The Norfolk weekly news., 1900-10-18
THE BALLOT IS FORMED
Secretary OF state Porter Has Certified to
Candidates To lie voted tor THIS
Fall-Form Not OniCial.

Candidates to lie Voted Tor THIS
Fall-Form Not Oniciai.
Secretary of State Porter has certified
the candidates on the electoral, state
and congressional tickets to the various
county clerks of the state with the roc.
ommendation that they may be printed
in two columns. When this is done it
will make ballot ~ inches long and II
inches wide, making the largest ballot
ever known in the state Printed in II
single column the ballot would bo 81
inches long. There are FIVE tickets for
presidential electors on the ticket, the
three fusion parties combining undor
one ticket The other four are republi
can, populist, prohibition and socialist
The certificate comes in form to
indicate q completed ballot but county
clerks are the men upon whom the re.
possibility of interpreting the election
law will fall and they are supposed to
arrange the ballot legally without regard
to MIR. Porter's arrangements which are
said to be in direct violation Of the law.
The State Journal has the following
comment ON Dthe ballot: "Mr. Porter
has placed the names of the candidates
on ticket of his own manufacture.
His form of the ballot is no guide for
county clerks, rs such officers must
comply with the election law AS Mr..
, Porter's form is in violation of the plain
sidered dangerous for an officer to copy
after it. The ballot law does not require
Mr.. Porter to place the names of the
candidates in the form of ballot, but
merely requires him to certify to county
clerks the names of all the nominees.
Mr.. Porter does not pretend that anyone
shall be required to copy from the form
set forth by him. However, many
county clerks may, through misappre-
hension of the law, accept his certiti.
cate as guide in printing the ballot.
Wherever county officer permits the
law to be violated he will probably en-.
| counter mandamus suit, and the courts
will correct errors. Notwithstanding
the decision of the district court of Ian.
caster county, Mr.. Porter has certified
| the nominees of the Grand Island con.
| vention as "mid road popullsts" instead
of "populists."
1.-The most misleading part of Mr.. Por-
| ,, ,rla 80 ha
candidates. He has placed the fusion
! candidates first. The republican candi-
dates are entitled to come first under
each heading on the ticket, as that party
| cast the largest vote for the head of the
| ticket at the last general election. AS
the fusion party is no party, ut is com
posed of three separate and distinct par
ties, the candidates representing that
conglomeration must trail in the rear.
This is one of the penalties which the
three wings Of fusion must pay for tax
ing so much pains to hold three conven-
tions and to maintain separate party or
CARNATIONS.
"The law on this point speaks plainly
of the party casting the highest num-
ber of votes at the last election, and not
the candidate 1t says: THE names
of the candidates for each Office shall be
arranged as follows; The party polling
the highest number of votes at the last
general election for the head Of the state
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 sec
ond highest number shall have the sec
Ond place and so on -