The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-08-05
The New Ballot Law.

In another column to-day we print the
notice that the Republican State Com
mittee will shortly issue pamphlet of
instructions to each committeeman in
all the towns. From the discussions
now going on in the Vermont press it is
necessary that this should be done no
doubt, but as for the town and village of
Bennington, that have each had two
elections under the new law, we are
looking complacently on. We are rather
glad that this tempest of doubt arises
in the minds of the small towns, for it
was by their votes that the Australian
ballot was transplanted to the Green
Mountain soil-there had been so much
corruption, you know, in Bennington
County! Well, the law is not so great a
bugbear to carry out as some would
think. The small towns will be obliged
to solemnly erect booths to prevent the
16 or IS voters in each from buying each
others ballots, and the tickets will have
to be printed even for town represent
ative and justices of the peace. This
will introduce printing into some $50
towns that have hitherto been strangers
to the art, so far as tickets for town
nominations are concerned. For these
reasons as well as others that might be
named, we agree with the Middlebury
Register when it says in recent num-
ber: "The things needful for stirring
up the voters of the State and bringing
them out in September is live issue. 1t
is furnished by the Australian ballot
law enacted two years ago. The law is
complicated, expensive to administer
and utterly uncalled for and useless so
far as the great majority of the voters
,,,I 70, Of fba "a 70
If there are towns cursed with voters so
lost to their duties as citizens that they
require the multitudinous safegards pro
vided in the Botany Bay system, by all
means let them have it.; but that is no
reason for imposing the thing on the
rest of the State, who don't want and
don't require anything better than the
old, simple plan of voting that served for
hundred years, more or less, well
enough. 1t will cost the voters of the
State 500 to vote by the new method
this year, and that sum will practically
be thrown away. If Rutland, Burlington
and few of the larger towns aren't able
to vote honestly as they used TO vote, the
legislature will no doubt give them such
law as they desire; but it is the height
of absurdity for the great bulk of the
towns of Vermont to be bothered with
the law as it now stands. The idea of
the 10 voters of Glastonbury, or the Is of
Baltimore, or the 25 of ST. George, or the
IL of Somerset erecting booth and
going through with all the motions inn
posed upon them by the new law is
utterly ridiculous. Not over a dozen
places in the State require any such
machinery, and it is doubtful whether
there is any real reason for it in them"
Meantime the Free Press quotes Sec
retary of State Brownell as follows:
''From the communications received at
this office, it would seem that many of
those having the management of the
conventions and caucuses in charge have
not carefully scrutinized these provisions
of the law. should suggest as the
better way, under all circumstances, to
get as nearly as.possible correct in
depreciation of the law, that the town