Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-16
FULL Of INTR|CAC|ES.
Interesting Facts About the
New Election Law.
The Way Candidates and Conven-
tiOns Must Act.
Details of the Statute which Are of In.
terest to All Politicians The Diff
6culty of Avoiding Tech
Meal Errors.

ByuOpSte Ois huu CUmuueuG Ou, bn6 0IeC
tion law, which will Fl ret be in force il
November:
1t is interesting to note that unde
the amended election law, amendmen
to section 1885 OF the Political Code
approved March 20, lS9l-a convention
to legally nominate candidates for pub
lie Office, to be filled by election within
this state, must be an organized assem-
bly, OF delegates representing a political
party which, at the last election before
the holding of such convention, polled
at least per cent of the entire vote oi
the state, county, district or other DO.
litical division. for which the nomina-
tion is made" This is an important
fact to be considered by all new party
organizations, aspirants for political
honors, the members of which do not
desire to throw away their votes.
1t is OF the greatest Importance to all
political parties to bear in mind that
under the provisions OF the amendment
to section 1187 of said code, all nomina-
tions made by any such convention
cate of nomination, which must be in
writing, shall contain the name OF each
person nominated, his residence and the
Office for which he is nominated, and
shall designate the party or principle
which such convention represents. 1t
shall be signed by the chairman and
secretary Of such convention, who shall
add to their signatures their respective
places of residence, and make oath, be-
fore an officer authorized to administer
the same, that the matter stated in
such certificate is true to the best of
their knowledge and belief, and a GER
tifcate of the oath shall be annexed to
the certificate of nomination.
WHERE AND WHEN THEY MUST BE FILED.
Certificates of nomination of candi-
dates for Offices to be filled by the elect
ors of the entire state, or for members
of the state board of equalization, state
board of railroad commissioners or
house of representatives, must be filed
with the secretary of state not more
than sixty and not less than forty days
before the day fixed by law for the cleo
tion OF the persons nominated by con-
vention.
Certificates of nomination for county
officers made by convention must be
filed with the county clerk not more
than fifty nor less than thirty days be-
fore the day fixed by law for the elec-
ton. The same rule applies to filing
certificates of nomination for municipal
Offices with the city clerks.
NOMINATION BY ELECTORS.
Under the law candidate for public
office may be nominated without the
action of convention, as follows: A
certificate, stating the name OF the can
didate, his residence, the Office for
which he is nominated, and the name of
the party to which he belongs, shall be
signed by electors residing within the
district or political division for which
candidates are to be presented, equal in
number to at least five per cent of the
entire vote cast at the last preceding
election in the state, district or political
division for which the nomination is to
be made. Each signer must add to his
signature his place of residence, giving
street and number when he resides in
city. This certificate is to be verified
by the oath of one of the signers.
1t should not be lost sight of that no
certificate of nomination sh hould contain
the name of more than one candidate
for each office to be filed. No person
shall join in nomination more than one
nominee for each Office, and no person
who has voted in convention for or
against a candidate for any office shall
Join in nominating, in any manner, any
other nominee for that Office. These
latter provisions are amendments to sec
tion 1190 of the political code; which
section has also been amended, absurd
ly enough, as follows: "And no person
shall accept nomination to more than
one Office"
The above is only part of the elabor-
ate amendments made by the legislature
of 1891 to the election law of California,
and is given as being of immediate inn
portance to all political parties about to
meet in convention in this state for the
purpose of nominating candidates for Of
fee. The more one studies this election
law as amended, the more one is inn
pressed with the cumbersome elabora.
tion of it's requirements and of the all
but certainty of it's being condemned by
the general public when put into prac-
tical operation. The intricate system of
certifcation, etc., required for the legal
nomination of candidates will tax the
patience, if not the mental ability, of
the average chairman and secretary of
the average political convention, and
still leave it doubtful quantity as to
whether the nominees of the convention
have the proper legal status under the
new law. Then there are the nice
duties to be performed by the secretary
of state in regard to certifying to the
county clerk of each county the names
of each person nominated for Office and
those required of each county clerk; for
example, publishing Sin at least two
newspapers" ten days before an election,
the nominations to Office certified to
him by the secretary of state, as we'll as
those filed in his own office-one of such
publications to be made "upon the last
day upon which such newspaper is issued
before the day OF election, these require
ments, to say nothing of the multifarious
directions touching the kind, ''tints, /"
size and shape and general makeup of
the ballots, will make it difficult TO avoid
fatal error; in fact it will be kind of
legal miracle if an invalidating flaw will
not be found somewhere in the costly
and intricate system after the election is
over. If to these objections be added
the twelve descriptive points required
by the amendment to section 1896 of the
political code, to be entered by the clerk
in the Great Register, the chances of the
new election law becoming very popular
are not increased. Not only the name,
age and height of the voter, but the COM
plexion, the color Of the eyes, the color
of the hair, the visible. marks or scars, il