The Worcester spy., 1899-01-11
In the Arrangements of
Voting Lists.

When the committee on legislative
matters of the city council holds its
next meeting, the principal business
viii be the consideration of a commu
nication from the registrars of voters
?, Which was referred to the committee
at Monday evenings meeting of the city
council.
The communication is a request that
Mayor Rufus B. Dodge, Jr., petition the
legislature for an act to change the
arrangement of the voting lists from
the alphabetical order as they are now
arranged, to a list by streets.
\ The plan has many things to COM
mend it Experience has shown that
election and caucus officers can handle
The voting lists more easily than under
the present system. 1t Is easier to find
a number when the numbers are ar
ranged in order than a name even when
In alphabetical order Maybe the great
est argument in favor is the smaller
cost of making out the lists and print
ing Them. Under the present system
every name is followed by the name of
the street on which the voter lives, so
that the name of the street appears as
sEs on it.
Under the new system the name of the
street will appear but once, and that at
the head of the listA combination could
he effected with the assessors when
they make out their precinct books
which would assist materially in max
ang out the voting lists, and would also
help the political parties. The precinct
DOCKS are now made out by streets.
fhe numbers running down the left col
omn Placing a dash before the
name Of voter and leaving other as
SeSsed persons unmarked, would sim
plify matters for the registrars and po-
iitical parties
The proposed change was established
IN Boston, few years ago, and there
Is no better recommendation for its
adoption than the following statement
from Linus e. Pearson, chairman of the
board of election commissioners of Bos-
ton, to man in Worcester interested
in the matter:
'In reply to yours of the 9th inst,
relating to the voting lists arranged by
streets, | would say that the change
from the alphabetical order to streets
= was adopted for Boston in 1S1e, under
the law requiring a new general regis
tration, and the new arrangement gave
such general satisfaction. both to the
election officers and to the public, tina;
legislation was asked for on the follow
ing year to compel its adoption in the
future
AT first it was thought that the. e,ec-
tlon officers would not be able to find
the names of the voters as readily as
by the alphabetical lists, but this has
not proved to be the case as the streets
are arranged in alphabetical order. and
there are so few in number in any one
precinct, together with the fact that
the numbers of the houses are so ar
ranged numerically, make it possible
for the election officers to ind the
/. /. names, and the public to vote as fast
as they did under the old system
One of the principal advantages of
The street plan is the convenience in
handling by The public, and this is
especially appreciated by those who
B, are. actively engaged in politics. We
also lind that it is much more convent
ent in making up the first list. TO fol
low the assessors by streets, and that
the system in this particular tcnds to
greater accuracy than the alphabetical
plan.
), 1t is also claimed, and 1 think with
some degree of truth, that the ar
rangement by streets prevents to
certain extent false registration in as
much as it directs the attention of Vot-
ers to the localities where they are
acquainted. and this is especially true
in cases where there is an undue num-
Der registered from one house, which
fact might never be noticed if the
names were scattered over the lists in
alphabetical order.
The book form is also convenient in
many other ways, particularly in
transmitting to and from the polls. as
they can be placed in the cancelling
ooX or the box in which the ballots are
returned, so that taken altogether We
consider the street plan very much of
an Improvement and in every way pre-
ferable to the old style used in other
cities. Respectfully
Linus e. Pearson, Chairman"