The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-11-30
FLAWS In THE LAW.
Much Room for Improvement
in Election System.
WHAT EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT,
Aadfser rwfehsn Rsssss Out Defects
Duplicate Nominations IN EvfI
Toe Many Ballots.

attention 60 the defects in the election Iav
and to the complicated and costly working
OF us provisions IL 10 certain that a. the
coming sess.on Of the Legislature some
radical changes viii be proposed tending
TO remove sorns of the ineongrussies and
70 generally simplify the Law.
The best informed man on the Law in
King county 10 County Auditor Frank 4
Iwfeheii. Who during bis tenure Of Office
has become so familiar with il that be 10
able TO quote page after page of the
statutes. During the recent campaign Mr.
Twieheli was beset with politicians, who
demanded that the tickets should be made
up according to their individual ideas, but
In each case the auditor pointed out the
error. If there Was one, and his rulings on
the whols we're 80 satisfactory that little
protest was offered.
large proportion Of the Law was passed
prior to 1881. while Washington was yet q
territory, and while the conditions were
radically different from what they are at
the present time. The Law was largely
amended by the act of March 10, is90.
which introduced what In known as the
Australian ballot system.
IL IA no wonder, therefors, that a law
comnosed OF fragments of the legislation
OF a. least ten different sessions should be
TO some extent inharmonious and self
conflicting. Ii may safely be assumed
that the intent and purpose OF the regis
tration and election law. and of the legis-
iation which produced it, were TO provide.
nrst, that each person entitled to vote
should have the privilege Of doing SO tree
from the espionage or influence OF any
other person; second, that each vote when
cast should be counted in 50 far as the
voters Intention could be ascertained I;
third, that the ballots should I've SO ar
ranged that the elector could and should
designate his choice thersupon without
any marx which should act as a distin-
gushing mark by which the ballot could
afterwards ne identified and the secrecy of
his vote thereby destroyed.
The evident purpose of the registration
act is to provide for the ascer.aining of
just who are the qualified electors in ineor-
porsted cities and towns and popuIous
country precincts. and for complete idsn-
tifeation OF the party registering when he
appears at she polls and offers bis vote.
The act OF March n, 1880, undertook to
cover this ground; but by an amendment
offered and Incorporated Immediately be-
fore its passage il was almost completely
unlliied. The act provided that each
elector when registering should sign his
name upon the registry book and that this
book should be st the polls IN order that
the signature OF the voter should again be
entered thereon for the purpose OF COM
parison with his original signature. The
amendment, however, provided for GER
titled copy of the registration book, which
was to be used at the polls In place of the
original. thus eliminating ali chance of
Identification of the voter by means OF his
signature Outside of this defect, the
registration law seems 10 work admirably.
The Australian ballot system, as o
whole, il very expensive. The county is
Obliged to furnish all tickets, construct
booths and ratings. the ballot provided
for is of such q nature IS to require long
time TO count up and tally the result,
thereby compelling the county TO be cut
up into small precincts and multiplying
the number of election officers and the
amount of supplies TO be furnished. 1t is
doubtful If there would have been so many
tickets in the field at the late election If
the candidates themselves had been
obliged TO pay for their own tickets.
The great defect. according to Auditor
TwicheI, Is 10 be found in the manner in
which candidates may be nominated, the
Law permitting any fifty electors 10 norni-
nate full county ticket, and on their
filing a certificate or petition TO that effect,
with the signatures Of City electors at
taehed, the auditor Is compelled TO place
this ticket upon the official ballot, as the
law expressly provides that the name of
every candidate whose name has been GER
tined 10 or fled with him in the manner
provided by law. must be placed, upon the
official ballot. Under this provision there
might have been 100 tickets nominated at
the last election, instead of eight, had 3
sufficient number of crauks taken il into
their heads TO do so.
Furthermore. there is nothing TO prevent
the name of tie same individual or candi-
date from appearing upon all of these diff
ferant tickets should the petitioners see
ht to include il I'D each certificate OF nomi-
nation. and, If so certified. the auditor has
no discretion. but must print II under the
heading designated in each certificate. In
reference 20 this detect, Mr.. Tsieheii says:
.lt would seem that much better plan
would tie 81 arrange ali the g3erent names
OF the Candidates Cor eseh oFilce under the
keadiag Of 1hat osice, with the political
designation opposite the name, and 10 pro-
vide that the name should only appear
onco upon tie ballot Under the present
system the tiekets are arranged SHE by
sd upon the official ballot WITH the
political designation at the top and
the names OF the candidates arranged
under the headings or the respective
Offices underneath this heading. This
cornpels a repetition Of the same name
upon the ballot ~ many times as there are
tickets upon which the same candidate IS
nominated. and ~ wosld seem that this
fact. together with the desire on the part
OF portion OF the voters AZ the last eiec-
tion 10 vote as many times as possible upon
the same ballot, IS responsible tor the con-
troversy nov existing rs to a neither an
electoE has . right 10 vote tor the same
candidate from two 80 SIX times upon thu
same ballot IL is easy enough 10 see that
this multiplication Of marks upon ballot
could readily be made distinguishing
mark hv which Is could aitersaFd oe iden-
iced and the exact act oi the voter deter
mined. For example see the following
aiarran showing tae ballot as she present
lau nrov1fss IL shall be. with the voter ;
wsrs after the names OF CERTAIN eaudi-
da.es and With one candidates name on
noth tickets sta the voters marx re-
u4@ted