The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-12
VOTING MACHINE BIDS
TEN WILL BE PURCHASED FOR USE
IN THE CITY ELECTION.
Specifications Adopted by the County
Commissioners-voters' Interests
Safeguarded.

on June for ten voting machines to be
purchased for use in the coming
city election. An advertisement Is
published in this mornings papers
calling on voting machine manufac-
turers to bid for the contract which
is to be let according to specifications which
will be ready for examination In the County
Commissioners Office. The commissioners
will purchase ten machines from the appro-
priation of $4,000 made available by the
County Council and with the experienc
gained in the of these ten machines,
plans for the purchase of complete voting
machine equipment for the county will be
formed.
At present there are 253 precincts In Mar
ion county and the ten machines will be
placed in ten of them. The idea to be fol-
lowed after the machines are secured is to
put machine in operation on election day
in different kinds of neighborhoods and COM
munities In an effort to study the benefits
derived from machine voting The use of the
machines in the municipal election will also
serve the purpose of showing with what
rapidity the voters of the county can vote
by machine. With the statistics obtained 1t
will be possible to reduce the number of
precincts at least one-half.
PRICES OF MACHINES.
1t Is not expected that the total appro-
priation will be expended for the ten ma
chimes. According to the ruling prices on
machines approved by the voting machine
commission each machine viii cost not more
than $500. and the total expenditure for the
ten machines on which bids have been ad-
vertised will be considerably less than the
sum allotted to the use of the commission
ers for the purchase.
The specifications for the machines pro-
vide that the commissioners shall have
the right to reject any or all bids and also
that each bid shall be accompanied by
bond sufficiently large and of such quality
as to indemnify the county should loss
occur in the closing of contract with the
bidder. The bond will also be made to cover
any debts incurred by the successful bid
der in placing the machines as we'll as to
guarantee their construction. The specifi-
cations were prepared by Martin Hugg,
attorney for the County Commissioners,
who after a careful study of the voting
machine statutes and the requirements OF
the Indiana Voting Machine Commission,
generalized the specifications so as to come
within the lawful requirements as well as
to specifically provide for the convenience
of metropolitan usage of the machines.
The specifications provide that the ma
chine shall register a straight or scratched
ticket and that an irregular ticket, that is
a selection of presidential electors or men
not included in party nominations, may be
deposited by the elector in a. receptacle
provided for them providing that the ma
chine be constructed that mistakes will
not occur and the regular party nominations
be voted. in WHICH case the regular ticket
that the machines submitted TO the COM
misioners for inspection must be equipped
for the voting of tickets of seven political
parties and spaces provided for seven ques-
tons to be voted In answer, Eyes" or mo"
The first requirement of the specifications
concludes with the injunction that each
elector may readily understand and under
standngly and within the period of one
minute cast his vote for all candidates of
his choice"
AGAINST FRAUDULENT USE.
The specifications require the machines to
be safeguarded mechanically against any
manipulation or fraudulent use and to pro-
vide absolute secrecy of ballot. They also
provide that the registration Of each vote
shall be indicated in such a manner that
when opened for inspection by the election
board it may be readily understood while
the real register or roll of voting shall be
so placed within the machine that 1t
not be tempered with and shall not be dis
turbed until thirty days have elapsed after
the election when 1t shall be examined by
a court of competent jurisdiction In the
event of dispute of the accuracy OF the
indicator
In mecnanlcal construction the machines
must be sxty-name machines where the
presidential electors arc voted as one name
and seventyfour If the electors are voted
as individuals. The machines must be pro-
vided for national, state, county and town.
ship elections and In the case OF Marion
county machines to be so arranged that
municipal elections can be conducted with
them.
The board will require that the machines
contracted for shall be delivered to the
county at least thirty days before the
election to be held in the city on the first
Monday in October and shall be placed on
public exhibition and in charge of an in
structor furnished by the successful bidder
who shall instruct the voters of the county
in the Use of the machine. The board will
also require that for ten days at least be-
fore the bids are opened working model
of the machines shall be set up In the
courthouse corridors and their merits
demonstrated by instructors from the COM
panies manufacturing them.
The board makes the payment for the
machines contingent on their successful use
in the city election. If they are found to
be in accordance with the specifications
November term of the commissioners il
the claim be filed not less than five days
before ths Iirst Monday in November.
The commissioners IN planning the puf-
chase of the machines have required that
the bond shall be so drawn as to preclude
the possibility of loss to the county through
the infringement of patents by the manu-
facturer or his failure to properly dis
charge contracts entered into by himself
in the performance of his contract with
the county.