The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-11-01
Are You Registereda If Not; Read
This

This.
IF YOU are not registered, you have an
opportunity to correct the omission to-
morrow. The requirements OF the law
on the subject are set forth in the oook
of obstruction Relative to the Duties
of ofHcers and Voters" issued by the
Secretary of State, as follows
On Saturday, next 5tv pr of GIBBONS 5ne f eren1
eight o'clock in the forenoon until hVe
O'clock in the afternoon, the County
Board of Elections shall sit at its once
names have been Improperly OF maj
yertently omitted from the registers, 70
have their names added thereto
any such application, the Coun5y Boaru,
on proper evidence, satisfying them that
the applicant is entitled TO vote, may
give a certificate to that effect, when
may be presented by the applicant to
the proper district board. Such district
board shall receive and file the eertilcate,
add the name of such applicant TO the
registry and allow him to vote No name
shall be added to the registry after the
last registration day., except upon the
fhe presentation of a certificate of re-
moval of a voter from one election as
trict to another.
This statement is founded upon Section
IA of Chapter 1888 of the Laws of 1885.
1t affords relief in a limited number OF
cases from the gross wrong of the per-
sonal registry required by other por-
lions of that statute.
The office of the County Board of Elec-
tions is in the Court House. Tomorrow
is the day prescribed in the law for
the hearing of applications. The hours
are from s A. NJ. to 5 P. NJ, and we are
informed that the Democratic County
Committee will nave counsel on hand to
see that every applicant get its rights.
1t viii be observed above hat the law
requires the applicant to furnish proof to
satisfy the Board hat he is a qualified
voter. Therefore, every applicant had
better bring with him some person who
can swear to his identity and his resi-
dence for the past year, the more promi-
nent the witness, the better, for then
there will be less chance of his evidence
being rejected.
whether the applications of persons
who lave not made an effort to register
will be considered remains to be seen.
Some claim that a man must prove he
was absent from the city or sick in
bed on all three days of registry, in or
: der to get relief. This view hardly seems
to make any allowance for the meaning
of the word 4sinadvertence.' But the
Board of this county has had doubts as
to whether that word is the statute, ex-
tended to inadvertence on the part of
the citizen himself, or only to the error
of the district board. They wrote to
the Attorney General for an opinion ON
the subject, and they received an an
swer which does not afford a direct rul-
ing upon the point, though it was prob
ably intended to favor the widest adj
vantage to the voter. This opinion was
as follows
That part of the law which you cite
expressly provides that in case the name
of any legal voter in any election pre-
einet or district IT. has eff pe 4be lm Tasiofry ,s or
he may apply to the County Board of
Elections for the purpose of having his
name placed upon the registry list, and
IIG
nlication to them for that purpose, and
npon proper evidence satisfying them that
such person is a legal voter entitled To
vote at any such election, may give
the certificate to that effect.
These words are so plain that it, is
impossible for me to understand what
doubt can arise in regard to their con.
struetion. The object Of the section
seems to be to abolish the jurisdiction
Of the Court of Common Pleas IN this
matter and substitute the County Board
of Elections in its place. The authority
is expressly given to the Board to order
names of legal voters improperly or IN
advertently left off the registry list to be
added thereto.
In all probability, the Board will ac-
cept this as an instruction to register
all qualified applicants, regardless of the
nature of the inadvertencc by which they
were omitted. The Democratic members
will certainly interpret the law that way,
and in view Of the scandals which have
already resulted from the elaborate Re-
publican acknowledgements scheme, the
two Republican members will hardly
dare to deadlock the Board.
Anyway, It is not the part Of the
.wronged voter to assume that any diff