Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-09
SUGGESTS 4 BALLOT SCHOOL
Judge vinssAhalsr Thinks Elsstisn ofasialI
Need Pa~rtiSzlar Instructions
ERRORS DIsFHANcHlsE MANY VOTERS
More Than Three Hundred Ballots
Thrown Out I'm the Unitt-MiIler
Contest on of De-
fective Marking

Even 40 slight q thing as the culver OF .
finger, the shifting Of q foot or the break
ing of a pencil point may cost a citizen OF
Nebraska the most cherished heritage OF
the American-his right to vote. II II
serves no other purpose, the Unitt-Miiler
contest for the Office OF clerk OF Douglas
county. will at least be profitable to the
extent Of warning Omahans. to be more
careful in future elections.
The recent recount Of the ballots In the
county court was a long and tedious affair
that resulted unsatisfactory to both Mr..
INIT ana Mr.. Miller because, while 1t left
the result unchanged. 1t cost the votes OF
many of the friends of each whose honest
purpose was apparent, but who mao violated
the letter OF the Australian ballot law a.
ruled by Justice Harrison in the Mauck-
Brown case.
when the recount Of all the ballots cast
in tho county was complete, Judge Vinson-
haler. following this decision with con
fesed reluctance, caused to be entered as
blanks at least 800 ballots, the only nAws
in which were purely technical Tnere Is
no onaciaI record OF the exact NUMBER o.
/ the ballots thrown out on account Of such
Jaws. as the talIymen were required to
carry only four columns. labeled respec-
| lively. UNFIT, Miller. Chambers, blanks and
under the last head were counted not only
those that were unmarked and those err
/ roneously marked, but all the scattering
votes as well. This made the total number
Of blanks appear as 1855 for Omaha, 1862 foI
/ South Omaha and 276 for the country pre-
cincts. But the Judge recalls that the
number he disfranehised for error wal al
least 400. and this number is surely large
enough to emphasize the necessity for
greater care In marking the ballot.
sWhateyer may be the action OF thu
supreme court when this contest reaches
II. II Il does, Ttntend to suggest that there
be a day set Just prior to the next cleo
ton for a conference Of the judges and
clerks OF election,p said Judge Vinsonhalel
in an interview. AT this conference
would like time In which to instruct then
more fully In the requirements Of theil
task, which Is really a more exacting and
complicated one than has hitherto beer
realized. The Australian ballot law in I'll
ambition to insure absolute protection fol
the free expression Of every voters prefer
ences, put the ban on everything In thu
nature Of a distinguishing mark. 1t SEEK
even to avoid the possibility OF a corrupt
voter selling his vote and so marking thu
ballot that the man to whom he sold 4
may, by watching the counting OF the bal
lots, discover. in the peculiar curl OF
line. an evidence that the bargain has beer
kept.
''There is where the trouble lies In fol
lowing out this provision against the cor
rupt there is injustice done the honorable
In this recent recount I found several bal
lots on which had been written after SOM
name, He's all right or He's no good.
or the suggestive initials. N. G. Their
we're also several on which the voter
had written their names and even thei
addresses. and one specific enthusiast hai
scrubbed at the top. '1 demycrats.' whicl
meant. I presume. that he wished to Vot
tt straight OF course the court has n