The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-09-05
$5OO,OOO TIED
UP in VOTING
MACHINES
Protests From all Sections
Of New Jersey Against
Their Use.
NEWARK A HEAVY LOSER
Fifty Voting Machines a Con-
tinued Expense to City for
Rent, Repairs, Etc.--BallOt
Boxes Needed for Use in
Case of Breakdowns.

TRENTON, Sept. 5.-The insistent
demands that are coming to the Office
of Secretary of State Dickinson from
all parts of New Jersey that the old
fashioned ballot boxes be restored and
the new voting machines removed at
the coming election. are disturbing
State officials.
Thus far the State has spent almost
a half million dollars for the machines.
and the people in very few of the voting
districts like them.
Newark has fifty voting machines in
use at fifty of the 140 polling places in
the city on election day. Each ma
chine cost $24 for that day, outside OF
the cost of repairing, setting up. seal
ing and carting and storing the ma
chimes. At $24 each the fifty machines
cost the city on each election day
81 200. The other expenses for the
machines exceed a total of $1,000 a
year. II there was a machine at each
of the 140 polling places the expense
to the city would be close on $4,000 a
year, at q low estimate. The fifty ma
chimes in use cost about $4,000, and 140
of them would cost upward of $4,000
at $500 each.
It cost the city $463104 for the storage.
rent and incidentals connected with the
voting machines and the voting booths and
bollot-boxes last year. In a statement
City Clerk James T. Connolly claimed that
IL the New City Hall Commission had
kgranted his request to reserve the basemenr
! of the $4,000 City Hall annex now in
course of construction, the city could save
a large part of this this year. The COM
mission refused his request because 1t
would not change its plans
This year the city Is paying 500 for q
building in Chapel court used for the stor-
age Of voting machines and the greater
mart of the ballot-boxes, an increase in the
rent of $100 over last year. and the owners
have notified the city clerk that the rent
will be again raised. From September until
after election day and two night watch-
men are kept at the building, adding an
other S2S per week to the expenses
The election booths are stored on the
Commercial dock. where there is no watch
man. SO that the booths are at the mercy
of tramps The booths and the voting ma
chimes should be stored together. 1t costs
an average Of s. to repair each booth for
every election day, and the boxes. nearly
1,O0O in number. have to be repainted every
year.
Commercial dock is leased to the United
Electric Company by the city at $50
SO for the use of small building on the
dock. When the company erected the
stable it added an extra story TO the
Building
city Clerk Connolly said that If the
basement of the new annex at the City
Hail was reserved for the storage of cleo
ton voting machines boxes and booths,
and a sidewalk lift Installed, 1t would
save the city d large sum OF money. Mr
Connolly also said that one large room IN I
the cellar of the City Hail-a room that
is vaeant-would almost be sufficient, il
the floor was lowered and lift put in, to
store all the election apparatus There
are five passenger elevators in the build
ing, but none go down to the cellar, where
heavy articles are stored.
II takes four men several days to uncoil
the fifty voting machines, set them OUT,
put the various tickets in, after which
the machines have to be sealed and then
carted to the polling places.
Here are some items of expense of the
fifty voting machines last year: Rent and
storage. $73334; watchmen guarding the
machines, SG6S; repairing machines, sl5i;
insurance, S67.4s; moving machines, so;
brass checks, S26.17.
mo saving is effected in the election ex-
penses to counteraet the extra cost of using
the machines for the printed ballots ard
boxes must be prepared and be ready Tor
use in case Of breakdown Of the machines"
said a man who has studied the matter.
"The voting machines therefore. are 2
superluous expense. besides endangering
the franchise of voters VINO are forced to
use them Even after one has voted OIL
the machine he has no way OF seeing that
his choice is registered The legislaturs
should abolish this unnecessary, complea-
ted and costly substitute for the printed
ballot"