The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1895-05-15
Of life, liberty aud property and the
nursnit of happiness"

Of life, liberty aud property and the
pursuit of happiness"
1t is not my intention at this time
to state in detail the requirements
and effects of each section OF SAID
registration law. but simply the
result that | reach after a careful
scrutiny Of them all, aided as | have
been by the exhaustive analysis OF
the same made by counsel. ! find
no warrant in the Constitution for the
certificate required by the registra-
ton law to be issued TO the voter,
the production of Which is required
at the polls or his vote is to be re
iected. This is not registration
which is simply the entering on the
books or lists of voters of the names
of those qualified under the Constl,
tuition to vote, but it is an additional
requirement to those mentioned in
the organic law, not intended, am
constrained to believe, to facilitat'
the full, free and legal expression !.
those entitled to exercise the right OF
suffrage. Such requirement is I'm,
reasonable, burdensome and harass-
ing and clearly it impedes and
abridges the right Of the constitu,
tional voters of the State to cast
their ballots. The additional require
ment that the voter moving from n
place to another in the same pre-
cinct must surrender his old and
secure a new certificate is without
reason and vexatious, while the
mode prescribed for securing a re-
newal thereof in case of loss, is so
cumbersome and peculiarly stringent
that it likely ful6ls its object in de-
terring the ordinary voter from max
ing the effort. The registration Of
voters closes on the lst day Of July
preceding a generel election, which
is held in November following What
possible reason is there for this I'M
reasonable course !? During the four
months preceding an election, the
period voters generally devote to the
examination of questions then to be
determined, and to the placing OF
their names on the voting lists when
such lists are required-it is utterly
impossible for any duly qualified
voter to have his name registered,
and necessarily results in depriving
many of them of the right of suf-
frage. The only parties permitted to
register during the four months pre-
ceding the election are those be-
coming Of age during the period,
provided they furnish satisfactory
proof. The Constitution says that
the citizen who shall have been a
resident of the State for one year
and of the county in which he offers
to vote for sixty days next preceding
any election shall be entitled 70 vote
at such election, and yet he is pro-
hib;.ed BY this requirement from so
doing. He has completed his one
years residence after the first day OF
July, but he cannot register because
the books are closed, and he cannot
vote because his name is not upon
the books-and there is no provision
by which he can prove to the cleo
tion officers at the polls that he is a
qualified and legal voter. This EN-
tire provision is most peculiar, with
out a precedent. and without defence
even from the advocates Of tho law.
Why the books should be closed for
months before the election and kept
open for months after it is over, to
the uniformed would be passing
strange. and yet in the light Of the
recent history of this State, and the
discussion of this cause. is easily
understood That such requirements
are rot only unreasonable but uncon,
stitutional lie shown by the following
cases Morris VS.. Powell, % Ameri-
can Law Register, $3.50; White VS.
Commissioners of Multromah County,
Is Oregon, ST Kinnees vs.. Wells
IA Mass 497 State vs.. Wells, .
Wis 308 Quin vs. State, %, Ind !,
485 !; McCaffery VS.. Queer, SO Pa !,
1O9 Green VS. Shundy, SO, n. y,
41S Munroe VS.. Collins, II Ohio,
68e People VS.. Conada, 70, \ c.,
1913; Cooley VS. Const Lin. 1853;
Attorney General VS. City of De-
troit, a n. w. Rep't 33S.
A careful examination of the regis
tration enactment of the State of
South Notwithstanding the Act
of lS94-brings me to the conclu-
sion that if a voter who was duly
qualified and entitled to register in
May and June, 1882, did not on &C
count of absence, Sickness, mad
vertence to other causes register
when the books were open in that
year, that he vas not only prevented
from v,t;np at the general election