The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-04
The Number Of states Holding Them
Growing Smaller Every Year,,

ShVWhuS Su1duuGG
From the Sun.
At the recent election in Florida for
governor, state officers and members
of the legislature, proposition was
submitted to the voters to amend the
state constitution SO as to do away
with October elections hereafter. Flor
Ida votes for governor in October now,
and the proposed amendment provides
for holding the state elections on the
same day as the general elections. Re-
ports from Florida indicate that the
amendment, which will take the Ever
glade state out of the October col
umn was adopted. by a big majority.
One by one the States that have pre-
liminary elections have been abandon
ing the practice. and it will not prob
ably be long before such elections will
have been wiped out entirely. A COM
parisOn of the long list of states which
have held such preliminary elections
with the short list OF those that retain
this almost obsolete practice of sep
arating state from national issues,
shows the progress which has been
made in making election day uniform
throughout the country. In the pres
idential year of 1872 the first election
participated i'm by all the states of
the country, substantially. after the
close of the civil war. these were some
of the dates of early elections: Ar
kansas chose state officers on the first
Monday i'm September Connecticut in
April, Indiana in October, Iowa in
October. Kentucky in August. Maine
In September. Nebraska in October.
New Hampshire in March, North Car
Olina in August. Ohio in October, Ore
gon in June, Rhode Island in May,
South Carolina in October. Pennsyl-
vania in October, Vermont in Septem-
Der, and West Virginia in October.
The territories of that date, too, had
their elections at other times than that
of the November contest, though there
were no presidential electors to be vot-
ed for by them. Colorado voted in
September, Idaho in May, Montana in
August, Washington in June, and
Wyoming in September. Texas had
what seems nowadays to be a peculiar
method of state election. 1t began on
the last day of November and lasted
four days. The voter who didn't find
1t convenient to have his political pref
erence recorded on the first or second
day could vote on the third or fourth.
A majority of the states of the Union
up to twenty years ago had prelim-
mary state elections and. as a general
rule, 1t was said. that in New Eng
land spring elections were adhered to;
in the south, midsummer elections, and
in the states Of the Ohio Valley, Octo-
Der elections. Climatic considerations
no doubt, had much to do withs this
but Pennsylvania. though an Eastern
state, remained in the October column
until the corrupt and demOralizing
Hartanft- -Buckalew contest led to q
change in the constitution. which was
adopted by the voters in the year sue.
ceeding. The list of states holding
preliminary elections now includes AL.
ALBANIA, which chooses state officers In
August; Arkansas, which votes in
August: Arkansas, which votes in
September: Florida and Georgia, which
vote in October: Louisiana, which
elects state officers in April: Maine
which votes for them in September;
Oregon, which has it's state election in
June: Rhode Island, which votes In
April, and Vermont, which elects its
governor and other officers in Sep
tember. October elections in Northern
states have now become thing of the
past, and after this year Georgia will
be the only October state left.