The Portland daily press., 1889-11-05
The secret Ballot Experiment.

So far as this country is concerned the
first thorough test on a large scale of Sc
cret ballot modelled on the Australian Sys-
tenn will be had in Massachusetts today.
The Connecticut ballot at the recent election
though secret lacked many of the safeguards
of the Australian system, and can hardly be
considered test of that system. In Mou-
tana large illiterate population and pecu-
liar facilities for intimidation created con-
dit:on of things different from what exists in
the great majority of Northern States, SO
that it is not possible to infer from the man.
ner in which the Australian system worked
there how it will work in States where the
condition Of things Is different. In several
Western cities the system has been tried,
but the number of candidates on the tickets
have been few, and marking the ballot has
been comparatively easy compared with
what it would have been had there been
large number of names on the ticket. Mas
sachusetts, therefore, is the first State to
make thorough test of the system under
what may he called normal conditions
While the aim of the Australian system is
to prevent bribery and intimidation at the
polls, it is not expected that it will be COM
pletely successful. 1t is important to bear
this in mind, because the enemies of the sys-
tenn will set up the test of complete suppress
sion-an utterly unfair test-and then if they
find case of bribery or intimidation will
claim that the system has not prevented
bribery or intimidation and is therefore
failure. What the friends of the system ex-
pect 1t Will do Is to greatly diminish both of
these evil practices. But they do not ex-
pect 10 extinguish them entirely. 1t must be
perfectly Obvious to evee sane man that an
absolutely secret ballot must make it more
difficult to bride men and to intimidate men
than is the case where the ballot is open.
Men who buy votes do not want to pay
their money until the votes are deliy-
cred Under thc,present system of voting
they have the means Of knowing whether
the votes are delivered or not. With an abb
solutejy secret ballot they have no means ex-
cept the word of the seller, which is good for
nothing. Nothing could be clearer than that
less votes will be bought and paid for when
the ballot is secret than when it is open. In
order to intlmidate man into voting a GER
tain ticket 1t is necessary to be able to
ascertain how he actually does VOTE
Ii A says to B "Unless you vote certain
ticket will discharge you from my employ"
1t is obvious enough that the potency of AS
threat depends on his ability to discover how
b votes. Inability to discover that depryes
the threat of all effect A secret ballot must
therefore necessarily check intimidation.
No actual trial is needed, therefore, to show
that an absolutely secret ballot will diminish
bribery and intimidation. 1t cannot posi-
bly, be otherwise. The only test needed is
test of the machinery devised to secure the
secret ballot to see if it is effective in this
direction and. does not do mischief in any
other.
Now this is what is to be tested in Massa-
chusetts today. 1t may turn out that the
machinery does not secure an absolutely Sc
cret ballot. 1t may be that the ingenuity of
bribers and intimidators may be able to cir
| cumvent it to some extent. 1t may be that
the marking of the ballot will be attended
with difficulties which the illiterate voters
cannot surmount and therefore some inius-
tice may be done them. But failures of this
| kind will not in the least affect the principle
of secret ballot. They will show simply
that the machinery needed modification.