Waterbury Democrat., 1901-04-04

IOssOs tOuSlSllltS OL OhC SChaiOL anu eight representatives. under a resolu- ton authorizing the investigation of the subject of voting machines and methods of ballotlng. to report at the fthen) next session of the general as- sembly. has rendered it's report.
 Under the head of ''The Present Sys- tenn" the committee says:
 'gThe present system seems to be unsatisfactory and full of defects. It Is the opinion of the commission that no radical changes should be made ill the present law. if it must remain on our statute books-but we suggest some changes which we think should he made immediately. All of the de fects and short comings of our present law can be met and overcome by ma- chine-yoting.
 cone of the principal objections to the present method lies with the dis tribution of the ballots. We can see no more reason why the ballots should he distributed than that the envelopes should be used in the same manner. md therefore We are of the opinion that one of the noticeable defects in the present system can best be over come by safeguarding the printing and distribution of the ballots in the same manner as the envelopes are under the nresent law safeguarded. We believe that the use of pasterst Is unsatisfactory. yet a necessary evil under our present. system, and are at a loss to devise a means which will disnense with their use without de- niiying the voters of means of vot- ing for whom they wish. The law which allowed their use in the booths. siil our opinion. should not have been repealed. a&f*~ q The number of voters allowed to vote in a single pre- cfnet or district should be limited to 1.500 and extra voting precincts should be provided in wards or districts where more than l 300 voters are regis tered. We appreciate the fact that this will entail additional expense rD- nn the municiDalities. which is already too large. hut we arc of the opinion that the safety of the ballot and an ac- cnrate cost of the same is paramount to axnense."
 Tho comn,ittan recommends voting machines. It eays. At the hearings before vcnr onrf',eiSsinn. various rem edies. -irclr6'ns- tho Australian meth od voro s.,1s.-nsto.l tr overcome the evsrs or tl;o ,,-s.s.,,st evStem. anv nne of witch. t- o--. saraini~n. would be an irrrrn--e.,.e.,t ,'s,or the present plan, Most os 4',s -,,Y~sstiIse~ recommended arn c,,on .c s'.~ a no ol,iections as the existjnr me.sed and tha members of vn,1r c..s.s,,,sr srs.ies, arN of. the opinion that of III ,l,, rn-letlies suggested the yotino Ilaei'..o ale"n offers the only rronar a--l ~nfe solution of the diff cnltv. and n.any of he mayors of our cities strcnciv ur~ed the adoption of machine voting The trouble with the nrasent system lies in the general dis tributiOn of ballots. and any remedy fllat does not % so far as to totally disbense with their distribution fails fo overcome the existing difficulties. . That the adoption of machin- cry to facilitate the recording of tile will of the people in regard to men and measures is feasible, can no longer be open to dispute. as many years's use of v0ting machines in several states or the Union has demonstrated such to be the fact. They have been in con- stant md successful operation, and even within our own state number of elections have been recently held with gratifying results. The representatives of voting machines claim for them. and successfully, we think. that they preserve the secrecy of the ballot, simplify the process Of an election. reduce the expense. insure n fair and honest count. and an accur- ate and speedy return of the vote east at any election. There are other claims and advantages set up in their behalf, but the foregoing will be suf- ficient to indicate in general way what these machines are designed to accomplish. Therefore we recommend yoting-machines as the best remedy with which to overcome existing diff ficulties: and we are of the opinion that it is the only method which will prevent the buying and selling of votes.
 "There are two systems which have met public favor and which operate on essentially different principles. the one being a registering and the other re- eording machine The former registers and totalizes the votes as cast. while the latter takes a record of the votes on web of paper within the machine. which Is translated and totalized by means of a counting device separate from the voting mechanism. .. . Having reached the conclusion that the United States standard and Me- Tammany machines were the best of their respective types. it only remained to ascertain which of the two was best fitted to meet the requirements in this state.
 An ideal machine system of voting should. in the opinion of the commits sion. embody the following qualifica- tions: It should preserve the secrecy of the ballot. be simple in construction and operation. and be so easily under stood as to come within the compre- hension of the man of average intelli- gence. It should enable the voter to vote easily, quickly. and with com parative safety. It should give q permanent record of the votes. and en- able those concerned to go behind the returns and verify the same; and it should be possible to count said re- turns mechanically, which require ment we regard as an essential ele- ment in any voting-machine system.
 eIn an ideal yoting-machine not only fhe voter but the election officer should have some evidence that the voter has voted. The machine should be strong, durable, and built to sustain rough us- mage. It'should be light, compact easy to handle and so designed that all its x,-orl-fnor nat.tS cof1ld ba eXamiuad and