Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1902-05-31

ny lhui Nluudl HonllneeS only, may nave
primary election ballot as political par
ty, if any of its said individual nominees
received L per cent. of the total state
vote cast at such preceding general cleo
ton.
'"The voter, then, had this bill become
a law, who cared to exercise his SOW
ereign right of choice by direct VOTE in
making nominations for ofiice, would
have had to see to it that. at the first
primary election held under the law, he
belonged to political organization that
numbered more than 1000 voters Other
wise he might have found himself fore
closed OF his right of suffrage for the
want of utilization with a party Of the
prescribed size. Here nestled a queer
comment upon the language of the plat
form, when compared with the wording
OF the Dill. Let me quote as follows:
"Sec. 13. There shall be sepa-
rate ballot for each political party. upon
which the names of its candidates shall
be arranged = according To sllr-
name
Sec. 16. At any primary election
TO person shall vote any ticket but that
OF the party with which he aftili-
Upon the arguments before the COM
mittee, the Stevens bill was claimed to
be fulhllment of platform obligation,
while, by its very terms, instead of re-
storing to voters the rights of which
they were said to have been deprived,
it excluded from its benefcent operation
any voter whose Judgment or conscience
led him to affiliate with a political or
ganization which could not muster a pre-
scribed number of voters. Our consti-
tuition had not so limited the right to
vote. An election called primary is not
different from an election called general.
The courts have so decided. At an cleo
ton the elector, qualified under the con-
stitution, has right to vote This state
will maintain this right, not destroy it.
A similar provision in a California cleo
ton law was declared by the supreme
court of that state to be unconstitutional.
Our Legislature rejected the Stevens
bill.
Having examined the provisions of
the Stevens bill with reference to the
ballot to be used at primary elections
and with reference to the method to be
pursued by candidates, to have their
names printed upon the ballot as nom
inees, / should like to suggest what
would have occurred at a primary cleo
ton conducted under this law. One cleo
tor would have presented himself before
the election officers, giving his nane and
residence and expressed his wish to vote.
His statement that he was a Republican
having passed unchallenged he would
have received the ballot of that party. :.
Could Net Have Voted.
another elector would have come for
ward, and, having identified himself in a
similar W and declared his party aff1l-
iation to be Democratic, he would have
received the ballot of that party. A third
elector would have attempted to qualify,
but having stated that he affiliated with
the party, which cast but 5000,
votes at the last preceding election, he
would have been informed by the judges
that no ballot Of that party was permit
ted. Still another elector would have
asked to vote. When his party afilia-
ton was inquired into he would have
stated that he belonged to no party, that
he was an Independent voter, or, per-
haps, 'nonpartisan' voter. He would
have been informed that no ballot to fit
his case existed
Electors, as the above citations from
the bill show, who could not show party
qualifications, would neither have been
provided with ballots, nor permitted to
vote. Under this law an election officer
had no authority to deliver either Of the
authorized party ballots to an elector,
who had declared his utilization with
party whose right to ballot was not
recognized by the law, or to another cleo
tor who had asserted his independence
and denied his af1liation with any party.
What would have become of the 'sover-
eign right of choice of our party friend
whose party was too weak to have bal
lot, or of our Independent voter who was
unwilling to declare an afhliation with
any party? A practical illustration OF
this character shows the working of the
bill and indicates how far short it fell
of providing a method i'll making nomln-
ations that would enable every voter
to exercise his sovereign right of choice
by direct vote, without the Intervention
or interference of any political agency.
Anticipated the Objections.
saTbe distinguished speaker for the bill,
whom / so often refer to, must have re-
allied that there were liable to be doubts
expressed as to these features of the bill.
Anticipating the objections that might be
made he said:
''"There is not a provision in this bill
nor a shadow of provision which limits
in any way the right which the indie
pendent voter has under existing laws.
There is no provision in this bill which
prevents the birth or development of a
new political party. 1t must not be for
gotten that it applies merely to primary
elections: that candidates can be placed
in the field and their names placed upon
the official ballot in general elections pre-
cisely as they have been. Even the re-
ouirement for obtaining a place upon the
primary election ballot is very slight and
easy of performance. Not every small
gathering of men, who may assume to
denominate themselves a political party,
ought to be represented upon that prima-
nv election ballot A party, in order to
receive recognition under this primary
election measure, ought to be composed
of something more than d few voters
with large aspirations.
1.-THE boast of the indepen icnt foater
thai he votes only for the person whom
he regards as the best man on a nominal
ton ticket, regardless of party policies
and party principles, is public confess
sion of weak judgment
Did Not Explain.
'Whether the friends of the bill were
satisfied with these statements of their
champion, l am not advised. His ex-
plantations did not explain to a member of
the Legislature who recognized his duty
to all parties, and of no parties how it
could be, as he said in later portion