The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-10-29
Clear Statement of the Law by Attor-
ney-GeneraI ketcham When Asked
for an Official Opinion.
Mr.. GOWDY'S VIEW OPPOSED
REPLY TO QUESTION FROM ELEC-
TION COMMISSIONER HAWKINS.
BY This Construction Votes the
POpuIist Ticket for Fusion Cam
didates Are Effective.

The lawyers of the Republican party
| and those who are not lawyers as we'll
| very generally disagree with the instruc-
| tons sent out by Chairman Gowdy of the
| Republican State committee, that fusion
| candidates should be credited with votes
| they receive upon different tickets as
| though the votes were cast for different
mer. Yesterday r. o. Hawkins. Repub-
| lican member of the State Board of Elec-
| ton Commissioners, was flooded with in
| quiries from Republican inspectors for a
construction of the law. In order to get
something that would definitely settle the
question for the purpose of answering
these inquiries, Mr.. Hawkins asked Attor-
ney- general Ketcham for construction OF
the law, sending him the following note or
inquiry:
THE following communication has been
received by certain officers of election iii
this county, and has also been published
in the newspapers OF this city, to-wit:
Dear Sir-The Australian ballot law was
intended to give to each voter the right to
cast one untrammeled ballot ard to have it
fairly counted. Because of fusion between
the Democrats and Populsts in Indiana
candidates for elector in the several districts
in the State appear the ballot under
both the rooster and plow-the Democratic
and PopuliSt emblemS respectively. 1t is
clearly the intention of the law that the
name of a candidate shall not appear upon
the DdllOC more tndn once. we urgently
request that you instruct the Republican
inspectors and judges to refuse to count the
votes under the Democratic and PopulisI
emblemS together In other words, the
votes cast for the candidate under the Pop-
ulist emblem should be counted as the to-
tai vote for the PoQuist candidate. and the
votes under the Democratic Cmble m should
be counted as the total vote for the Dem
ocratic candidate. The total should not ag-
" Instruct your inspectors and judges to
firmly refuse to add the total votes to-
gether in any event under the Populist
and Democratic emblems. Yours truly,
"'(signedo JOHN K. .G GSoW9DY.
81 as a member of the State Board of
by several persons who have been APP
pointed to act as election inspectors, to
as such inspectors, shall follow the instruc
tons contained in the said communication.
Believing that the opinion Mons, OF the AttoS,
control the question, rather than mine,
respectfully ask that you furnish me with
your opinion as to whether the said commu-
nioation correctly states the law, and
whether under the election law inspectors
and election officers should follow the in
structionS contained in the said commune
cation.
This was signed by Mr.. Hawkins as men,
Der Of the State Board of Election Commits.
sioners.
ATTORNEY GENERALS REPLY.
Mr. Ketcham sent the following reply:
Dear Sir-Answering your inquiry as to
the duty of election boards In canvassing
votes i beg to say that in my opinion
where a board finds votes cast for partic-
ular candidate, it is bound to canvass and
report all votes legally cast for him no mat
ter under what party name or designation
the name appears
ITO lake an extrere case, II a candldats
was named upon each of the seven tickets
appearing upon the State ballot 1t would
be the right of the candidate, although
there no opposition to him at all, to
have all the votes that he has received
credited to him, and it would be the duty
of the election board to ,aggregate, all OF
such votes, and to fail to do so would clear
ly be q violation of their official duty.
1.-THE object of election laws Is to ascer-
tain in n proper and legal manner who OF
all of the candidates have received the
largest number of votes, and whenever any
candidate has received the largest number
OF votes he is entitled to the office without
reference TO the source from which those
votes or any portion of them came.
| because he is a. Republican. Democrat or
Popuist. but because he has received OF
failed to receive the largest number or
votes cast for that particular oft1ce. Inc
designation upon the ballot of the differ
ent parties and the different devices Is sire
ply a method of aiding the people In Vot-
ing, and is not a method nor should it be
made an excuse for depriving any candl-
| date of any vote that may be cast Tor MN
under any designation or device Whatever
CHAIRMAN MARTINS MANIFESTO.
Chairman Martin last evening issued a
long manifesto to Popocratic precinct COM
mitteemen, quoting various sections or the
| election laws and demonstrating that all
votes cast for a candidate must be aggre-
gated and so credited to him. The docu-
| lnent was prepared by Leon O. Bailey and
after discussing the sections of the law
bearing upon the certiication of the vote,
states the following conclusions
1T appears then from the law that ID
ii is the duty Of each precinct election
board in It's certificate to certify the ag-
gregate vote for each candidate; 90 it is
the duty of the county canvassing board
to aggregate the precinct totals Tor the
whole county and to show in its certificate
the entire number of votes cast for each
person in such county and t3) II is the
duty of the clerk of the Circuit Court to
certify these aggregates, and 1t is a clear.
| if not a criminal, violation of the law for
any of these officers to refuse to thus per-
| form their plain duty in this behalf.