The San Francisco call., 1896-11-04
MANY BALLOTS MAY
NOT Be COUNTED
Were Cast With the Stub
and the Distinguish
ing Number.
The Law Said to Be Clear in
Barring Them Out of
the Count.
THE REGISTRAR IS IN DOUBT.
Is a Voter to Be Disfrauchised by
the Stupidity of the Elec-
ton Officers?
THE REGISTRAR IS IN DOUBT.

The Board of Election Commissioners
had hot session all day yesterday. The
usual tardy voter clamored like small
army at the railing asking to be certified
to the precinct offices as being o. x. ana
permitted to vote.
The early registration was responsible
for much of the trouble. Many who went
on the great register so early IN the year
had moved into some other election pre-
cinct, and, forgetting or neglechng to Sc
cure transfer on the books, found when
he presented himself at the polls that he
would not be permitted to vote. Straight
way he hastened to the Election Comm
sioners, sitting all day for the hearing OF
such cases, and told his tale of woe.
There was no incident of note interrupt
ing the business OF the board throughout
the daytime.
After the close OF the polls and when the
count began reports OF trouble at the
polling-places began to follow one another
with considerable rapidity.
First came the report from the TWen-
tieth precinct OF the Thirty fourth that
mum Der of votes had been cast there with
the stub showing the number of the vote
so that it could be identified. Protests
were Immediately filed Dy watchers
against having these votes counted, mas
much as the law distinctly states that no
distinguishing mark shall be upon the
ballot.
These ballots were held ont and re-
port made to the Registrar. He decided
at first that the voter should not be de-
prived of his vote because OF the stupidity
of the election officer and that the votes
should be counted.
1t was argued, however, that Judge
Murphy had decided otherwise, and so he
intimated that if the question was put to
him by the election officers themselves he
would tell them to throw out the ballots,
though it did not seem to him the proper
thing to do.
Following is the law in the matter:
1909. No member of the election board shall
deposit in the ballot-box any ballot from
which the slip containing the mum Der of the
ballot has not been removed by the inspector.
Reports concerning the same difficulty
came in from the Twelfth Precinct of the
Thirty-first and from the First, Second
and Third of the Thirty-fifth. 1t is said
that in these three precincts of the Thirty
fifth all ballots, up to $3.50 in the after
noon, were cast with this stub, with the
distinguishing and identifying number
upon II, so that if these few lines OF law
rule out the ballot with the number upon
it majority of the votes in these pre-
cincts will not be counted.
The Registrars Office had reason to
fume, as the night wore on to midnight,
ONcI luC very SeASId1 VI printed
instructions. Precincts by the half-dozen
only returned two packages instead of
| three. The two were necessarily sent
back. The First Precinct of the Forty
third District won distinction by sending
in only one package out of the required
three.
The Fourth Precinct of the Thirtieth
Assembly District sent in only two en-
velopes, and those who made the returns
said that two tickets had been checked
upon register. This made Chief Clerk
McGlade rub his head little, for the in
structions on this point were plain
enough.
Two or three precincts failed to return
the semi-official returns, and these had to
be sent for.
The returns from the Fourteenth Pre-
cinct of the Forty-third Assembly Dis
trict were found to be unsealed when they
arrived at the Registrars Office, and were
held to be sealed later in the presence of
election officers.
There were very few complaints last
night, for the general reason that only
the general ticket was counted, which was
straight and easy work