The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-21
"Australian' System
Works Like a Charm.
THEPEOPLE DELIGHTED
Much Qualification Expressed at the
Resulting Relief From Old Sys'
tenn OF Espionage at Voting
Places and Too Jealous
Work OF HeeIers."


able chiefly in that it demonstrated
the worth of the australian ballot"
Raleigh was delighted with the in
novation. All day yesterday its ad
Vantages furnished the topic of favor
able conversation by pleased voters.
The vote was cast without ripple.
The workers were on hand but they
found little to do. The voters seemed
to appreciate the novelty of voting
i'm private without the curious heelerS
eyes over the shoulder and, for the
most part. they kept to themselves
the details of their ballots. The work
ers had an air of not knowing where
to begin. They sat about twiddhng
their thumbs and engaged for the
most part in idle speculation. The
reason was obvious and that was the
new ballot. The certain element of
the voters is not sWayed TO any eX-
tent by the workers and it was known
how mcst of these would vote. The
uncertain element, on the other hand
had as usual been prodigal with
promises and there was absolutely no
way to ascertain how the voter of
this sA,t really did vote, unless one
took his word which was at the least
an uncertain element.
AS q general rule the ballot was
cast as it was intended it should be,
secretly except as 1t was voluntarily
divuiged by the voter. OF course the
workers at the various polls did some
thing and in one way or another in
fiuenced q few votes. The point that
was most gratifyingly established was
that it was next to impossible for any
voter to he,intimidated or embarrassed
in the casting of his ballot. Booths
were provided in which the voter,
who entered the enclosure by himself
had the utmost privacy No tickets
were on the outside of the polls and
could be obtained only from the poll
holders ana then only one at a time
by the individual voter. The workers
were worried and the game was played
with less .eXactnesS than has ever been
known here before. In only one or
two instances was there an evasion of
the intent of the secrecy of the bal
lot and the devices used were too intri-
cate for general practice.
For instance, in one of the wards,
a voter who had bargained or prom
ised for one consideration or the other
to vote for a certain candidate, held
g conference previously to going in
the enclosure with one of the ward
workers. The worker was frank with
to make sure that the voter dropped
the ballot as he had agreed to do.
Therefore he required sOemthing more
of evidence than mere word of mouth.
This worker had agreed with his poll
holder to toss him the wink in GER
tain cases and he therefore instructed
the prospective SutfragiSt to pretend
that he could not read and get the
poll-holder to check his ballot for
L, fIxr
holder had duly marked the ballot for
the, Voter, he tossed the worker on
the# outside the wink" and the voter
walked out to greet his friend the
ward politician with an air of trium-
phant virtue thai was sweet to look
upon.
Incidents like the above, however,
were, decidedly the exceptions and not
the rule and they can be easily guard
ed against in, future by an amend
ment making il obligatory for the bal
lot to be prepared in the booth. Here
tofore. the wards have been surround
ed by over-Zealous Iartisans who have
annoyed voters with OfficiouS offers
to prepare ballots and with too fer
vent solicitations in behalf of their
friends. It is q fact that many men
nave been kept away from polls in city
elections for personal grounds and the
lear or QlSlncllndllOn Oh making enc
mics. Two next door neighbors and
friends of q voter run for an office,
for instance. he cannot vote for both
and he feels that to vote for one will |
make an enemy of the other. Under
the OLD system many such man has
discreetly gone fishing to the scandal
Of good citizenship.
Some amusing incidents and misap-
occurred by reason of the
new ballot In one of the wards, q |
very intelligent voter entered the !
booth to vote and after q reasonable |
length of time had elapsed and others |
were waiting their turns, one of the |
poll-holders ventured by consent of I
MS fellows to hurry up the citizen |
n the preparation of his ballot
Where III the thunder is the boX?"
lsEed the voter who had written his
ballot some ten minutes before and |
lad been hunting minuteiy through |
he booth for a slit in which to de-
)osit it.