Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-03
A BLANKET BALLOT
The Size of a Newspaper Page
Will Be Voted i'm This
State Next Fall.
NAMES 1T MUST CONTAIN.
The Booths Required Will Cost Over
Two Hundred Thousand.
QUESTION OF A UNIFORM BOX.
Grounds Upon Which Judge Briggs Will
Attack the New Law.
QUESTION OF A UNIFORM BOX.
ACTION TO BE COMMENCED THIS MONTH

size OF page OF the ordinary newspaper, "
said Secretary of the Commonwealth Will
lam F. Harritv YESTERDAY afternoon, in dis
cussing the progress made by the commits
sion of State officials engaged in starting
the machinery TO work, in preparation for
the Introduction of the new system of vot-
irg under the auspices of county Officials
This commission. which is composed of
Secretary Harrity, Auditor General Nc
Camant and Secretary of Internal Affairs
Stewart, has had a number of protracted
sessions, and has very carefully considered
many knotty questions The commission
will prepare a specimen ballot, which will
he sent as soon as adopted TO the County
Commissioners and Others interested in the
printing of the official tickets
Regular Blanket Ballot.
The ballet to be voted next November
will probably be as large as anv that shall
ever he used in this State The names of
the 81 Presidenta. electors for each party,
the nominee; for Congress. including the
candi6-tes-at-large. and for Senator, Repre-
sentative and county offices, must all be
printed on one ticket In this city pro-
visions will have TO he made for space for
e.
tomev Coroner and Clerk of the Court
and for Councilmen as well. If the names
were printed one after the other on a ticket
inches wide, the ballot would probably be
wards long.
If Secretary Harritv'S suggestion shall be
adopted, the names of the Presidential cleo
tors will be grouped side by side, under the
appropriate party appellation, and the pro-
portions of the ballot. as he saws. will be
-, -,
Only Three Acceptable Booths
The commission has not vet determined
upon the style of booth for the voting
places. 1t has been practically decided that
the booths must be Of a substantial reason-
ably permanent and of convenient and
portable character. This shuts out all the
specimen makes submitted TO the commits
sion, which are fashioned wholly of wood
or Of wood and canvas.
Competition has virtually narrowed down
TO three makes One is composed all of
steel, which shuts up on the principle of
the housewives clotheshorse. This is built
by a St Louis firm. The rival bidders are
rom Marietta. Lancaster county. Pa, and
Buffalo, \. Y. There are 5000 election
precincts in the State. With an average of
five booths TO each precinct, there will be
about - coo booths required. The cost per
booth viii be about S. making a total ex-
pense of 5000 000. At least S25, 900 more
NAV be added for guard rails and other ap-
paratus. The question of whether the State
snail also provide uniform ballot box will
also have to he met. The commission has
couple Of weeks work more ahead
The Move of the Prohibitionists
Ex-Tudge Amos Briggs, counsel for the
Prohibition State and citv committees. will
probably 60 into the Supreme Court some
y h1= l.
restraining the County Commissioners of
Philadelphia from contracting anv indebt.
edness under the Baker ballot reform law.
mat Is the course Of procedure he intends |
10 take TO test the constitutionaltv of the |
new law. Judge Briggs does not propose |
10 20 before the court as counsel for the |
Prohibition party, but he will appear in |
behalf OF dozen or more taxpayers of this |
citv
NV first impression said Judge Briggs
yesterday, was that could not go into |
court before the act takes effect. which will |
he in March. Upon closer examination of |
the law find that certain parts of it are in |
iorce now. l. directs that 90 davs after its |
passage tro Auditor General. the Secretary |
of the Commonwealth. ana the Secretary Of !
Internal Affairs shall meet and select the |
character Of booth that shall be used in the |
state. That portion of the law is in force,
SO ! will not have 10 wait until March. !
when the whole act goes into effect and
becomes The law governing elections in
Pennsylvania.
Not Counsel for the Party
Now, cannot 60 into court as the rep
reSentatlrC OF political party to test the
constltutionalitv of this law for the reason |
that the Constitution does not recognize |
political parties. and | would therefore |
nave no standing in court l will go into |
court with petition signed by number of |
cItlzens ana taxpayers, praying the court to |
restrain the Mayor, who is at the head of |
the Municipality: the County Commission |
ers, wh" incur the Indebtedness under the |
law; the Controller, who approves and |
counterSlgns all warrants, and the County
treasurer, who paws the bills, from soua1-
dering their money under this law. The
supreme Court has original jurisdiction in |
such matters, and believe it will grant the
PRAYER Of the petitioners.
Il viii then claim that the Baker ballot
law Is unconstitutional for these reasons.
The NTH section of the Declaration of
lights provides that elections shall be free
anc equal, and no power, civil or military,
sha'l ar any time interfere to prevent the
Tree exercise of the right OF suffrage That
provision is within the special protection of
the twenty-siNth section of the Declaration
ol Rights, which emphasizes that, to guard
against the transgreSsions of the high
powers which We have delegated. we declare
that everything i'll this article is excepted
our o. the general power of government,
anu snail forever remain inviolate'
1t Must be Uniform Law.
section of Article VIII of the Con-
siltutloh further provides That all laws
regulatlhg the holding of elections bv the
citizens, or for the registration of electors
shall be UNIFORM throughout the State
Ihcse are the constitutional provisions. and
they renoerihe Baker Ballot Reform Law
null and VOID for the reason that it con-
filcts with item. 1t interferes with the cit
lzen, exercising the freedom of suffrage
guaranteed by the bill Of rights. and it is /,
not uniform throughout the State as re-
qulred by Section 4 of Article VIII It
gives to certain political parties. which are
not recognized by the Constitution, certain
privileges, which are denied to others
''No Legislature can draw Distinctions be-
tween electors, whether as parties or as in
dividuals. All distinctions in this conntrv
are social, and they NAV be observed Nv
an individual or not as he chooses when
q Legislature enacts a law If affects ms oII
and we have to obey it: therefore tbat isn
must affect US all alike.
Docs Not Affect al EIec,ors
at is because the new election law doas
not affect all electors in the same wav bnt
cuts them up into groups and classes. that
il cannot stand and will, 1 believe he
smashed by the Constitution. when the case
is presented to the Supreme Court This