The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1902-04-05
THE PRlnARY LAW.
Reasons Shown by a Correspondent
Why II Is Not constitutional.

Why 1t is Not Constitutional.
Editor of the Clarion-Ledger:
The primary election law enact
ed by the last Legislature / regard
as plainly unconstitutional, among
Others for the following reasons:
LIST. 1t provides qualification
for office-holding mot recognized
by the constitution and in viola
tion of it,.
Section 250of the constitution
provides that all qualified electors
shall be eligible to Office except as
otherwise provided in this consti-
tuition and nowhere else is any
other qualification provided. The
law In question provides the addi-
tional qualification that the candi-
dates shall be nominated by a pri-
mary election.
End. The only authority which
the Legislature had to deal with
the subject at all was under sec
tion 247 of the constitution,
which says, "the Legl Stature shall
enact laws to secure fairness in
party primary elections, conven-
tions or other methods of naming
party candidates"
This section recognizes other
methods than primary elections
for naming candidates and yet the
primary law practically repeals
the constitution and says that only
one method shall be recognized.
The constitution never intend
ed that the Legislature should
provide one iron-clad rule for
running candidates. but only con.
fided to the Legislature the power
to see that whatever method
might be selected by the various
parties should be fair. Again this
law violates not only the spirit
but the very letter of the section
of the constitution under which
the Legislature claimed to have
acted, in, this, that the law does
not secure fairness even in party
primaries, for the reason that
under the provision of this law,
a candidate may be foisted upon
a party when four-tifths Of the
party are violently opposed to
him, for instance, say that there
are six candidates ~ the field for
a State Office, and one candidate
receives a small plurality (not a
majority over the highest of the
other candidates in the State at
large. This entities him TO have
counted for him the electoral vote
of every county in which he has
plurality (not a majority and il
there are enough of such counties
to give him a majority Of tho cleo
toral vote he becomes a nominee
without second although
he may not have received q major
ity of the party vote in any single
county of the State. In fact four
fifths of the voters voting may pre-
fer either of the other candidates
and yet they are bound to submit.
The bill is highly Objectionable
in another view in that it fails to
provide any method for the party
to fill q vacancy on the ticket
caused by death or resignation,
where such vacancy occurred but
a few days before the regular cleo
tion too late to hold a primary.
Let us suppose case, both the
Democratic and Republican par
ties have nominated a candidate,
say for Governor, five days before
the regular election the Democrat
ic nominee dies. it is too late for
the party to fill the vacancy by
the only method recognized under
the law, to-wit: Il primary, and as
only candidate nominated by
this method can be voted for at
all, the Republican nominee is
bound to be elected.
There are other features of the
bill equally Objectionable, but the
foregoing ought to he enough to
damn the law. DEMOCRAT.