The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-10-31
THE BALLOT.
How to Prepare 1t According TO Law
Voters should Carefully Read
What FOllOwa.

W. CAuAly bCdu
What Follows.
Secretary of State Lesueur in re-
Spouse to numerous inquiries gives
out the following:
Under the Australian Ballot Law
it is made the duty of the County
Clerks and the Election Commission
ers to prepare andfurnish to the voters
the ballots which they are 10 deposit
in the boxes on election day. No
others can be used. These ballots are
large sheets of white paper which
must be printed, in seperate groups,
the tickets of various parties, or such
tickets as may be nominated by cleo
tors who in numbers do not constitute
political parties.
Four constitutional amendments are
to be voted on. The character of
each amendment will. under the law.
be designated on the ballot. The
voter, in order to have his vote count
ed upOnthese amendments. must erase
as the case may be. the words yes"
or no" to conform the ballot to the
vote he desires to cast on the propo-
sition voted on.
On the election day each qualified
NOlCl nal pC CLIlllCu ~ eHlcE luc
polling place and to receive from the
judges OF election one ballot. upon
which shall have been placed the mi
tials of two of the judges of election,
and no other writing shall be permit
ted upon the back of the ballot except
the number of the ballot. The voter
then retires to a booth alone, remain
ing not more than five minutes. to
prepare his ballot. In doing this he
should particularly remember that he
must vote upon m of the groups or
tickets. In other words. he must, by
drawing one or two lines through
them from top to bottom, erase all the
groups except one, and if he desires
to vote for other persons who are in
other groups he must do SO by ross
ing out names and substituting others
for them in writing under the erasures
all upon n ofthe groups or tickets.
He cannot, for instance, vote for
electors on one ticket and State and
county officers on another ticket. He
must do all his voting upon n ticket,
under one head. If he undertakes to
vote for some names by leaving them
unmarked upon one group and other
hbihSo III "a I'LL way upou uAOblCi
group his ballot must under the law
be rejected as illegal.
After preparing his ballot the voter
must fold the same so that the face
thereof shall be concealed and so that
the initial of the judges previously
placed upon the back of the ballot
may be seen. He must then deposit
his VI te and forthwith leave the poll
ing place.
Any erasures the voter desires to
make on the ticket he wishes to vote
should be by horizontal and not per-
pendicular lines, as the law says
ia partial erasure of a group by
ines l~engthwise of the column, or in
any other than by the erasure
of a name to substitute another to be
taken as a rejection of the whole
group"
If a voter shall by accident or mis-
take spoil his ballot he may return
the spoiled ballot to the judges of
election and receive another in place
thereof. ~
Any voter who declares under oath
to the judges of election that he can
not read or write. or that by reason
of physical disability he is unable TO
mark his ballot, may declare his
choice of candidates to the judges
having charge of the ballots. who, in
the presence of the voter, without
leaving their respective positions,
shall prepare the ballot for voting
according to his instructions.
REMEMBER.
Erase all the groups except the one
upon which you desire to vote.
On constitutional amendments ras
the words Eyes" or No according
to how you desire to vote.
Make no perpendicular lines on the
ticket which you desire to vote.