Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1891-01-03
THE CHRONICLE AND THE BALLOT
SYSTEM,

and indeed glad, to remove any doubts
any may have concerning the ballot re-
form system, where such doubts have
basis Of misinformation, and are sincerely
entertained. 1t is willing, for at least
once, to concede that the San Francisco
Chronicle may honestly believe that the
first and only opportunity the voter will
have of seeing the names of all the candi-
dates contesting is when he enters the
secret booth, aid that within the few
minutes he is allotted its use, he must Sc
lect, say, fifty from among, say, 800 candi-
dates. This is the burden of the Chronicles
last complaint, and while it is based upon
false premises, we cannot withhold our
establishment that the paper with the
means it has for ascertaining the truth
should be content to stumble along in
error. After alleging that voter cannot
enter the booth and out of six tickets
printed side by side, of fifty names each,
pick out and mark fifty within the ten
minutes that may be allotted, that jour
nal says, at is manifestly impossible that
he should make anything like deliberate
choice" The Chronicle adds:
No voter can possibly be acquainted with the
whole 500 persons named on the ballot. Under
our system, when the various tickets may be
had at least one day before the election, the
ment deliberately, but under the RECORD
UNIONS system he is confronted with an official
ballot. with no chance to make inquiries about
candidates, and no time II he had the chance
and required to prepare and cast his ballot, or
leave the polling-place to make room for some
body else.
would vote the straight party ticks because he
could do nothing else. That independence on
which SO much stress is properly laid would be
weighing and delibeFatis9 wonla tb oa
voter to vote his party ticket straight or not to
vote at all Instead of there being 80 per cent.
of scratched votes, as at the recent election,
there would not be per cent, and individual
lty, which now is the rule in voting, would be
the very infrequent exception.
How simple statement shall clear
away all these clouds and remove the
faintest possibility of doubt. It is true
that the voter does not see the official bal
lot until he enters the booth-that is to
say, the identical one he is to mark. But
not one of the reform laws fail to provide
that the registry of candidates shall be
public; that the official lists of candidates
shall be posted conspicuously at the polls;
some require the official lists to be adver-
tised in the press. So, too, some provide,
as if urging it, that political parties may
print copies of the lists and post them
about the polls. Precisely every avenue
now open to party or to candidate for in
forming the voters concerning the election
and the candidates remains open under the
new system. In short there is no reason
whatever under the reform system why
the voter may not select whom he will
vote for before he enters the polling booth,
and as matter of fac! that was done in
Massachusetts, and Indiana and New York
in the late elections to such an extent that
it was very rare for any voter to occupy
the polling booth to the time-limit of the
law.
Against such facts the Chronicles objec-
tons must tail. our contemporary really
gives up the battle, however. since it de-
clares it to be its conviction that the APP
preaching Legislature will adopt some one
of the modified Australian systems, but
adds that it will not hesitate to point out
the defects Of all that are considered. To
that there can be no sort of objection.
Wherever there is error we trust it will
be pointed out. The truth is all that is
wanted. At the same time the RECORD
UNION undertakes in advance to satisfac.
torily explain every additional mares
nest the Chronicle may discover, for it so
happens that there is not single objec-
ton of the very many that our contempt
rary has raised within year past that has
not long ago been met, accommodated,
answered or shown to proceed upon false
premise. We dislike to say it, but it is
too evident to be concealed, that our con-
temporary is ignorant of the literature of
the subject. By no other means can its
singular misstatements be accounted for,