The Somerset reporter., 1898-11-10
For the Reporter:
How to Vote.

The authors of the Australian Ballot,
so called, after displaying some ingenu-
ty in providing for the form of the
ballot, the envalled voting place, the two
check lists. ballot, election clerks and
election officers all calculated to secure
to the voter an opportunity TO vote
secretly and safely with the certainty of
having his vote counted under such re-
strictions that undue influence, intiml-
dation or bribery could not interfere
with the sacred right of suffrage, after
such display of wisdom, the aforesaid
law makers, not unlike the COW that had
given good mess of milk and kicked
it over, they came very near spelling the
whole business 10y requiring the voter TO
declare his vote by marking his ballot
with a \. The ballot he WAS required
to Y mark with its squares ut the top
and sides aud sometimes ut the bottom
looked, to some voters, like checker
board and To make his y mark In the
right place was a greater puzzle to them
than a game of checkers with only hve
minutes to play the game; some placed
their y In the wrong square, some maze
none at all, some were outside the
square, some made their y so slight that
II might be no good, some made a double
Xxx and some drew Y over the whole
business or all the tickets but one for
which they really wanted to vote. AT
every election under this method of
voting about 5000 voters In the State
have DISTINGUISHED themselves by mis-
takes In marking their ballot. Frequent
changes in the method OF marking the
ballot have only added confusion and
COMPOUNDED our courts aud lawyers and
politicians as we'll complete the farce or
| tragedy by contradictory decisions as to
what votes shall be counted after the
election officers have puzzled their intel
lects In counting the votes. Forty-five
spoiled ballots cast 10 Skowhegan at our
last election speak Ia thunder tones
against this Y mark method of voting.
| And yet many advocate In the public
press more patchwork on this method of
marking and the already complicated in
structions. Away | say with the whole
X marking business and adopt method
of voting plain, simple and certain.
Suggestion: Prepare ballot just like
that now in use with one exception only,
viz, instead of printing the party tickets
on the ballot as now done, print them on
separate slips Of paper with the party
name on. the top Of each, Republican,
Democrat, etc., having punctured line
near each end, fold the ticket length
wise and attach 1t with mucilage at each
end to the ballot sheet under the proper
party name In such manner that the
ticket may be easily removed from the
ballot sheet at the perforated Ines. Pro-
vided with this ballot the voter goes to
the booth, opens the ballot and selects
and removes his party ticket from the
ballot sheet and drops his ticket or ballot
into the ballot box, having first thrown
the discarded tickets and ballot sheet to
which they are attached into box pre-
pared behind the booth to be returned
to the secretary Of State. Can any one
tell how that man voted? Stickers
never had any use for, but every voter
has right to vote for the man Of his
choice, then let them prepare their
stickers, for example: "For sheriff,
George II. Pishon," and stick it on the
party ticket he has selected, on any
blank space, or over the party candi-
dates name for that office TO be counted,
whether name of party candidate is
erased or not.
Instructions did you ask? None are
needed, none should be given. What
votes are to he counted, do you ask
Every ballot found in the ballot box ;
selecting the ticket or ballot, voting,
counting aud declaring the vote are
simple, certain and "just as easy as roll
ing off log" Do you ask for courts,
lawyerseand politicians to declare what
votes are legal? None of those useful
members of our Republic would be
needed here. Their occupation would
be gone. L. b. BARRETT.
Canaan, Nov. 8, 1898.