The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1906-06-01
The PRIMARY ELECTION.
Two Supreme Court Decisions De.
termine Necessary Action on
Disputed Questions.
Practical Suggestions Touching Vari-
able Voting Requirements and
Privileges on 18th of June.
Lansing, June /, 1906.

were still delinquent when your COR
respondent called at the secretary s
Office two or three days ago, although
the time at which the law directs the
lists to be delivered to the secretary
was. more than two weeks past The
provision, however, is regarded as di-
rectory rather than mandatory, and
no reason is felt to exist for rejecting
the lists which come after the time
at which the election officers are in
structed to supply them. The same
latitude of construction, however,
has not been assumed in acceptance
of petitions, as to which the language
of the law is more direct and explicit.
For placing names upon the primary
ballot, it says petitions shall be re-
ceived up to four o'clock in the
afternoon of the fifteenth day before
the day of a primary election" and
as to the meaning and force of that
there can be no question.
For submitting the proposition of
primary nominations, or 1.-The refer
endum," the language is not less di-
rect. 1t says the petitions for that
shall be delivered to said secretary
of state at least thirty days before
the second Monday of June" That
date would be the thirteenth Of May,
which this year is Sunday, and the
secretary with the advice of the at
torney general held that the time eX-
pired with Saturday, May IL, and
could not under the language Of the
law be extended to Monday, which
is only twenty-nine days before the
primarys day. This became a very
practical question when q bunch OF
petitions for submission in the AL
pena-Emmet senatorial district came
in on Monday, sufficient to secure the
vote which without them could not
be had. Especially is that so when
there are rival parties in the district,
one desiring submission and the 9TH
er not; and so Mr. H. K. Gustin, of
Alpena, aspirant for senator and lead
err of one of the factions, applies to
the supreme court for a rule upon
the secretary of state requiring nimto
accept those petitions and order the
referendum in the twenty-ninth.
Those belated petitions were from
Cheboygan, and were mailed on Sat
urday, with in the limit and the pc
titioners argue that that was deliv-
cry, the mail service being the agent
of the consignee; but why not of the
consignor, Ell? If only those guilty
of the negligence would be sufferers
by it the question would be less COM
handing; and if it should appear
that they might profit by it, it would
become even more commanding.
Since the law lays upon no one in
particular the duty of preparing and
delivering the petitions the reason
able inference might be that it is the
business of any who want it done.
Then there was another question of
construction, which go into the sup
preme court before this one did; and
that is the meaning of the require
ment that the petitions should be
signed by cat least twenty per cent
of the qualified enrolled voters of
such party" A provision to this Sec
ton says, "the number of persons
to any political party" shall
be deemed to be the number voting
Tor such party's candidate for COVER
nor at the last preceding election.
The fourth section of the same chap
Ter prescribes that if the secretary
shall find that twenty per cent Of
he qualified voters of such party"
nave signed the petition, he shall
lirect the submission in such district.
This affects the seventh congressional
district, where they had barely petit
ions enough for submission, and the
narrow margin was wiped out by the
uling out of signatures not appearing {
n the enrolment lists as the law re-
luires that they shall. Thus is en- 7
,hasized the great Importance of
ling the enrolment lists within the I
ime mentioned in the law. When 1t G
appeared that the seventh was likely !
o lose its referendum after all, it was I
onceived that the law might be liable
o the construction that the specified =
of signers should be twen- a
y per cent of the voters enrolled, in a
tead of twenty per cent of the re-
orded vote for governor, and Editor II
hampton of the Lapeer Clarion, and
enator Brown of Lapeer, applied to
ne supreme court to impose that in
upon the secretary, in \
cad of the other for which he had G
lie advice of the attorney general. a.