New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-06-07
POPULAR ELECTIONS,
THE STEADY GROWTH OF INTEREST
IN STATE ELECTIONS.

~ n 'oLdtc tAN INdIlOIlct1 LleCClOnS-I00
Percentage of Voters to the Population
Greater In the Country.
A comparison of the election returns
at the end Of the last century, about the
time of the adoption Of the constitution
of the United States, with the returns
for the last presidential election, shows
how widely the suffrage has extended in
the United States. In Massachusetts,,
between ITS and 1894, the proportion of
votes cast to the population varied from
to per cent. In several counties Of
the state of New Y ork there were cast at
the election Of 1892 almost one-third as
many Votes as there were inhabitants
1t is the habit of many people to take
it for granted that the earlier institu-
! lions of the United States were more
, democratic than the present ones, and
that the tendency Of these times is to
put the political power III the hands Of
few men and to take it away from the
multitude. No slch theory is horne out
by the election returns At one Of the
most hotly contested elections in Virgin
ia, when Chief Justice NIarshall's father
was a candidate for membership in the
house OF b;;ryesses. Or what would cor
respond to asSemhlyman here. there was
only one vote cast to every 10 inhabit-
ants. a ratio smaller than that cast in
any county in this state for a great many
years. There was a property qualifca-
ton for electors in this contest, and it
was frequently the case that the voting,
instead Of being by secret ballot. was
viva vOcc. There were 50 few electors
that they would all come together on
election day, ana their names would be
cal!ei. every man naming his choice.
With ell the talk about the large vote
of the city Of New. Y-or!; and the power
Of il maj Oritin, 70 settle the result in the
state, It IS SOiH@W hat contradictory that
he election figures should show that
New York has the smallest ratio of voters
to Observation-Disclosures than half as large as
the ratio III many ct the rural countess
Brooklyn comes next and Buffalo third.
Throughout the state it is general that
the Democratic counties cast fewer votes
to the number Ct their inhabitants than
the Republican counties. In New York
the number Of inhabitants to each voter
is $50, in Kings 5.95 and in Erie 5.O6,
while in Cortlandt and Otsego the ratio
is 3.11 to !; 3.16 in Yates, 3.35 in Gene
see, 1888 in Delaware, 3.35 in Allegany,
3.26 in Madison, 3.37 in Ontario, 3.22 in
St. Lawrence. This shows ratio twice
as large in New York and almost twice
as large in Brooklyn and Buffalo as in
the rural counties.
! There are two main reasons to account
for this. One is the difference in the
election laws in the cities and in the
counties, and the other is the difference
IN the character Of the population. 1t
cannot be Il difference in politics, for
ScNoharie, one e the few rural Demo-
cratic counties. shows Il ratio Of 3. 10, and
Greene. another Democratic county. has
IL ratio ot 3.;,U. IIr percentage Of voters
is lower ID fAr cities than III the rural
districts. Til" l':u counties Of Schencc-
tady and s5clloIi;lriu are Democratic and
CONTIGUOUS. SHhOilHrie IS q purely agri-
cultural county, while a great part Of
the population Of Schenectady county is
i'll Schenectady, which is 4 tiOuriShing
little city. Schenectady has 5000 more
population than ;5choharie, but it casts
several hundred fewer votes, and there is
u difference OF /, third in their ratios.
One reason for the high ratios in New
York, Brooklyn and Buffalo is the large
number of aliens in those cities. The
aliens count i'll the population, but they
do not count in the number of voters.
Aoonr1i,, t,,+ ~, "
population is one-fourth alien, and the
ratio in Buffalo is almost as high.
Another thing is the difference in elec-
ton laws. In the cities a man has to 90
to the polling place twice to vote-once
to register and once to cast his ballot. In
the country he has to go only once and
that time to vote. His name may be put
Oh the registration list by his friends.
4 comparison of these returns with the
election returns at the time of the Revo-
lutlonaTy war and the adoption of the
constitution shows that political inter-
est Is increasing every year. and that the
percentage Of those who participate in
elections is also increasing. In Massa-
chusetts toward the close Of the last cen
fury, when discussions respecting the
federal constitution We're going On and
when there had been an actual rebellion
III one part Of the state, not over rer
cent Of the population voted, although
the census Of those days shows that about
three times that percentage of men were
entitled to vote. In New York state at
the last election the census and registrar
lions lists We're almost identical in many
districts, and there We're some districts
where there We're more votes cast than
the census showed Of residents III the dis
trict ii the spring WREN the census was
taken
It. may be that to the rich men and
men engrossed in the management Of
large business affairs politics and politi-
cal matters are not relatively SO impor-
tant as they were when the United States
began, but a comparison of the election
returns shows that aside from the WIDEN
ing of the franchise the proportion of
those who vote is greater in this state