St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-10
MINORITY VOTING.

In view of the legislative apportion-
ment that the incoming lawmakers will
have an opportunity and be expected to
make. discussion is arising over the
propriety of introducing the minority
system of representation. The North
western Labor Union recently pre-
scented the subject and insisted upon
the favorable action of the legislature.
Other papers are discussing the matter
and endeavoring to frame some compre-
hensible scheme. The Labor Union
says:
Among the matters that ought to engage
the attention of the Minnesota legislature at
its coming session is law which will give
us in this state system of minority repre-
sentation. As our legislative bodies are now
elected, and especially with three or four
parties in the field, there are almost half of
our citizens who have no representation in
the lawmaking bodies.
1t illustrates the present method by
the recent election of legislative candi-
dates in Hennepin county. There were
$4,000 votes, the Democrats having 15,-
600, the Republicans $4,000, Alliance
5000 and Prohibition 5000. 1t is i'm
material as to the exact figures or the
parties. The point is that the $4,000
voters get all but two of the twenty-one
members of the legislature. With 5000
less than majority Of the entire vote
one party has nineteen members and
the rest but two. Had single Iegisla-
tive district covered the county, the 49,
600 Democrats might have had all the
twenty-one legislators and left not one
for the 1000 opposition. There is moth
ing peculiar in this situation. PIurali-
ties usually take the fruits where the
majority vote i'll attachments. Minori-
ties are not likely to have any consd-
cradle representation as rule, and it
does not affect the situation if there are
several mlnorities. In the present con-
greSS the Democrats have no one of the
five members from this state, al
though they gave their cand dates
about 10000 out of 100000 votes.
There have been number of
attempts to relieve in a measure
the apparent inequity of no represen-
tatlon for the minority. Theorists have
presented various schemes, but tney
nave not often had much chance for
experiment. In the enabling act pro-
viding for the admission of the Dakotas
it was provided that each district should
nave three members, but no one could
vote Tor more than two This was an
attempt at minority representation, but
was not acceptable to the partisan ele-
ments in control there, and they made
confusion of it. Lin Pennsylvania coun-
ty commissioners are elected on this
plan. and it seems to give satisfaction.
1t is not remembered that it has any,
where been applied to the election of
members of the legislature, and proba-
bly, has objections that will make it un
acceptable. No precise method is inai-
Gated by those who are urging action by
the legislature in the direction of
minority representation. Illinois has
had for near twenty years a method in
operation for applying the principle to
the larger branch of the legislature.
The state is divided into fifty-one dis
trictS for legislative purposes, the coun-
ty lines being preserved in nearly all
cases. Each of these districts is enti-
tied to one senator and three repre-
sentatlves, making the senate consist of
81 members. and the house 153. The
senators are elected by majority vote. as
usual: but in voting for the three rep-
resentatives. the voter can divide his
three votes as he sees fit. He can give
them all to one man, one and a half to
two, two to one candidate and one to
another, or one each to three men. In
practice the minority, if not large
enough to try to elect two men, gives
all its votes to one man. and the tnain~