The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-04
LIKE MACHINE VOTING
ELECTORS IN NEW YORK PLEAS
 ED WITH THE OPERATION.
Work Fast and Correct-Details of New Apparatus for Recording and Counting Ballots
 are Given.


 I2 votes out of total of over 5000, and yet within half an hour after the polls closed the result was known to a certain ty, while despite the closeness of the vote, there was not so much as an intimat ton of a contest on the part of the defeated candidate. Rochester had used the vot- ing machine. and there was no chance to
 Ego behind the returns" If the old paper ballots had been used there would un- doubtedly have been enough void and marked ballots to form the basis for contest with all its attendant expense and anxiety.
 Rochesters experience with the ma chine during the last five elections has been so satisfactory that city ofhcials, politicians and the public generally give 1t practically unanimous approval and there Is no desire to go back to the old system. Rochester feels that it is, in this respect at least, at the very forefront of progress.
 Work of Machine.
 The machine which is used in this city Is often described as mechanical Aus tralian ballot It insures secrecy to the voter. is simple and easy to operate. 1t never makes mistakes. it not only rec ords but also counts the votes as they are made. and it presents the tabulated results of the precinct vote to the judges the instant the polls are declared closed All that is left to do in order to get the result of the election is to add together the figures from each precinct in the ward or district or city. as the case may be. The machine is known as the Uni ted States Standard voting machine, and Is made in Jamestown, N. Y
 The familiar cash register seen every where in stores is the contrivance which best illustrates the nature of the voting machine. The principle is very much the same, a set of pointer or levers, locking device and a mechanism for computation being used. but of course the voting ma chine Is much more complicated than the other.
 Method of Operation.
 The face of the machine, as it is pre- sented to the voter, who stands before 1t, is about four feet square. and its depth is ten inches. It is supported on four steel legs, which bring the top of it about six feet above the floor. 1t weighs about 300 pounds and costs $500.
 A movable curtain is hung in front of the machine, so arranged that 1t remains open while no one Is using It. but is pull ed shut automatically as soon as the vot- CT comes to it. The first thing the voter does is to reach up to lever at the top of the machine and pull 1t to the right The effect .s both to close the curtain and to unlock the mechanism So that one bal lot for each office, and one only. Is cast.
 The voter then finds himself facing the front of tho machine on which are rows of small numbered pointers. Each candi- date to be voted for is represented by one of these pointers. and each political party has it's candidates names placed in 8 row horizontally across the front of the machine. The different candidates for the same office therefore have their names one beneath the other in the perpendicu- lar columns. At the left of each party row is a knob. on which Is the name of the party and a symbol or emblem to represent it.
 Voting Straight Ticket.
 When the voter wants to vote a straight party ticket, the first thing he has to do, after he has moved the lever that un- locks the keys. is to press the knob which represents his particular party to the right until it rings a bell. This movement turns downward every one of the little pointers that represent the candidates of the party and places them in voting po- sition. It does not register the vote. how ever. as it is only preliminary getting into position. To complete the vote and register and count it all the voter needs to do then is to seize the original lever which unlocked the keys and closed the curtain, and push it back to It's old place. With that the curtain opens, the vote is recorded and the keys are re-locked rre- lminary to the appearance of another man ready to exercise his right of suf- frage. It is not much more difficult to split a ticket than to vote straight. To split the voter must first press the knob repre- senting one of the political parties. For l convenience he will use the knob of the party from which he chooses most of his candidates but that is not essential. Any one of the knobs will do. He then finds
 
 at his service to arrange any way he sees fit.
 Correction of Error.
 He can rNNeace as many of the pointers representing candidates on his ticket as he chooses, thus taking his vote away from them. and he can turn downward the pointers for candidates to correspond ing offices on the Other tickets. If he has made a mistake and pressed the wrong party knob at the start, he can adjust the Gfro O nr q n entirely different ticket if he chooses.
 All this moving of the pointers has no effect whatever on the registering and counting apparatus. The voter can take plenty of time and make sure that his ticket is fixed up the way he wants 1t. When all Is ready he reverses the lever at the top of the machine, and steps out of the booth with his ballots counted be- fore he leaves
 The machine also provides for the wishes of the voter who wants to vote for some man who is not a regular can didate on anyone of the tickets. Indeed if it did not do this it would not be per | mitted by law. as the right to vote for whom he .pleases, regardless of party tickets. is guaranteed each man by the | Constitution At the top of the machine is a series of little slides. one for each l office to be filled. To vote for men whose | names are not on the ticket these slides | may be opened and the name written on | slip of paper underneath. When he pulls the curtain lever the paper moves for l ward so that no succeeding voter can see | what name was written on it. Questions of Policy. Another provision of this machine Is for yes and no votes for questions of bond issue. public policy, or anything else | that is submitted to ballot
 The voting can be done with great ra- pidity. IL takes only a second to unlock | the keyboard and no longer to lock it | again, and second is ample for press | Ing knob if d straight party ticket is voted. Fifteen seconds for each voter is considered ample for straight votes. For splits little longer is required. but in- l side of a minute the ordinary man can l fix his entire ballot. The Rochester re- l turns for the last municipal election in- dicated to what extent the splitting priv ileRe was exercised, as the pluralities ranged from 72 up to more than 4000 for | the successful Republican candidates. The saving effected by the machine is | also very great. There are none of the heavy printing bills to be met, and the | clerical work of the election is greatly ] reduced. It is estimated that in three years voting machines will save enough money to the city to pay for their initial | cost.
 The voting Is absolutely safe, as the bal | lots can never be tempered with. The | identity of each vote is lost in the totals, | which are all the machine keeps. There ! is nothing to tamper with and no chance | for error. The cog wheels move with re- | lentless accuracy. and give certain re- suits.
 Use is Increasing. Judging from the success with which | the machines have met wherever they | have been used it would seem that the day is coming when the American citiz en !.