The advocate., 1897-10-20
ELECTION LAW CHANGES.
BY H. W. YOUNG.

lSenaJOr young was chairman or the Senate
Elections committee which bad I'm charge the
revision Of the election law, and his statement
OF the changes made can therefore be safely
relied on.
In considering the changes made in
the Australian ballot law in chapter 129
of the laws Of 1897, as compared with
chapter 78 Of the laws Of 1898, which
the former chapter repeals, 1t will be
best to take them up as follows:
First-Changes affecting nominating
conventions of political parties and nom
nations by petition.
SecOnd-Changes affecting the voters
generally.
Thlrd-Changes affecting the action
of the Secretary of State, County Clerks
and printers.
FOurth-Changes affecting the ap,
.pointment of judges of election.
? Fifth-Changes affecting the duties of
judges of election and the compensation
of judges and clerks.
There are minor changes that do not
come under either of these heads, only
one Of which seems important enough
to require notice. That is the provision
in section l that the law shall apply in
ONOAJ PO4AJAGCLl SuUulNlOIOu ldl BCI Judu
a school district, for all elections.
CHANGES AS TO NOMINATIONS.
Under the first head we note the fact
that the times for filing nominations of
all kinds are placed ten days earlier.
For the State at large and all districts
greater than a county, nomination
papers must be filed forty days before
n1nOftOO fOYs q OOuptxr ~, JfuieiOy,
not less than thirty days before election;
and for city, not less than ten days
before election, the last date being as
in the old law.
Under the old law any bunch of men,
no matter how few, could call them
selves a political party as the gold
Democrats did last year, and get place
for their ticket on the ballot, if they
nominated it in time Now, unless a
party pOlled per cent. of the votes at
the last previous election it cannot get
place on the ballot, by nominating
convention, caucus or primary. The
same per cent. rule holds for the State
and for every county and district. A
blank column at the right of the ballot
affords a place for the members Of
party which did not poll per cent. of
the votes to write in the names of their
candidates.
In the State $500 petitioners are re-
quired to get ticket on the ballot,
where 500 used to suffice.
In counties, districts or divisions less
than State, per cent. Of the voters
must petition, to get ticket printed on
the ballot, where twenty-five were all |
that were required under the old law
CHANGES AFFECTING THE VOTER.
When it comes to the election the
voter will note few changes in the
ballot law as it applies to him. In the |
first place he will get ticket with his |
poll list number on it's upper right hand |
corner. This he might not notice at all
unless his attention is called to it,
When he gets into the booth and un-
folds his ballot on the shelf he will find
it don't hang down so far over the edge.
1t will be much smaller. Then the blank
space with it's square, under each name,
will have disappeared; and if he wants
to write the name of candidate for any
Office he will have to go over to the col
umn Of blank spaces at the right hand
side of the ballot.
The tickets on the ballot. he will, If
he is close observer, remark are more
plainly separated by double line And
the square, in which to mark the cross
that indicates his choice, is moved over
from the left of the column to the
right. This is the greatest change and
may prove confusing to some who have
got it firmly fixed in their minds that
they must mark to the left of the name
But the hand will no longer cover the