Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1892-07-22
The New Ballot Law.

which reads:
Certificates of nomination Of candidates for
offices to bc filed 10y the voters Of the entire state.
or of any division larger than a county shall be-
filed with the secretary of state. For offices to- be
filled by the voters of an entire county such Ger
tihcate shall be filed in the clerks Office Of the
county in which such election is to be held For
city village or town offices such certificates shall
6e filed with the clerk of the city village or town
in which such local election is to be- held
No other provision is made as to the
place of filing certificates, and all the pro-
visions for furnishing ballots rest upon the
officers with whom they are filed. The
certificates to be filed with the secretary of
state are those of nominations for governor.
lieutcnant-governor, state treasurer. secre-
tary of state, state auditor, presidential
electors. and members of Congress. Those
to be filed with the county clerk are those
for county judges. senators. states attor-
ncys, sheriff, high-bailff, and county com
missioner. Those to bc filed with city.
town and village clerks are those of mayor.
etc, of cities, the moderatorS, clerks. select
men, etc, Of towns and the trustees, etc.
Of villages, whose population exceeds four
thousand.
But Judges Of probate, justices of the
peace, and representatives in the general
assembly are to be- elected. Judges of pro
bate are elected by the frecmen of their re-
spective districts. Six of the twenty dis
tricts are each composed of entire counties.
The Office of Judge in each is to bc filled
by the voters of the entire county, and ac-
cordng to this ballot law certificates OF
nomination for those should he filed with
the county clerks. But the other fourteen
districts are each composed of parts of a
county; the certificates of nomination for
Judges in those districts do not come with
in the provisions for filing with the county
clerks and no provision is made for filing
them anywhere. Consequently no one ap-
pears to be authorized or required to pro
vide any official ballots for them.
Justices of the peace are county officers
and until 1850 were elected by the general
assembly, but are now elected in certain
numbers by the freemen of their respective
towns. As their offices are not to be filled
by voters of entire counties certificates are
not to be filed with the county clerks: and
a, they are not town officers, not with
town clerks; and they are situated in this
respect like the judges OF probate.
Representatives in the general assembly
are elected under the constitution which
provides:
section Nth. The house of representatives of
the trrcmeu Of thi, state shall consist of persons
most noted for wisdom aud virtue, tu be- chosen
uy ballot hl the lrrrmcu OF every town iu this
state respectively un the first Tuesday ot S.p
temhrr annually forever
by amendment annually has been
changed to biennially. These persons so
chosen are officers of the state; together
they make the whole Of the house of rep
resentatiyes. As said by Blackstone of the
English House of Commons: Every
member, though chosen by one particular
district, when elected and returned serves
for the whole realm. For the end of his
coming thither is not particular but gen
eral; not barely to advantage his constitu-
ents, but the common wealth. The town
representatives receive their credentials
from the presiding officer of the meetings
at which they are chosen; their election is
not required to be recorded in the town
clerks offices; they are not paid by, and
do not, in any respect, act for, their respec-
tive towns as such, and are not town Off
GERS. Those chosen by the cities likewise
are not city officers. Their offices are not
to be filled by the voters of the entire
state; nor by the voters of an entire county:
nor are they town or city officers: there
fore certificates of nomination for them are
not to be filed with the secretary of state.
county clerks, or town clerks; and no pro-
vision is made for filing them anywhere,
or for official ballots for them.
That law provides in section 30 that:
''No ballot without the official endorsement
shall except as herein otherwise provided,
be allowed to he deposited in the ballot
box, and none but ballots provided in ac-
cordance with the provisions of this act
shall be counted" The constitution pro-
vides in the declaration of rights: "Article
Sth. That all elections ought to be free"
in the frame of governments "Secton 34th.
All elections, whether by the people or the
legislature, shall be free and voluntary"
and in the amendments: "Article II.
Judges of probate shall be elected by the
freemen of their respective probate dis
tricts." "Article Is. Justices of the
peace shall be elected by the freemen of
their respective towns"
Whenever any act of the legislature reads
differently from the constitution the act is
to be left and the constitution followed BY
the constitution the freemen of every town
have right, without the aid of any statute,
to meet, without even any official warn
ing, on the first Tuesday of September, at
the usual hour and place of holding such
meetings, if there are such, and, if not, at
any hour and place agreed upon, and elect
a presiding officer and choose a representa-
tive in the general assembly They also
have the right, in the same manner TO
elect justices of the peace, and vote for
judges of probate, This provision of that
law cannot stand, if intended to, in the
way of these rights. An election of Off
GERS for which all but official ballots are pro-
hibited, and none of those can be provided,
would not i'm any fair sense be free. Nom
/ nations might not and frequently are not,
made for representatives and justices; and
certificates of nomination for them might
not be filed if they were included in it, and
no provision is made for blank ballots in