Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-09-02
THE NEW WAY OF VOTING.

The new ballot law will be tried in Ad-
olson county for the first time at the
freemen's meetings on Tuesday next.
AS we have intimated before, the law
seems to us unnecessarily complicated
and the machinery too cumbersome but,
after all, with little care on the part of
the voters there need be no trouble.
Sample ballots will be on exhibition at
each polling place, where there will also
be cards of instructions and lists
of candidates. Any voter of ordi-
nary intelligence can in five minutes
learn from study of these how to vote.
There will be three ballots. One OF
them is Is inches long by about five
wide. 1t was printed under the direc-
ton of the county clerk. 1t contains the
names of the nominees for State, con-
gress district, county and probate dis
trict officers. The second and third bal
lots were gotten out by the town clerks.
One of them contains the names of nom-
inees for town representative the other,
those of nominees for justices of the
peace.
The mechanism of the tickets is simple.
The larger one, for instance, bears, first,
the names of Col. Fuller, Col. Smalley
and Mr.. Allen, the nominees, respective
ly, of the Republicans, the Democrats
and the Prohibitonlsts, for governor.
At the right of each name is a blank
space, and under the last of the three
names is another blank space extending
clear across the ballot. If one wishes to
vote for any of the three men named, all
he has to do is to make cross in the
blank space at the right of that mans
for any of them, but for some one else,
he should write the name of his man
under the name of the last man on the
ticket and place a cross at the right of it.
The remainder of the ticket should be
gone through with in the same way. The
town representative and the justice tick
cts are constructed on precisely the same
plan.
Following is a copy of the card of in
structions to voters that will be exhib-
tied at the polling places; this one ap-
plies only to voting for town represen-
tative and justices, but as matter of
fact the voter will receive from the bal
lot clerks as his name is checked the
three ballots mentioned above:
l. When you reach the guard rail,
speak your name and residence In "a clear
tone of voice to the ballot clerk, or give
it to him in writing. If your name is
found on the check list it will be repeated
by the person in charge of the list, and
you will be admitted insi ie the guard
rail, where the ballot clerk will give you
ballots containing the names of candidates
for town representative and justices of
the peace, and your name will be
checked.
2. Having received your ballot, go
alone into one of the booths not occupied,
and prepare your ballot by marking a
cross (X) in the space at the right of the
name of each candidate that you wish to
vote for.
3. If you wish to vote for a person
for any Office whose name is not on the
printed ballot, insert his name in the
blank space below the names of candi-
dates for that office, and make a cross
(X) at the right of the name you insert.
4. In voting for senators, make a
cross (X) at the right of t,oo candidates !;
and for assistant Judges of county
court make cross (X) at the right Of
the names of t,oo candidates.
5. When you have finished marking
your ballot, fold it with the names of the
candidates inside, and the words "Official
Ballot" and date of election outside, de-
liver it at once to the presiding officer, 90
outside the guard rail and not again
enter.
6. You must not occupy voting
booth more than .fUe minutes when other
voters are waiting to occupy it.
Z. If you spoil the first ballot given
you, return 1t to the ballot clerk, who
will give you another. If you spoil the
second ballot, return 1t to the ballot clerk,
uhn will uiva v0u a third hallOf If vou