The record-union., 1897-01-02
THAT BALLOT LAW PROPOSE
TION.

Further examination of the sugges-
ton of the new Code Commission, that
voters shall be compelled to vote for
a group of Presidential Electors, or else
lose their vote, leads to the conclusion
that it is an infringement upon the in
alienable right of the citizen, and hence
is unconstitutional.
1t is proposed that at the head of each
group Of Electors there shall appear the
names of the represented candidates for
President and Vice President with their
posite one of these headings the voter
must stamp the official cross.
1t will be seen that under this scheme
the voter will be practically voting
for the political nominee for President
and Vice President, and not for men,
bers of the Electoral College, as re-
Quired by the Federal Constitution and
laws. These do not contemplate any
nominations for President and Vice
President at all. There Is neither duty
nor obligation upon Presidential Elec-
tors to vote for any particular persons
for President and Vice-President, NOM
mated by political parties; they may
go up to the college through their mes
senger, with votes cast for any qualified
citizen they may select, whether in
nomination or not. 1t follows, there
fore, that the voter must vote for the
citizens who are to be Presidential
Electors.
to the legality of any vote indicated by
marking opposite other than the names
of the Electors themselves, notwith-
standing that the proposed new law
declares that votes marked for the po-
litically designated candidates shall be
counted for the names of the Electors
hereunder. Moreover, it is the alb
solute right of every American voter
to vote for any qualified person he may
choose for Presidential Elector, wheth-
er the name is printed ON the official
ballot or not. 1t is, therefore, in de-
feat Of this right, when the Code Com
mission proposes to so fix the ballot
that the voter cannot express his will
in a blank space provided for the pur-
pose. These blanks are provided in
all other cases, and the law prescribes
that name written In shall be deemed
the expressed viii Of the voter without
any official stamp. But it is proposed
in the case of Presidential Electors that
the voters of the State shall be deprived
of this right
The proposition to permit of group
voting for Presidential Electors is a
good one, but should be so amended
that one stamp opposite the bracketed
group of names shall count for the
whole having no other names mixed
with the group whatever But there
litical designation. Nevertheless, there
should be full opportunity afforded on
the ballot, for the voter to vote against
any Elector he desires, by writing the
ie~iiiC vi sAioldiSi, Oi Wy stamping OI-
posfte part of one group Of names and
opposite part of another group. I'm
less this is done the proposition of the
Code Commission will fall by reason of
its unconstitutionality and injustice
The San Francisco EXAMINER heartp
lily approves the commissions proposed
amendment saving that 1T will n,,t a n
end to the division of the electoral vote
of the State through the carelessness
or ignorance of voters. But 1t fails to
see-which is not surprising for the
Examiner 1t viii also put an
end to the right of every voter to Sc
lect whomsoever he pleases as his can
didate for Presidential Elector, and that
1t practically eliminates the whole
Electoral College scheme so far as the
voters of this State are concerned by
voting for President d.
rect, system not adopted by the Fed
eral Government, and not likely to be |
since it Is at swords points with the |
W hole theory of our Government.
The fate Of the fifteen Texans who |
were cornered in a defile in Cuba by |