The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-11-26
THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT IN
MASSACHUSETTS.

The Springfield Republican pronounces
the Australian ballot system, as tested in
Massachusetts, for the first time on last
tionable success. /" That is the verdict"
it says, "of all sorts and conditions of
men except the vote peddlers and poll
deal hangers-on." 1t entirely disap-
pointed all those who make a trade of
politics; the party worker" found him
self altogether unable to thrust his ballot
into the voters hand watch him until he
handed it in at the window. The over
seers of factories who nave been in the
habit of standing at the polls and check
ing off the names of the workmen and
operatives to see that they voted the ticket
that had been handed them were con-
spicuous by their absence. The voter
took the ticket printed by the State, en-
tered the room provided for him, secretly
put his mark against names of the can
didateS he preferred, folded it also in
secret, handed it to the judges and went
his way, no man knowing, not even the
Judges themselves, for whom he had cast
his vote. The process of voting went on
like clockwork, one man only entering
the room at the time, and the precincts
were so arranged as to give the oppor-
tunity for every man to at his ease. 1t
has proven to be by the tests applied to it
the perfection of voting. Gail manner
of evils and discomforts of election" says
the Republican, disappear in the use of
this system. There are no possible frauds
of deceiving tickets headed republican
and cunningly concealing democratic
nominations, or vice versa. Without the
voluntary co operation of voters. there
can be no selling out no combines, no
deals such as did so much in New York
toward electing Harrison and Hill last
fall-none of these things is possible. The
independent voter does not have to hunt
for pastors or cut out names from n
ballot to stick upon another. The voting
places are not Uttered with torn and
trampled tickets, and the absence OF the
workers contributes freedom from pools
of tobacco spittle on the floor and from
rum-laden air" It was thought that it
would require not less than two trials of
the law to educate the voters to that point
when they would take kindly to the new
order of things, but the distribution of
sample ballots before the election and the
clear instructions given as to the method
OIL Young 0udUF0U 0dCn VOU0T 10 dCQudluC
himself with his duties and to exercise
them as if he had never voted any other
way. The only assistance required was
for those who, by blindness or other
physical disability, were unable to mark
their ballots, and of these the number was
very few. "The speed of voting differed
considerably with the precincts. In the
South Boston wards in those at the North
End the voting was slow because of the
number of laboring voters. Many Of those
used the sample marked ballot furnished
by the city committee as a guide in mark
ing the official ballot. No objection was
made to this. Though the law prescribes
that no one shall occupy a compartment
more than ten minutes, no one was called
out so long as no other voters were wait
ing. Some cases were noted where
twenty minutes was consumed in prepar-
ing the ballot. In the Back Bay precincts
two minutes was the average time. In
one precinct in Lowell 269 ballots were
cast in one hour" The experience gained
at the late election will serve hereafter as
a guide with respect to the average num-
Der of votes that can be cast in an hour,
and the number of voting places will be
regulated thereby. At this election every
privileged voter got in his vote, and the
same report of the success of the system
is coming in from the counties as we'll as
from the cities. -Baltmo, e Sun.