The herald., 1897-12-18
Special Election Call May
Not Be Legal
A PRIMARY MUST PREcEDE
COUNCILS ACTION ALREADY
CALLED INTO QUESTION
Another Special acknowledgements
Tests of Asphaltum-Good
Samaritan Home

It Is questionable whether the action
of the council in calling an election for
the purpose of choosing a school director
from the Seventh ward, on Feb. 10, can
be carried out legally owing to the ap-
parent necessity for a primary election
before the general election in that ward.
If the several political parties insist up
on making their nominations for this
Office by conventions a primary election
will have to be held, and if such is the
tween now and the date set for the cleo
ton to comply with the provisions of
the election laws of the state.
Section So of the primary election law,
approved March 10, 1897, is as follows:
No candidate of any political party or
organization can have his name printed
ON any ballot to be voted for as a can
didate for public office at any election in
this state unless he shall have been NOM
mated by a convention composed of dele
gates chosen as provided by this act: pro-
vided, however, that nothing in this act
shall prevent any candidate from being
nominated as provided in section 11SS of
tie POItlCdl COue, Dul SUCH UOlnlllee can
have no other designation on the ballot
than the word 'Independent;' and pro-
vided, further, that no more than one cam
date shall be nominated by one petition.
The section of the political code re-
ferred to provides that upon petition of
q certain proportion of the voters in any
ward any person eligible to an office
shall be considered nominated for that
office and that his name shall appear up
on the ballots. The manner of selecting
delegates to the conventions is very sim
pie Any voter has the privilege to vote
for any person for delegate he may de-
sire. OF course there will be a regu-
lar list of candidates for the position of
delegate presented by all parties, but the
voter may write the name of the dele
gate he desires to vote for on his ballot
and this must be counted. The primary
elections for the selection of delegates
to the conventions are to be held by all
parties on the same day and at the same
polling places and each party is to have
separate ballot box. 1t is not neces-
sary to have the full number of polling
places in each ward but there must be
at least one such place for every three
voting places at a general election.
The portion of the law which provides
for the manner in which the election Off
GERS shall be chosen may have to be ap-
piled to this election if it is discovered
that the regular form has to be complied
with in this case, and there seems now
no reason to expect otherwise. Section
8 of the election law covers this point
thus: During the month of January of
each year in which a general election
is to be held, it shall be the duty of the
election commissioners Gin this instance
the city counciD to select from the pre-
cinct registers of the city the names of
not less than fifteen electors residing in
each election precinct, such selection to
be made from each political party then
existing in as nearly an equal proper
ton as practicable; to write the names
of each elector so selected upon a sep
arate piece of paper and seal those rep
resenting each precinct in an envelope:
mark the name and number of the pre-
cinct on the envelope, the whole then to
be carefully locked in a box Twenty
days before the holding of a primary
election this box is to be opened in the |
presence of representative of the po-
litical parties and the selection of the !
election officers is then to be made by
lot.
The resolution calling an election !
must be adopted at least sixty days prior /
TO the date fixed for the election Petit /
lions asking for the calling of primary
elections must be made at least twenty !
days before the desired prinariee and |