The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-11
PROTECT THE BALLOTS
PURITY
SPEED AND ACCURACY SURE.
SEVERAL. MACHINES ARE ALREADY
In USE IN DIFFERENT
STATES.
VOTER PRESSES THE BUTTON
And the Machine Does the Rest
The Automatic Locking
Principle.


a system of voting by means of bal
loting machines there would be scores
of interesting pieces Of mechanism
lately patented in this country from
which to select. Several of them would
we'll answer their purpose, and by their
use everywhere in the country there
could be no disputing the legitimacy
of the votes cast for Mckinley and
Bryan on Nov. 8. There has been a
tremendous boom in inventions Of this
class since our election of two years
ago. Inventors have evidently been
preparing for the present campaign,
but with the i'll success which inventors
usually enjoy
There is no more interesting auto
matte registering device than the vot-
ing machine of the highest type. 1t
has a mind of its own. There is no
possibility of cheating it without ex-
posing it's inner workings with cold
chiSel and hammer; and by it's Won
derfuI system of lightning calculation
it has the votes all classified and count
ed at each poll and the result ready for
the wire as soon as the last ballot is
cast In addition to these advantages
the voter may cast his entire ballot.
even q split ticket in less time than
1t takes to purchase as many cents
worth of chewing gum from vending
machine. The wages paid to corps
of counting clerks can be saved by the
state or by the organization bearing
the expense.
One of the most interesting Of these
patented devices is the very recent in
- TynIf t7n
voter, unaccompanied, enters the booth,
the floor of which automatically drops
q short space the second he places his
foot upon it. The only interior furni-
ture Is standing desk, through slot
in the surface of which is exposed a
single blank line on a continuous bal
lot sheet The voter simply stamps
his choice of the candidates upon this
line and in the appropriate columns.
He promptly makes his exit, and In
doing this takes his feet of the pedal
floor Relieved of the weight, the floor
automatically raises, thereby operating
q set Of levers, which moves the tally
roll up one space, to be filed in by the
next voter. At the same time the
number Of the voter is recorded by an
automatic counter inside.
Entering the booth patented lately
by a Brooklyn man, the voter sees
upon the wall before him a collection
of push buttons, each labeled with the
name of different candidate. To vote
for any candidate he merely pushes
the button bearing his name. He looks
through the collection, arranged in
groups, according to Offices, and Sc
lects his choice of each. At the same
time a register, like that on a bicycle
cyclometer, keeps tally for each knob
and notes how many votes have been
cast by it's means. A dishonest voter
may push each button of his choice
a number Of times He may come out
with the depraved satisfaction that he
has done as much voting as a score or
more Of honest men. But the machine
is not so unsophisticated as he is. Any
voter, even by mistake, is unable to
vote twice for the same candidate, or
even for two men running for the same
office and on different tickets. AS soon
as he presses a button, he locks 1t
against further working and at the
same time locks all of the other but
tons in the same group. AS the voter
leaves the booth an official attending
the uOOl IIldulpuIdlSS d lever, WHICH re-
turns the whole mechanism to It's nor
NAL position, ready for the next voter.
After all Of the votes have been cast,
or during the progress Of the election,
when a test is desired, the result up to
that time may be recorded by slipping
a card into an opening, the score be-
ing automatically printed upon it.
Some months ago a Rochester man
patented a booth which Is bound to
afford privacy to the voter. At one
corner is built large cylindrical door,
resembling tall drum. 1t revo1ves
upon ball bearings at the ceiling and
floor An opening leading into the cyl
inder is brought to exactly coincide
with a gate leading to the open air.
Stepping inside the cylindrical door,
the voter. by means Of a handle. re-
wolves it upon its bearings until the
opening in question comedies with an
other door leading to the voting space
inside. The voter steps out and casts
his vote by means of one of the modern
devices described. When finished he
enters the cylindrical door again and
continues to revolve 1t in the original
direction until It's opening comedies
with third door provided as an exit
The attendant thereupon moves the
cylinder door one-third Of a revolution
more, until its door and the entrance
gate are again on line ready for the
next voter This connects with an au-
tomato register, which keeps account
of the number of voters. It will not
register more than one number with
out the cylinders being revolved once
intermediately The cylinder revolves
only in one direction. By this means
1t is impossible for the voter to be dis.
turbed while In the booth, since he
himself has control of the only pos.
sible means of entrance.
The ball system of voting is SO fal
improved by a California pattentee as
to become applicable to political cleo
tons. Before entering the booth the
voter is handed a tray which resem.
bles a folding slate on the exterior
While inside he opens the tray. fas
tened into the under side of which are
a number of small balls or marbles
corresponding with number Of Offices
TO be voted for. On the same surface
are as many columns of round holes
as there are competing parties Tn,
names Of the party is placed at the tor
of each column, and at the side of eacf
hole is printed the name of a candi
date. The voter takes the balls. on.
at a time, and inserts them into tn,
holes corresponding to his choice O.
candidates. He then shuts and fas
tens the lid of the tray and emerge,
from the booth. He hands the tray
still closed, to an inspector, who, open
ing it, fasteas it by means of clamps
upon the top Of a specially constructe,
ballot box. According to the name
IN rulainh fha trotr ifs the tor. re -