Los Angeles herald., 1892-08-03
PLENTY OF ROOM FOR FRAUD,
The Registration System in Use
Open to Criticism.
How the Clerks May Disfranchise
Voters by Wholesale.
Names Must Be on the Register-Certih-
Gates wall Not Be of Any Use-A
Great Opportunity for Par
tizan Clerks.

The system OF registration of the voters
of Los Angeles county now being OBJ
served by 100 deputy clerks of the
county clerks Office, is one that affords
opportunities for the Acknowledgement
of every Democratic voter in the county.
Startling as this statement may seem,
there is most substantial foundation for
it, and Democrats and Republicans
alike are beginning to kick vigorously.
In the first place, under the new Aus
tralian system of voting, if your name is
not on the GreatIR Register you cannotvote.
The defect of the present system is that
each and everyone of the 150 deputies,
who may be ward blowers and strikers, are
loaded up with an uncounted mass of
certificates, and they receive Cor cents
apiece for each name turned in. The
certificates of registration are not num-
bered, and after you have given your
name there is nothing to prevent the
deputy from tearing it up and throwingit
in the waste basket. When the voter
who has gone through the above for
mula comes to the polls he finds his
name is not on the great register, and
he is politically in the soup. He is de-
prived of the great American privilege
of suffrage. With such q haphazard
method Of scattering about the registra-
ton the gateways for fraud are swung
wide open.
The proper method of preventing
these frauds would have been for Coun-
ty Clerk Ward to have carefully counted
the registration certificates issued, and
then made the deputy produce every
one at the conclusion of his work. Ii
through error any Of the certificates
were blotted, then it should be turned
in with the unused blanks. In fact, all
of the registrations thus far made, and
they are but few, should be cancelled
and the system above suggested adopted.
Another feature in connection with
the registration is that each voter should
be required to give his full name, thus
George Washington Jones, as suggested
in the HERALD last Sunday. The name
of Henry G. Brainard was found on one
certificate of quite number similarly
transcribed, at the court house, yester-
dav, and the clerk informed the reporter
that the sc" was simply used to give
distinctive character to the signature,
and did not figure as the initial of
name. Perhaps DR.. Brainard of the
county hospital may think differently.
LACK OF UNIFORMITY.
County Clerk 7. H. Ward has ap-
pointed promiscuous lot of gentlemen
to secure the names of voters for regis
tration. Some of these deputies are
taxing names down in their little books
in one way and some in another. The
result of this lack of uniformity may
prove serious, in 30 far as the rights of
some of the voters registered are con.
cerned.
In the new law the registration of
voters is covered by section 1896 of the
political code, which provides that the
registration entry must show the follow
ing points:
l. The name at length.
2. The age, emitting fractions OF
years.
3. The height.
4. The complexion.
5. The color of eyes.
6. The color of hair.
Z. The visible marks or scars, if any,
and their locality.
8. The country of nativity.
g.. The place of residence (giving the
ward or precinct).
10. If naturalized, the time and
place OF naturalization.
IL. The date of the entry of each
person each name must be numbered
in the order of its entry.
AN ERROR IN THE SAMPLE BALLOT.
The county clerk has sent out IS
sample ballot, which, under the new
law, is the form to be voted at the cleo.
ton in November. 1t is distributed fol
the information of voters, and is mis-
leading. 1t is not a sample, inasmuch
as it is not properly printed. The mum.
Der of the ballot which appears on the
back of it, which is to correspond with
the number on the stub from which il
is taken, instead of being printed on the
outside margin, on the right hand side
beyond the perforated marks, appears
four inches to the right. AS this mum
ber is to be taken off, it would be neces
sary to tear the ballot to comply
with this requisite. In this important
particular the sample ballot is radically
wrong and misleading. The error is an
essential one, and should be corrected
at once. The new law is intricate
enough without having sample ballots
sent out that are not correct in form.
THAT COMPLEMENTARY HANDBOOK.
The board of supervisors has hat
printed at the expense of the county al
official handbook on the new election
law. It gives some valuable pointers
and is book of ffty-four pages. Tn,
county paid for the printing, and th'
county clerk, who is candidate for re
election, embraces the opportunity t,
get little free advertising. In tn,
initial page of each book is pasted nea
little card of green paper reading lik'
this:
COMPLIMENTS OF
T. H. WARD,
COUNTY CLERK Los ANGELES COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA.
III