Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-23
WINS FIGHT FOR
VOTING MACHINES
COURT DECIDES AGAINST FILL
ING TICKETS
San Francisco Attorney Wins De-
& cisive and Timely Battle, and
Election Money Will
Be Saved

The "U. S. Standard voting machines
will be used the coming election at
San Francisco, according to the deci-
sion rendered in the state supreme
court in Los Angeles yesterday after
noon, brought about by the earnest ef-
forts of Attorney Thomas " CatoE
member of the board of election COM
missioners of San Francisco.
The members of the board of election
commissioners consisting OF Thomas
Mcclure, president Thomas Y. Gator,
attorney, and George P. Adams, regis
trar of voters and secretary, were at
the Holenbeck last night.
These commissioners came to Los An
geles just in the nick of time to ask
the state supreme court for decision
regarding the use of the u. S. Standard
voting machine in San Francisco the
coming election. The court decided at
2 o'clock yesterday afternoon in favor
of the use of the voting machines in
San Francisco.
Decision important
"Ths decision is a very important
one" said Attorney Gator, last night
in his room at the Hollenbeck, in COM
pany with his companions, "and 1T viii
save at least 100000 for San Fran
cisco the next election over the old
method of voting.
"The voting at San Francisco for
the past two. years, has been by use of
the u. S. STANDARD voting machines,
and according to the decision this aft
ernoon Of the state supreme court, the
election this year will be the same as
previously.
"Those machines have one column for
constitutional amendments, one col
umn for candidates not nominated, and
seven additional columns for nominees
for any parties or organizations. When
the secretary of state under the law,
thirty days before election, certified
the nominations filed with him, 1t
showed six political parties on the ma
chine, namely, Republican, Democratic,
Socialist, Prohibition, Union Labor, In
dependent league leaving one column
unused After that the local parties
had ten days to act by nominating by
petition.
Certain persons got up two separate
tickets, calling one the non-parttsan
judicial ticket, and the other the judi
cial incumbrance ticket, and upon each
of those tickets nominated four can
didates for superior judges, but the men
nominated on each ticket were the
same.
Refused to File Ticket
"The registrar of voters refused to
file those tickets and a writ Of manda-
mus was obtained from the supreme
court in Los Angeles, requiring the
board of election commissioners of San
Francisco to show cause today why they
should not be commanded to file both
tickets
1.-THE importance of the question de-
pended upon the point that if both
tickets must be filed it would defeat
the use of the voting machines, as there
was only room for one more ticket on
the machine. The defense set up by
the commissioners was that the inten-
tion was to defeat the use Of the ma
chimes, and that the same persons had
signed both petitions. and also that it
was not lawful to create two separate
tickets in that manner and that only
one Of them could be filed"
The commissioners will return to San
Francisco this morning, feeling highly
gratifled over the success achieved in
their fight for the voting machines for
the next election.