The Topeka state journal., 1897-10-26
NEW BALLOT REGULATION.
Read This if You Want to Know
What to Do in the Booth.

w Adb 10 OO III En6 DOOkA
People who vote this fall will do so
under new conditions. The old election
law was changed in many particulars by
the last legislature and this will be the
first election under the new law.
In the first place the cross mark will
be at the right of the name to be voted
for instead of on the left as heretofore.
This will make no end of trouble for
thoughtless or ignorant voters. The man
who has been in the habit of making a
cross mark al the left of the names of
those for whom he votes WILL if he is
not careful, put the mark in the wrong
place and vote for some one he does not
wish to- The party workers are busy
instructing their followers in this partic-
ular, but it viii be a year or two before
they get used to the new system.
As far the ballot and the polling
places are concerned. this is the only
change, but there is new rule which
is designed to put a stop to the endless
chain" ballot which is supposed to have
been used at the election in Topeka two
years ago. The endless chain was in
vented to use when voters sell their fran
chise. By some means an official bal
lot is secured. This is marked as the
''heeler'' wishes it. This ballot, all ready
to go into the box, is handed to the pros
pective voter and he goes into the polling
place, receives official ballot from a
judge and rettres to his booth. Instead
of marking the ballot handed him by the
election judge he puts it in his pocket
and takes the marked ballot out and
hands it to the judge. The unmarked
ballot is given to the "heeler,'' who thus
knows that his conditions have been COM
piled with and he pays the voter the price
agreed upon.
The new law provides that when a
voter applies for a ballot his number as
it appears on the poll book must be
marked in ink on one corner of the bal
lot. After the ballot is marked in the
booth and the voter hands it back to the
judge he clips off the number with a
pair of scissors. The number is cut off
that there may be no means of iden-
tifying the man who cast the ballot. He
is given a number on the poll book, and
if the number on the ballot were not de-
stroyed it would be an easy matter to
find out for whom the man had voted.
Another change is the manner of nam
ing judges and clerks in cities of the first
class. Heretofore the commissioner of
elections has made up the election boards
and has put whom he pleased. But
under the new law the chairmen of the
various central committees name the
judges and clerks and the commissioner
has little to do with it except to make
the acts of the chairmen official.
The chairman of the party casting the
highest vote at the preceding election
names a judge and a clerk, the chairman
of the committee whose party cast the
second highest number of votes names a
judge and a clerk and the third party in
the race is allowed to name the remain
ing judge. This year the Republicans
have judge and a clerk the Demo-
Gratis have the same representation, but
the Populfsts have but one judge.
1t is supposed that the commissioner
can reject anyone who is not satisfactory,
but Commissioner Yount did not insist
upon this right. He told Chairman Cap
per of the Republican committee that he
would not consent to Captain r. NJ. Cur
tbs serving as a judge OF election in the
Fourth ward. He gave as his reason
that Captain Curtis had bet money on
the result of the election and is therefor
disqualified as voter But Chairman
Capper insisted on the appointment of
Curtis and the list which came from him
contained the name and Commissioner
Yount backed down and the name of
Captain r. NJ. Curtis appears this list
of iudges