Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1906-11-09

ELIMINATION ui AiA fata tf"Hs INV
Polls - Safeguard nor IilitrSat-
votr---Rriuct.aB oT Eiectisa IN
pcEses aud Great SaNiuE Of Tiaie la
Counting VOTES.
Munccul punn. an optician II Mar~''-
fell. Mis-. Recently received letters
patent on new form Of ballot invent
rl hy him which he says will revolt
tonize the whole voting systems OF
the United States.
The ballot consists of several sheets
nf thin cardboard perforated into con
plns and stapi,d together NJ tie top.
says MarShncli correspondent Of tie
Minneapolis Journal. Each sheet con
tains the coupons OF one party only.
each sheet has dilcrcIt color. and
the coupons of each sheet are number
ell consecutively. Each coupon bears
The name of one candidate for Office
There is also an envelope or folder,
which may lie sealed. having spaces or
pockets designed 10 receive the cou-
pons voted and numbered TO core
spond TO the coupons. Still another
envelope receives the portions ~ the
ballot not used.
The voter to vote a straight ticket
tears of the whole sheet of coupons
of his chosen party and places them
in the folder. If he splits his vote lie
tears from the several sheets the cou-
pons of his choice and places them in
the pockets corresponding to them In
number
The advantages claimed for the new
ballUt-calcd the pocket ballot and
| coupon voting syStem"-are that ii an
solutcly eliminates all fraud from the
polls. that independent voting is as
easy ms voting Il straight ticket. that
! II safeguards the illitcrate voter hy
enabling him to vote iutelligently and
! by making it impossible for him TO
! make such mistake as will cause his
! ballot to he thrown out at the count
and, in addition, that it will cut down
the expense of the elections to at least
one-tenth of that of the voting machine
and to many times less than that of the
present ballot.
The illiterate voter is aided because
he can easily distinguish color and
number, which is all he needs TO do to
vote the new ballot. He cannot put
two coupons in the same pocket, and
when all the pockets are filled with
coupons corresponding to them in num-
Der he knows he is done. color and
number being the guides. he has a
check on his work, which he can III
telli%ently exercise.
The ballot is about one-tenth the size
OF the present ballot, each sheet of cOu.
pons being q i'y II inches. 1t costs nc
| more than the present ballot. Expert
ment has shown that the voter can
vote with ease in for'y-tiye seconds
When the count begins the Judge finds
! the choice of the voter arranged com
| pactly i'll order before him. and he has
but to read ii off, Il feature which will
it is asserted, enable him to count from
100 to l25 votes an hour and save at
least one-tenth in counting over the
present ballot.
When the cost of the voting machine
interest. insurance. depreciation. stor-
age, drayage to and from polls extras
etc, are considered it is estimated that
the adoption OF the new ballot will
save a city of 100000 inhabitants al
least $4,000 for every election over the
next cheaper means, the voting ma
chine.
Without waiting for his patent the
inventor had bill introduced at The
last session of the Wisconsin legisa
ture providing for the use of the ballo
in Wisconsin, The bill passed, wa,
signed by Governor La Toilette ant
ratified by the people in Il popular ref
erendum in April 1896. 1t will first b,
used in the general elections in Novem
Der.