Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1903-10-30
ONLY WAIERNARKtD
BALLOTS ARE GOOD

Owing to the thoughtful preCaution Of
Secretary of the Territory George Il.
Carter there is no danger of any but
official ballots being used at the county
elections next week. There is no op-
Tor fraud as far as the pos
sibility Of illegally prepared and print
ell ballots are concerned.
In arranging for the printing Of the
ballots Secretary Carter ordered
special paper made in San Francisco
and he ordered just so much of that
paper which, when manufactured. was
sent here every pound of IT,, nothing
being retained, so that there is no
chance Of any of the paper getting into
the hands of anyone having no right
to ii.
This paper is watermarkcd so that
each printed ballot. when examined, is
found to have running through its
length a number of parallel lines.
Should any ballot be found without this
peculiar watermark it would be i'm
mediately known that something was
wrong and the fraud could be quickly
traced.
This precautions was Secretary Car
ter's idea and he made all arrange
ment for the manufacture OF the paper
before he left on his bond mission in
the east What little paper was left
over after the necessary ballots had
been printed is now under lock and
key in the office Of the Secretary.
Now that the day Of the election is
So near various and, in some case. pc
cuiar questions arising in relation to
manner of voting way of marking bal
lets. counting, rejecting and one thing
and another, are coming in to the Sec
retary's Office thicker than ever.
II is now suggested that the Secre-
tary call meeting of election inspec-
tors in this county and allow these
nultifarious matters an airing so that
the questions may be settled, II they
can be settled, before the day of cleo
ton.
The Bulletin contained an article re-
Gently to the effect that certain Out-Of-
town voters were considering the adj
visibility of marking their ballots with
Il blue pencil. They said they were
good Republicans but that they had
been accused, after the last election,
Of voting the Home Rule ticket. In the
event OF any such accusation this time
these voters wanted to be prepared to
prove, after the election, that they had
voted the straight Republican ticket
and so conceived the idea of marking
their ballots with blue pencil for fu-
ture identification. AT that time the
Attorney General expressed ii as his
opinion that such marking would not
be allowable.
This morning the Attorney Generals
department received communication
tlOm a prominent voter on this very
subject, inquiIing as TO what there was
ia the law, If anything, against using q
blue pencil or any other kind OF mark
err
The Attorney General Is consider
ing the matter and will send his cor
respondent an answer.
Section 60 of Rules and Regulations
for Administering 0aths and Holding
Elections on the method of marking
ballots, says: "A voter shall designate
hsi choice for senators and represen-
tatives by making a cross, thus, y, on
the right hand side of the ballot in the
space or spaces provided for such pur-
pose, opposite the name or names OF
the candidate or candidates for whom
he desires to vote
Making a cross" is all that Is said
relative TO the mark itself outside OF
designating the form of the mark. II
Is not specified as to what instrument
shall be used in marking and Il is be.
lieyed by many that 1t makes absolute.
ly no difference with what the mark is
made as long as II is properly formed
and placed in the right place.
Now there Is an argument as to
whether the cross shall be marked only
in the space to the right OF the mans
marked off by perpendicular line on
the ballot. There are two spaces, one
IN which the name itself Is printed
the name by no means occupying the
whole space, leaving blank in which
some voters might make the cross
mistakenly or not, and the other, a
space adjoining the above, to the ex,
IRENE right of the ballot. The ques
ton is whether mark made in the
same space in which the name Is con.
tanned will constitute an error causing
the ballot to be rejected. Some holt
one way, some the other
Another question is as to clerks tC
inspectors in the various precincts. On,
representative Republican suggests
that all precincts in which there ar,
over 200 registered voters should be al
lowed q clerk.