The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-10-28
The Ides OF November.

i.
WASHINGTON, October 25.-The Pres
idential election Of Tuesday, Novem Der
s, will be held under conditions which
nave never before prevailed, and which
will render the official count matter OF
difficulty and unusual delay. Since the
last Presidential contest almost every
State, which had not then adopted the
Australian ballot system, has, by state
enactment, prescribed some form Of se-
crer blanket ballot, either based on the
Australian plan or closely resem bling 1t.
The only exceptions are Georgia, Louisi-
ana, North Carolina and South arolina.
In the drst three States named the old
open ballot system prevails and the elec-
rion machinery is in the handB OF the
State authorities. In South Carolina there
IS what is called q 'sRsfUrm ballot" the
ayowed purpose Of which is to restrict
the votes OF illiterate negroes. In nearly
all the oIbor Stsie es blanket ballots will
be cast, and in many of them the count
will be- compllca ed by the fact that State,
Legislative aud county nominations are
all printed on the same ballot with the
names of Presidential electors. Connec-
ticut has an envelope system and New
Jersey prints each party ticket upon q
separate ballot
should the election be in any way close
it is therefore quite possible that 1t may
0e t1enty-four hours or even forty eight
hours after the polls ara closed before the
result is known with absolute certainty.
In States like Nebraska, for instance,
where, according to conservative opinion
there may not be q margin OF 5000 v"tee
either way, 1t will ps impossible TO arrive
at correct judgment until all the back
counties are heard from The polls in the
cities Close at 4 p. NJ, those in the coun-
Try districts Keep open until q, and with
Governor, Legislature and county Off.
,,ers to elect, ali in one ballot, 1t will take
III least twentysfour heurs to complete
the count. Some idea Of the general trend
OF votes in Ohio can pro baby be obra'ned
from the result of the counties in which
Iincinnsti and Cleveland 8re respectively
situated, and these results will probably
90 known comparatively early. The re-
suit Of the State, II 10 anticipated, will go
pretty much as It has done in previous
Presidential years. rhe doubtful points
are Hamilton and Cuyahogo Counties.
Chicago will control Illinois. There
will be no doubt of the outcome when the
vote Of Cook County is recorued. But in
ether doubtful States, li-s Indiana, Mich
igan and Kansas where State and legis-
lative tickets also complicate the ballots,
there will probably be no keynote from
which the result can be definitely deter.
mined on Tuesday night, unless the elec-
tion should prove a landslide. In that
case midnight may give close idea who
are the victors aud who are the vanquish-
cd. Otherwise there may be many hours
of anxious suspense. The last two Presi-
dental elections have been siDgularly
free from uncertainty. It was known at
10 p. n. on election day in 1888 hat Mr..
Harrison mac defeated MIR. Cleveland, and
It was known with equal certainty at II
.. N. on election day In 1892 that Mr..
Cleveland had defeated Mr.. Harrison.
But in the election Of 1884, when Mr..
Cleveland defeated Mr.. Blaine, the nnclsl
result hung in doubt over the vote Of New
York for days.
The fusion tickets will add further
element of difficulty in the Presidential
count this year.
Fusion has been arranged between the
Populists and the Demo ocrsts on the elec.
toral ticket In every Democratic State but
Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Ala
bama, Florida and Texas. In several Of
the Southern States, while thcre has been
no formal fusion between the Republi-
cans and Populists on State Legislatures
and Cougressmep, local arrangements
have been made that amountto fusion and
will have more or less to do with tho re-
suit.