St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-17
ACME OF ABsOLUTIsM.
The Federal Election Bill to Be
Passed This Week.

WASHINGTON, June 16.-The national
election bill which was adopted by
Republican caucus and which Mr..
Lodge, of Massachusetts, has introduced
in the house, is entitled ga bill to
amend and supplement the election
laws of the United States and to pro-
vide for the more efficient enforcement
of such laws, and for other purposes"
The bill, in all probability, will be taken
up for consideration this week, and will
pass the house by party vote. The first
section of the bill provides that the
chief supervisors OF elections now in
office, their successors, and the chief
supervisors to be appointed under the
both in person and by and through the
supervisors of election who may
from time to time be appointed, with
the supervision of elections at which
representatives or delegates in congress
are voted for, with the enforcement of
the national election la ws, and with the
prevention of frauds and Irregularities
in naturalization. BY the provisions of
the bill, not only elections, but registra-
tions are to be supervised by the
Federal Supervisors.
Supervision is to be had in congress
sional district when 100 qualified voters
in city of 10000 or more inhabitants,
whether wholly within single district
or not, and in any entire district no part
of which is within city of population
named, or when fifty voters in one or
more counties or parishes, forming only
a part of congressional district, make
application to the chief supervisor of
elections for the judicial district In
which these places are situated. The
circuit judges are to appoint the super
visors of election on the recommenda-
tion of chief supervisors, and three
supervisors are to be assigned to each
voting precinct or district. In each as
signment only two Of the supervisors
are to be Of the same political party.
Elections are to be conducted accord
ing to the laws of the several states
and territories. Ballots are to
tens, first by an inspector (state or
local officer), then by federal super
visor, then by another inspector, then
by second supervisor and SO on. The
tallies, when compared, must agree
with tallies kept by hall clerks. When
the count has been completed, the in
spectors are to send certificates to the
chief supervisor for the district. The
supervisors are also to send the actual
ballots cast to the chief supervisor.
Safeguards to insure the correct GER
titicates getting to the chief supervisor
are provided for. On application of the
chief supervisor the circuit courts are
to be opened on or before the first day
of October preceding an election.
Each Judge is to appoint three persons
to serve as board of canvaSSerS for
each state within his judicial district.
Not more than two of these are
to be of the same political party.
tify the
Result of the Election
in each congressional district. They
are given power to examine all returns,
summon supervisors to testify before
them, etc. Their determinations are to
be made in triplicate and one sent to
each chief supervisor of the districts of
which the respective boards have au-
thority to act, another to the person
found elected, and the third to the clerk
of the house OF representatives at
Washington. If no person is found
duly elected certificates i'll triplicate
are to be sent to the governor of the
state, to the clerk of the house,
and to the proper chief supervisor.
| Where there are two different persons
certified as elected from any one
district, one by the state officers,
and the other by the board of canvass
ers, the clerk of the house is required,
under heavy penalty for neglect, to
place the name of the person certified
| by the board of canvassers on the roll
of the house. A large part of the bill is
devoted to prescribing heavy penalties
| TOR the punishment of bribery. fraud.
| Intimidation, failures of supervisors
and inspectors to prevent frauds. The
| laws of the several states concerning
voting are not changed, and states are
permitted to adopt the Australian sys-
tenn or any other method of voting at
any time. The appointment of special
| United States marshals to preserve
order and the payment of all United
States officers and employees concerned
under the law are also provided for.
Adopted by the Caucus.
A caucus of the Republican repre-
sentatives held in the house tonight
was devoted to the consideration Of the
new national election bill, and to out
lining a plan of concerted action for
pushing 1t through the house. The
McComas.a i-gerrymandering bill was