Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-03-08
The Primary Election Law.

After long and bitter hght tne
people have secured a primary cleo
tion law, and the refusal Of the cor
poration-machine combine to grant
this demand two years ago helped to
bury them out of sight at the last
state convention. The people are in
the saddle and know how to ride.
The Sioux City Journal has eXamin-
ed the law carefully and makes the
following brief: The law provides
for a sweeping Statewide, direct pri-
mary" 1t applies to all elective Of
fees, county, district and state. and
calls for an expression Of preference
for candidates for the United States
senate which shall operate the same
as party instruction to the legislators.
| The law does not apply to municipal,
| township and school elections. but
may be applied to such elections by a
ma jority vote OF the electors at any
regular election.
Primaries for state and county Of
ticers will be held on the second Tues
day in June, 1908, and every two
years thereafter, the polls to be kept
open from s Il. m. to ) p. IN. Sepa-
rate ballots are to be provided for the
various political parties, no TWO bal
lots to be of the same color. There is
provision that independent candi-
dates may be grouped under some
appropriate motto, practically making
new party tickets Candidates may
secure places on the regular party
ballots by circulating petitions and
paying fees varying with the import
ance of the office. The fee for United
States senator or congressman is $50.
For state officers the fee ranges from
$50 to $40.
Delegates to national conventions
shall be elected at special state con-
ventions held on the first Tuesday in
April, 1908, and quadrienially there
after Delegates are to be elected at
county conventions held on the fourth
Tuesday in March of the years in
question. Primaries to elect dele
gates to the county convention must
be held on the second Tuesday in
March. 1t is provided, however, that
whenever twO-thirdS Of the county
central committees of the several po-
litical parties of any county at a reg
ularly called meeting shall decide
that there is not sufficient contest over
the selection of delegates from such
county to justify the expense OF a
county convention the county commit
tee shall have the power to name the
delegates to the state convention to
select delegates to the national con-
vention.
The law provides that any candidate
who secures plurality at the primary
election shall be declared nominated,
provided the vote cast for him shall
equal 30 per cent of the total vote
polled by his party. If no candidate
| choice..goes to the county or state con-
vention, which must make choice
between the candidates voted for in
the primary. Delegates to the coun-
ty convention are voted for on the pri-
mary ballot. Ties are to be decided
by lot by the canvassers.
The question of party atliliation,
which has proved so troublesome in
other states, has been left by the
South Dakota legislators largely to the
conscience of the voter. a voter may
call for any of the party ballots, and
it must be given him unless his right
to it is formally challenged. In case
of challenge the voter is required to
make oath that since the last general
election he has been in good faith a
member of the party, believer in it's
principles as expressed in the last pre-
ceding state and national platforms,
and that it is his intention to support
the principles of the party and the
candidates nominated at the primary.
The challenged person may be request
ed to make written affidavit tothis eff
feet, such affidavit to be preserved
with a poll book. The making of
false atlidavits is to be punished as
perjury. The penalty for fraudulent
voting is a fine not exceeding 5000 or
Jail sentence not exceeding six
months.
The name of every voter whose vote
is accepted at primary election is to
be entered by the clerks in the poll
book and duplicate of the party in
which he processes membership. After
the close of the polls the judges are
required to ascertain the number of
names registered in each party poll
book separately. They are then re-
Iquired to ascertain how many ballots
have been deposited for each political
party separately If the number of
ballots of any political party exceeds
the number of names entered on the
party poll books the ballots must be
| folded and replaced in the box from
which they were taken. The box
must then be shaken and one of the
Judges having been blindfolded, shall
take from the box and destroy SO
many of such ballots as shall be equal
| to the excess.
| Primary returns are delivered to the
county auditor, who with the assist
ance of the clerk of courts and coun-
ty Judge shall can vass the returns and
make separate tabulated statements