Evening journal., 1899-01-10
FOR BALLOT REFORM.
Thomas E. Coursey's Earnest
Appeal.
TO BE PRESENTED ON THURSDAY

okdll .1oIItoDOltQahGt ENtnlik J04AiAAts
Dover, Jan. 10.-Thomas B. Coursey,
OF near Frederica, an earnest advocate
OF purity Of the ballot. sends to every
session Of the General Assembly an
address on ballot reform This session |
is to be no exception He has pre-
pared. and will present en- Thursday o.
Friday of this week, the following ad- /
dress:
To 2 the Honorable Members of the |
HouEe Of Representatives Assem-
bled at Dover
Mr.. Speaker and Gentlemen OF the !
House of Representatives: According |
to provision in the new Constitution, !
your session will be short being limit /
ed to sixty days. l therefore deem it |
advisable to thus early call your atten- |
ton to what / consider a needed
change in the present Ballot law. II
would have beel pleased to address
you in person, and would do so if / re-
sided in Dover, bu1 in consequence oil
age and senEitivenegs 70 Charge Of
weather il seems advisable 4. re.~'i-
indoors most of the time during Win
ter. ! therefore respectfully ask your
permission to address you by letter and
request your consideration of a few
suggestions relative to a change in the
Bullet law for this state.
| had the honor of a hearing before
the Legislature a few years ago and
wss permitted TO exhibit my voting
screen, and express my views relative
10 the best mode OF suppress!ng hri-
berry or at least reducing Il, at the
polls. The screen was to cover the
window where the votes were received,
with door at one end for entrance
and one at the other end for exit. maxi
ing an absolutely secret baEot. / at the
same time advocated booths placed
about a hundred feet from the pol
room, one Of the booths to be occupied
by a ticket distributor whoee duty
should be to give ticketB Of all parties
TO every voter that called for them,
who, alter receiving them, retired to
one Of the booths and selected the
ticket he wished to vote, leaving all
others in a receptacle placed there to
receive them, take his place in the line
pass q rough the screen and vote as
fast as the clerks could record the
names; guards selected By each party
should guard the booths ard see that
but one person occupied any one Of the
booths. This may seem hard on the il
hterate voter, but that Is his m.sfor-
tune (if you open the door 10 admit
anyone to change his ticket you open
the door Of bribery. Had the last
Le2islature embodied these above pro
visions in their bin | think the COVER
nor would have signed IT,
The blanket ballot should be abol-
ished 1t is complicated, confusing.
cumberscme and expensive. Ii has
been a source of trouble to the election
officers and in some cases a cause of
contest and perhaps injustice to ecme
OF the candidates at the last election:
and something wouse at the previous
election, being injustice by wholesale
and is very expensive.
In order to make the voting mcre
stmpatied, less confusing and greater
certainty of the voter voting inte.ri-
gently for those he may wish to vote
for, and removing all the trouble from
the election officers caused by the
blanket ballot, and make II much Ices
difficult to make up correct returns
and greatly reduce the expense,
would respectfully suggest to your hon.
orable body, that you have drafted ant
PASS a bill requiring the clerk Of the
peace or some other officer to provide
paper in al least three colOrs sufficient
for t.Cktls for the entire state. Say
yellcw for the Democrat tickets, rec
or hrowR for Republican, blue for Pro
hibitiOn-st, with an ample supply o
the cheapect kind Of envelopes % as {,
allow one to each vcte-, wll.ch VII b.
necessary to make his ballot secre.
This would be much cheaper than th'
blanket ballet Having the voters pac
through Ihe polling room is asubstitut
for the screen and answers the purpOs
all right, If there are doors for en-
trance 10 and exit from the room. th
booths inside are all right for the blan
ket baEot,and MAY answer just as We
for seplrate tickets.
1t should be the duty Of the c.erk @
the peace for each county to have th
tickets printed in sufficient quanVtie
for the respective coundes, and
ehuum be the duty Of the inspectors t
hate tickets Of all parties having car
didates to be voted for pue IN package
and placed in the booths BY this al
rangement an illiierate vcteT havin
'hcen instructed in the colors may selet
tho ticket representing the party wit
which he affiliates, and need not plaC
blot on it, or stamp It in the wron
Pace 90 as to have his vote throw
out, as has heen done with the blank'
ha@ot. AN that the voter has to do
10 setet his ballet Place it in an oI
vei0pe and hand Il to the inspectO
and II all voted straight tickets the
could be voted faster than the clerl
could record them. BY this arrang
ment the man that could not read b
ticket would be compelled to vote
straight, that is his misfortune ar
cannot be remedied without openir
the door to bribery. Each candida
should be required to provide sticke
for his friends who wieh to vote Z
him. even the man that cannot re.
might be instructed to vote for h
friend by counting the names dow
say to John Smith and sticking JOl
PrOwn's name over it, John smith al
John Brown being opposite candidat,
Tue above system would be p;ai
cheap. expeditions and as free fro
III. Il