
ioi Amendments.

5The committee of the city council ap-
pointed at the last meeting to fix the
boundaries of election districts and
polling places will meet at the city hall
this afternoon at O'clock. Just what
rights the committee has and what it
will do is not exactly clear to any one.
City Attorney Murray was busy all day
yesterday trying to place an interpreta-
ton OH the laws.
which was approved Feb. 16, 1887, re-
dividing the city into eleven wards;
providing for the election of one alder
man from each ward and six aldermen
at large, and fixing the term of office
of all city officials at two years, Begin
ming on the first Tuesday in June after
the general election, which is to be held
biennially. on the first Tuesday
in May. In this act the new First,
Second, Third. Fourth, Fifth, Sixth,
Seventh, Eighth and Ninth wards are
divided into election districts and the
boundaries of election districts are fixed
by the act. Each ward is divided into
three election districts, except the
Fourth, which has four, and the Eighth,
which has four, making total of thirty
two districts in the first nine wards. In
relation to election districts for the
Tenth and Eleventh wards, the act reads:
''The common council shall, by two
thirds vote of all the members elect
thereof, before the first Tuesday of
April, A. D., 1887, fix and determine
the election districts in the Tenth and
Eleventh wards herein described"
After dealing with the election dis
trictS In the above manner, the act
concludes with this: provided, how.
ever, that the common council may,
by twO-thirds vote OF the members
elect thereof, re-divide any of the
wards herein described into election
districts, each of which shall not con-
tain more than 500 resident electors.
MIXED WITH A GENERAL. LAW.
After the passage of that act, the
legislature passed the election law
introduced by Senator Whiteman,
which was approved March s, 1887,
trict in any incorporated city shall con-
tain more than 400 voters, and when
ever an election district is found by
the number of votes there cast at any
election, to contain more than 400
voters, it shall be the duty of the
common council to cause such dis
tricts, at least six weeks before the
next ensuing general election. to be
divided into two OF more districts,
each containing as near as may
me an equal number of voters"
The law provides that when
the boundaries of election districts are
fixed, they shall be published by map
or description to be kept open for pub
lie inspection in the Office of the city
clerk, and by posting copies of such map
mr. icn TN, ne liz
places in each district.
AT the election in 1886 there were
thirty-Seven election districts in the
city, and the number of voters was
about $4,000. 1t is reasonable to sup
pose that the vote will be increased to
at least $4,000 this year, giving an aver
age of over 600 voters to each district as
defined in the legislative act. Corpora
ton Attorney Murray has considered all
these conditions and will present them
at sthe meeting of the Commissioners
this afternoon. The commissioners will
first have to define the boundaries of
election districts for the Tenth
and Eleventh wards, which include
Hamline,. Merriam Park and st. An
theny Park. After that it is the priv
ilege OF the committee to re-fiyide the
districts in the other wards fixed by the
legislature to make them conform with
the law, fixing the limit of voters in any
one district at 400. The committees
work must be approved by two-thirds
vote of the council. 1t is probable that
each alderman will be allowed to fix the
boundaries of districts within the terri
tory which he represents. The publ
cation of maps and descriptions of the
districts is considerable and costly
job of itself, and will require good
deal of time. Under the new law, if
the vote this spring does not show the
judgment of the committee to be- good,
the districts will have to be re-diVided
and all the work done over again for
NEXT Fall