Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-07
TO NOMINATE BY
DIRECT PRIMARY
NEW ELECTION LAW TRIED IN
WASHINGTON
SENATORS, coNGREssMEN AND
STATE OFFICERS VOTED ON
Initial Test Eagerly Looked Forward
To--Statute Provides for Nom
Partisan Judiciary and Re-
strlcts Extravagance
Special to The Herald.

Special to The Herald.
SPOKANE, WASH, Sept. 6.--What is
declared by authorities to be the most
advanced form of direct primary cleo
ton law on the statute books of any
commonwealth in the Union will be
used the first time throughout WASH
ington tomorrow, when candidates for
state offices, United States senators,
representatives in congress, judges of
the supreme and superior courts and
county offices will be nominated, to be
voted for at the general election in
November.
The original features of the law.
which was approved March 13, 1907,
and given It's initial test at the city
election in Spokane the following
April, are the direct vote for United
States senator the non-partisan judi
ciary, the second choice and the pro-
visions restricting lavish expenditures
of money and lessening the intrusion
of venal publications.
Fines and Imprisonment are also pro-
vided for any one who solicits money,
liquor or anything of value for int1u-
encing votes, thus throwing every
possible safeguard around the fran
chise and in a way eliminating the old
time warhorse politician as a factor in
the nomination OF CanQludI6S.
Any Voter Can Run
Any qualified voter can declare his
candidacy for any office on the ballot
used at any primary election, provided
he pays the fee required by law and
files his name, address and party af-
filiation with the secretary of state at
least thirty days and not more than
sixty days prior to the primary. The
r. tr1 fAr fNf-
flee with a salary or compensation at
tached of $1,000 or less a year, and
where more an additional amount
equal to 1 per cent of the salary on
such excess. There are no party eau
cuses or conventions to nominate can
didates or the jobbery and machine
methods usually attendant upon them.
A feature of the law not in use in
any other state requires the voter to
designate his first and second choice
in all instances where there are four
or more candidates of any political
party for one state or congressional
office. The language of this provision
follows, in part:
mo voter shall vote for the same
person for first choice and second
choice, and no voter shall, where
there are four or more candidates
for such nomination, vote for one
person only, either as first or sec
ond choice, and no ballot so voted
for one person only for either first
or second choice shall be considered
a complete ballot, but any ballot
under said conditions failing to
show both first and second choice OF
different persons, shall not be con-
sidered or counted for that Office"
Have but One Choice
e. Tho inIfoiaru arc MT
required to declare their party affil-
Iations. and there is but one choice.
The voter for United States senator
also has one choice, and in the latter
case the candidates for representatives
of the state legislature may pledge
themselves to vote for the party choice
for United States senator.
Chief interest In Washington TINS
year is centered in the state and con-
gressional ticket. There are five can
didates for the United States senate.
They are Senator Levi Ankeney, Wal
la Walla; Congressman Wesley L..
Jones, North Yakima, and William II.
Smell, Tacoma, Republicans, and George
r. Cotterill and M. NJ. Goodman, Sc
attic Democrats.
Spokane has three of the thirteen
candidates for governor: William NJ
Ridpath, Republican. and Jimmie Dur
kin and Patrick S. Byrne, Democrats
The others are: Governor Albert u
Mead and Oscar II. Neil, Bellingham;
John d. Atkinson, Wenatchee; ex-
Governor Henry Mcbride and Robert
B. Brown, Seattle; J. w. Robinson
Olympia, and samuel G. Cosgrove
Pomeroy, Republicans, and John Patti
son, Colfax; A. ]. Splawn, North
Yakima. and William Blackman, Sc
attic.
Successors to Jones
The candidates to succeed Congress
man Jones are: State Senator Harry
Rosenhaupt, William H. Ludden, T. d
Rockwell and Judge Miles Poindexter
Spokane; Lee A. Johnson, Sunnyside;
III. M. Boone, Paluse, and M. e. Field
Stehekin, Republicans, and William
Goodyear Colfax, Democrat.
There are five Republican and three
Democratic candidates for lieutenant
governor, two Republicans and one
Democrat for secretary of state, three
Republicans each for treasurer and
auditor, four Republicans for attorney
general, three Republicans and one
Democrat for commissioner of public
instruction and four Republicans and
one Democrat for insurance commits
sioner. "A
There are eight candidatessf for the su-
preme bench and eleven for judges of
Spokane county, also from two to nine
Republicans and one to two Democrats
for state representative and senator in
the five districts in Spokane and enough
other candidates of both parties on the
ticket in Spokane to make ballot of
1cS names.
Nominate by Plurality
Candidates for party office who re-
cefve a plurality of the votes cast shall
be the nominees of such party, except
for offices where first and second choice
ballots are designated. In the latter
instance, IL no candidate receives more
than 40 per cent of the first choice
votes. then q canvass shall be made OF
the second choice votes received by the
candidates. These will be counted with
and added to the first choice votes, and
the candidate receiving the highest
number of both votes shall be declared
the nominee for the office of the politi-
cal party represented by him. If he
polls 40 per cent or more of the first
choice votes of his political party the
candidate receiving the highest num-
her of first choice votes shall be de-
cIared the nominee without reference tc
the second choice votes.
1t is generally conceded by repre-
sentatives of both parties that the sec
ond choice provision adds essentially
to the effectiveness of the Washington
urinary law, as without 1t the candi-
date of a small minority could be noml-
mated. An instance of this can pe CIT