New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1902-09-10
THE PRIVILEGE OF THE vOTER.

THE PRIvILEdE OF THE yOTER.
There is q general IMPRESSION among
voters that when they vote the primary
election ballot they are barred from vot-
ing for any other candidate at the general
election than those voted for at the pr phi
pnaries. This is q mistake. "a man NAV
vote at the Democratic primaries for
such democrats as he would like TO see
70 Office, Of at the Repub lean primaries
Tor such republicans as he'would like to
see ~ office, but he may only vote at one
primary, on the other hand he may 20 to
the polls at the general election and vote
g ticket to sult himself, and no one will
know or question his politics.
The primary election IS only the old
caucus in different form. Instead Of
an election of delegates to q county
convention to putin nomination candi-
dates for the various offices as before,
every man is now Il delegate and has the
privilege OF exercising his right. There
IS 9 widespread feeling that the primary
law is designed to disfranchise a certain
class OF voters who are not classed with
any OF tile existing parties. This is mis-
take. It should be born il mind that
at the old conventions only members of 4
the party holding the convention were
allowed to vote, and no exception was
taken to the ruling Of the convention.
The. primary law is the same, simply
taken out of the hands of few delegates
and put into the bants Of the people. It
is new, and whether it will prove what
its originators intended will depend upon
the intelligence with which the voters
exercise their privilege, but the idea that
. vote at the primaries binds man to
that party for the general election should
be discarded for 1t does no such thing.
A man is as free at the general election
as though he bad never voted. Being al
new law there is likely to be more or less
confusion as to what to do and now to
do, but If a man goes to the primary
election who has voted for five repub-
licans and four democrats at the last
general election he is entitled to vote at
the Republican primaries; and the same
with the Democrats, and then he can 90
to the polls at the general election and
vote for one Republican and all the rest
Of the ticket Democratic or the other
way, AS he chooses. He is perfectly in
dependent and the fear of losing vote
for friend at the general election by
reason of this should not prevent him
from voting for another friend at the
primaries. "'1= q "
The continued use of the primary
election will depend largely upon the
popularity of it at this election. 1t is a
law that was framed in the interest of
the people who we're loud 10 their de-
mands for some legal means of taking
the nomination of candidates out of the
| hands of the few who were said to con-
troll the conventions. The power is now
absolute with the people; no faction can
be said to control the nomination of can
didates, and it is important that the
people test the success Of the law. Their
condemnation will be light vote.
Politicians as rule have deprecated it,
and Tor that reason by some it is said that
the law is all right. It's results in this
county will be watched with much in
terest. - Ill., ~ &z~@s@tE y.
At the old primaries voter was gwen
tickets for all the parties to be voted for
and he voted the one he wanted and re-
turned those not voted but for some
reason this also bias been changed, how.
ever the result is the same because there
is no way by which voter may keep his
ballot secret at tile primaries and there
should be none. Republicans must. be
Republicans at the primaries and Demo
Gratis must be Democrats. If man is
neither he is not expected under the law
to take part in the deliberations of the
party at the conventions nor at the pr.
maries.