Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-25
Is CALCULATED TO MISLEAD
Secretary Porter Sends Out a Questionable
Certificate to County Clerks.
FUSION CANDIDATES FIRST ON BALLOT
Law Gives Party Polling Highest Vote
Mt Lust General Election First
Place for Its Cnndi-
u dates on ballots.

The certificate OF the secretary OF state
showing the nominees OF the various par
ties for state Offices has been received at
the Office of County Clerk Haverly. This
certificate Is sent out under the statutes for
the information of county clerks and to
enable them to properly place the names Of
candidates for state offices upon the official
ballot, as the duty Of having the ballots
printed falls upon the county clerk Of each
county. AS this certificate is intended
solely for the direction Of county clerks and
to secure a uniform and proper ballot, the
usual course for any one but scheming
populist official would naturally be to send
out one that complied with the law in all
It's requirements.
A glance at the certificate sent out this
year by Secretary Porter shows that 1t was
prepared and formulated with the purpose
OF misleading county clerks into the prepa-
ration OF official ballots that do not conform
to the law in order that the fusion state
ticket might reap an advantage therefrom.
The form set up in Secretary Porter's GER
tificate is as follows:
JUDGE OF THE SUPREME COURT,
Name. Vote for One.
silas A. Holcomb.... Democrat: i....,. ]
)Siver Rep.
Manoah B. Reese. Republican. ......... |
....... .""...................... I
The placing Of the fusion candidate first
upon the certificate is evidently prompted
by the hope that county clerks will follow
the sample furnished by the secretary with
out reference to the section of the statutes
which directs otherwise, and should atten-
tion not be called to the law in that respect
many county clerks would doubtless be led
Into error by this certificate.
Section 140 of the general election law
providing for the form of the official ballot
says: Every ballot shall contain the
name of every candidate whose nomination
for any Office specified in the ballot has
been certified or filed according to the pro-
visions of this act, and no other names, the
names of candidates to be arranged as fol-
lows: The party polling the highest num-
ber OF votes at the last general election for
the head of the ticket shall have the right
of its nominee Immediately beneath
the name of the office for
which such candidate was nominated;
the party polling the second highest num-
ber of votes shall have the second place;
the party polling the third highest number
shall have third place, and SO on, leaving
those candidates whose names appear upon
said ballot by petition to appear beneath all
other candidates placed there by nomina-
ton"
The law further provides for the leaving
of blank space beneath the names of al
of the candidates in which a voter may reg.
lister his choice by writing in name.
The certificate OF the secretary of state
also places the names OF the fusion candi
dates for regents of the university first upor
the ballot, followed respectively by the re
publican and prohibition candidates. Inas.
much as the secretary of state has sup
Iii
to certify the names of candidates in nomi
nation, with the dotted lines and voting
squares provided for by the law, it is cas-!
to see that he has intended this certiicat,
as an official suggestion of the form Of th'
official ballot While the republican candi
date was defeated in the last state elec
tion, it was by combination of parties, anC
there is no way of determining the relativ
strength of either OF the three parties tina
formed the combination. No sane man will
contend that either of the three fusion par
ties cast higher number of votes than di
the republican parry. Without question th
republican nominees should come first upol
the official ballot. The form prescribed b
the statute so places them, and in the blanke
ballot used last year they were so disposed
1t need hardly be said that this smpl
and guleess ruse will not mislead tn
county clerk of Douglas county, who viii
have the ballot printed according to law
with the names of the republican candidate
leading the rest.
Intelligence from Lincoln indicates tina
steps will be instituted there to correct thi
certificate through a resort to the court
unless Secretary Porter shall acknowledg
his mistake and consent to correct it volun
tarily.
Referendum Mandnmus Case.
John o. Yeiser's mandamus suit to com
pei the city clerk to submit to vote at tn
coming election the question OF the adoptio
ae .l,.. rasorondmna svstem of ynting Is hang