The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-10
SOLDIERS VOTING.

1t is very early in the war and a good
while before an election to be discussing
the subject of soldiers voting, yet the mat
ter is receiving some attention. bill has
been introduced in the House of Repre-
senta1ives and will probably pass, authoriz-
ing volunteers in the field to vote in con-
Sressional elections and in this State it is
suggested that provision should be made
for their voting in the state election Under
our present Constitution that could only be
done by their coming home The Constitu-
ton, after defining the qualifications of vot-
ers, says that a qualified voter shall be en-
titled to vote in the township or precinct
where he may reside" Under this pro-
vision it would be very difficult to devise
any plan by which a soldier in the field
could cast his vote or express his choice
in way that could be construed as voting
in the township or precinct of his residence.
The theory of the law is that every legal
voter is entitled to vote somewhere, but
when the Constitution expressly says that
the vote shall be cast in the township or
precinct of the voters residence it must
be obeyed Congress can provide for SOL
diers voting in a congressional election but
only the States can control state elections
In those States which have the Australian
ballot law, all the Northern States have,
it would be found difficult to comply with
that in any measure for soldiers voting,
but in this State the Constitution is an in
superable barrier.
The question is not as important now as
1t was during the civil war, when the polit-
ical issues were far more vital and the
number of soldiers in the field many times
greater. When our present regiments are
recruited to their maximum there will be
about $500 men from Indiana in the field,
Of whom probably not more than two-thirds
are. voters. AS these are divided in politics
it is evident that the soldier vote in this
war VIII not be a large factor. During the
civil war the State furnished, all told, up
wards of 100000 men. The constitutional
provision already referred to was in force
then, so that Indiana soldiers could not
true in the States of Massachusetts, Rhode
f! Island New Jersey, Delaware, Illinois and
California. Thirteen States allowed their
| soldiers to vote in the field, and the army
| vote of these thirteen States in 1864 was 49,
SG for Lincoln and SO, 74S for Mcclellan. A
| great many Indiana soldiers came home TO
vote that year but many did not. The total
vote of the State in the presidential cleo
| ton of 1864 was 2SO.655 as against .272 143 in
! 1880 The small increase in the vote in four
| years shows that the loss in the soldier vote
| was considerable
The right of every qualified citizen to vote
| is sacred one, and under ordinary circum-
stances should be strictly guaranteed and
protected, but this cannot always be done
in time of war. In the midst of arms, says
a legal MAXIM the laws are silent The
same is true to some extent of political
functions. The introduction of political
issues in an army is not desirable. 1t
might prove disastrous to let thousands of
men go home to vote on a given day. and
the most elaborate arrangement for taking
a vote in the field might be unavoidably
broken up at the last moment by an attack
of the enemy or an order to advance Final
Iy, the present war is likely to be so short
that it hardly seems worth while to dis
cuss the question of soldiers voting when
the next election will not occur for several
months.