The Forrest City times., 1892-08-26
AM ENDMENT NO. 2.
The Law on This Subject in Some Other
 States

Hon. Chas Coffin in Batesville Guard.
 It will be conceded, that, subject to the 18th amendment to the constitu- tion of the United States, each. state has the exclusive right to determine the qualifications of it's own voters.
 Acting under the right, the consti- tuition of lS74--now in force-placed the qualification of voters, as has been before mentioned, at residence in the state for one year, in the county six months, and in the township or ward thirty days for all citizens of the Uni ted States. native or naturalized, or aliens who have declared their inten- tion to become citizens according to law.
 All the states have similar require ments as to time of residence, running from three months in Maine to two years in Mississippi and Rhode Island. Registration of voters. previous to the day of election, is required ill the following named states, to-wit: Ala bama, California, Colorado, Connecti- cut. Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Miss issippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Varginia and Wyoming.
 In Georgia. registration is required in most counties by local law, and in South Dakota in few counties. In Kansas. Illinois, Missouri, New York and Tennessee registration IS required in large towns and cities. In Rhode Island, nOn-taxpayerS are required to register yearly before December 3lst.
 Registration of voters is not required in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky and Oregon. It is prohibited only in Ark ansas, Texas and West Virginia bv constitutional provision. Connecti- cut, Massachusetts and Mississippi require an educational qualifications; Connecticut, ability to read the con stitution in English and write; Mis- sissippi, to be able to read the constitu- tion or to understand it when read to him.
 Delaware requires payment of county tax after twenty-two years of age. Florida requires payment of poll tax for two years. Massachusetts requires payment of tax within two years New Hampshire disqualifes from vot. ing persons who, under provision of the law, are excused from paying tax at their own request. Pennsylvania requires, if tweaty-two years old or more, the payment of tax within two years.
 So it is clearly demonstrated that un- restricted voting is not allowed in any of the states. and that a tax-paying qualification is required now in three Northern and two Southern states. The right and authority to establish such qualification being beyond ques- tion, the only thing for the people of Arkansas to determine is whether they will adopt this method of encourag- ing the increase of the permanent school fund.
 The constitution sets the amount of the per-capita tax at Sl for each adult male inhabitant, and amendment No does not change that provision; il only adds the payment of ''per capita" or poll tax to the qualification of citizenship and time of residence l Let us look now to some of the pro- visions and requirements of and un- der the constitution of 1868. Article l., section l6, of that instru. ment provides: .'The right of suffrage shall be protected by laws regulating elections, and prohibiting, under ade- quate penalties, all undue influence l from bribery, tumult, or other improper conduct"
 Article VIII, section 2, provides as follows: Every male who has at tained the age of twenty-one years, and who is citizen, &c., who shall have resided in the state six months, and in the country in which he offered his vote ten days, next proceeding the election, shall be deemed qualified elector, and entitled to vote, if regis tered, unless disqualified by section l of this article"
 Under these provisions of the con. stitution the legislature of 1868 en- acted registration law, requiring the governor, every two years, to appoint with the advice and consent of the sen. ate, three persons as a board of regis tration tSee section 2270 Gantt's Di- gest), and section 3274 provides: 'eThe governor shall fill any vacancy occsf ring m any of the appointments, and
 may, in his discretion, remove any one so appointed for incompetency or other sufficient cause.n These provisions under the constitution of 1868 are cited as illustrations of the power of each state to regulate the qualifications oi | it's own electors.
 Article VIII. of the constitution as quoted above, was an amendment sub. stituted for the original article VIII. as adopted in 1868, which was very rigid in its disfranchisement of all per sons who had taken any part in tht civil war against the United States
 and was adopted ill 1873.
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