Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1908-04-22
THE PRIMARY LAW.

torney General Byers does not seem
J to understand it very well, for when
he recently gave his opinion of GER
tain feature of it several prominent
lawyers of the state declared that he
was entirely mistaken in his view.
And at both Of the conventions recent.
ly held in Algona lawyers who were
present admitted that they had not
read the law or were not prepared to
discuss it. Under such circumstances
it devolves upon the scribes of the
press to. give the law such study as
they are capable of giving and then
giving their conclusions to the public,
says the Algona Courier.
The filling of all offices that are
filled by direct vote of the people is
included in this primary law. with
the exception of judicial Offices. The
electors for president and vice presi-
dent, the candidates for United States
senator. member of congress, members
of the state legislature, county Off
GERS. county supervisors, and township
officers and also the precinct party
chairman and the delegates to the
county conventions are all to be
voted for at the primary election.
Candidates for supervisor in counties
that are divided into supervisor dis
trlcts, and township officers and party
committee men, do not need to file
nomination papers, but the law con-
templates the nomination at the pri-
mary election the same as county Off.
GERS in every other respect.
Candidates for county offices must
cause to be circulated petitions upon
which the name of at least two per
cent of their party vote in the county
must be secured and those petitions
must be filed with the auditor at least
thirty days before the primary elec-
tion, which takes place on June I'd.
Candidates for the legislature must
file their petitions at least forty days
before the primary election. And
every candidate must also file with
those papers an oath stating his resi-
dence and that he is eligible to the
Office for which he is candidate, and
giving the name of the political party
with which he affiIiates, giving the
name of the Office for which he is q
candidate. and that he requests his
name to be printed upon the primary
ballot as candidate for that party,
and further that il he is elected that
he will qualify as such officer.
And also accompanying every nomi-
nation paper there must be an affida-
Wit by some other citizen than the
candidate, stating that he is person
ally acquainted with all the persons
who have signed the same that he
knows them to be electors of this
county, and that he believes them to
be affiliated with the party therein
named that he knows they signed the
same with the full knowledge of the
contents thereof; that their respective
residences are truly stated therein:
and that each signer signed the same
on the dates set opposite his name.
If any parties thus filing nomina-
tion papers do not receive as high as
30 per cent of their party vote in
their county or district, no nomina.
tion is made by the primary election,
and the nomination goes over to the
convention to be held on June Goth.
The effect of this law with all it's
requirements is likely to have disor-
ganizing effect on minority parties.
When there is little prospect of get
ting Office there is little incentive to
go to the labor and bother of doing
all that this law requires. It may
be that in counties like Kossuth but
few, if any persons. will circulate
nomination papers to become candi-
dates. Usually men have had to be
coaxed to accept nominations when no
bother or expense was entailed. But
AuhD 10 pho SOhuibiOh W
candidates it is highly important that
democrats in every precinct go to the
polls and vote for precinct chairman
and for delegates to the county con-
vention. This must be done in order
to preserve at county organization.
And it must be borne in mind that
precinct chairmen and delegates to the
county convention will play more
important part in their party now
than heretofore. The law recognizes
them now as officers, and they are
subject to removal if they do not per.
form their duties as such. The dele
gates TO be elected at the coming pri-
mary election on June I'd. will con-
stitute the convention of June Goth
and there can be no proxies. Blank
spaces will be found in the ticket in
which the names of precinct chairman
and delegates may be written. The
convention on June Goth will have all
nominations to make that are not
made by the primary election. 1t is