The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-12-20
For Ballot Reform.

The arguments presented by SeCfe-
tary Martin for ballot reform are
strong and we'll grouped His specific
objections to the present ballot laws
include % the unwieldy size of the
ballot; 90 the complex character Of
the ballot by reason of the duplication
Of columns. go the Withholding of
certificates of nomination until the last
minute allowable, thus cloggins the
Dauphin county courts; 90 the use of
defective blanks in fling certificates OF
nomination; 80 the uncertainty as to
what constitutes a legal nomination
paper; 90 the inequity OF the law as
interpreted by the court with regard to
the nomination of candidates by politi-
cal parties having no real existence
in fact 90 the lack of authority in
the secretary of the commonwealth to
refuse to file nomination papers where
a great many of the names purportinS
to be signed thereto are manifestly
fraudulent; 80 the uncertainty of the
law requiring nomination papers to be
we'll vouched for by affidavits of sign
ers (9 the filing Of unauthorized GER
tihCates of nomination and nomination
papers and 10) the uncertainty as to
whether or not a column containing
state and local tickets can be legally
put upon ballot by nomination papers.
Nest of these objections require
neither explanation nor elaboration,
but points I, = ana elicit from the
secretary of the commonwealth this
sharp though timely comment: I'm
der our present system every political
party. which at the preceding general
election pOlled onc-half of one per
centum of the total vote of the state is
entitled to nominate by certificates OF
nomination and to have a column upon
the official ballot. Nominations are
| also made by nomination papers and
| any body of citizens who can obtain
| the requisite number Of signers are
! permitted to name a state and local
| ticket and have a column on the oei-
! cial ballot. Entire state tickets have
| also been nominated and put upon the
/ official ballot for no other purpose than
| to give additional strength TO boiling
on independent organizations of u
purely local character and intended TO
he effective only in a single county.
! II this can be done in one county it
can be done in all. If it can be done
| by one set OF men in each county, 1t
| can be done by as many as are able 10
| procure the required number of sigma
lures to nomination papers and thus
unless restrained by the courts, there
would be nothing to prevent the nomi-
nation of one hundred separate tick
cts, with the same or different state
| candidates. In such an event the Of
| fetal ballot WOULD contain one hun
dred columns and be perhaps twenty
feet in length. While it is true that
such an extreme result is not at all
probable it is not impossible, and its
accomplishment in any instance should
be prevented by proper remedial legis-
lation.
"A political party, whether nominat-
ing its candidates bv certificate or
nomination paper, TO be entitled to a
name IA state ticket, which must ap-
pear in a separate column upon the
ballots voted In every county in the
| state, should in my judgment be gen
eral in scope and organization and not
confined to single county or mu'
nicipality. 1t certainly could not have
been the legislative intent that = few
men in one of the counties or cities Dt
the commonwealth, dissatisfied for any
reason with the candidates named by
the regular organizations could, by oh
tanning a few hundred signatures in
their own immediate neighborhood
nominate n complete staIe ticket and
impose upon all the other counties the
expense OF printing this ticket in a
separate column upon the official bal
lots, when the ticket was utterly with
out use or signidcance except In the
one county where II had its origin
This is unquestionably the prostitution