The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-08-03
State Wide Primary Will Be
Held Tomorrow.
Polls Will Open at 6 O'clock in
Morning In Cities.
CLOSE AT 6 in EVENING
Each Voter Must Declare His
Politics.
Must Not Write in Name OF
Anyone on Other Ticket.

Anyone on Other Ticket.
Some things to remember about the
new primary law:
Polls open Tuesday morning at 8
o'clock in the country. Open at 6 a. m.
and close at p. m. in cities.
Polls close Tuesday evening at 6
o'clock.
! In cities, voter must be registered,
the same as at general election.
| Each voter has to declare his poll
tics when he applies for a ballot. He
can have the ballot Of only one party.
A voter must not write in on his
ballot the name of any person who is
a candidate of any other party for any
office If he does, his whole ballot is
| invalidated. This would apply to John
Schenck in Shawnee county.
People should make it point to
vote early. The primary ballot is a
| new thing, and somewhat complicated.
1t will take longer than usual to mark
1 it, because there is no way to vote
straight ballot" by simply putting a
be voted separately. 1t will take
| longer to count the ballots for the
same reason, and the returns are like
| 1y to be slow in coming in.
l
primary law will work. Old time poll
ticians are GUESSING almost as wildly
/ on results as are those who claim no
political acumen. Some predict that
| after having tried the primary plan,
| everybody will be disguised, and viii
| demand a return to the convention
system Others say that the law Is
sure to stay, but may be amended
from time to time in some details, as
| experience indicates to be necessary.
| No one is confident that the law VIII
prove to be an unqualified success. the
first time.
Things the Primary Law Demands.
In the first place. the new primary
election law makes 1t impossible 1or
members Of one party, or lnoepen-
dents, to come in and dominate the
primary of another party.
| When the voter goes to the voting
Iplace on August a, he will find every
thing arranged as for a general cleo
ton. II in a city, he will be asked 70
4 give his name and residence, and II ne
Is found to be legally registered voter
for that precinct, he will be asked TO
declare in which party primary he de-
sires to participate. He has choice
| of the following:
| Republican.
i Democratic. e.
Socialist.
/ Prohibition.
Independent.
| The voter will find. if he takes a
Republican ballot. that he is offered
a choice of candidates for nearly every
i office. There are also good many
| contests for nomination on the Demo-
cratic ballot. The Socialist and Pro-
hibition party ballots, however, offer
only one choice, and no candidates at
| all are offered for many OF the sena-
torial and judicial offices. The Inde-
| pendent ballot simply consists of the
| names of the offices to be filled, with
blank spaces below in which the voter
can write in his choice. But the In
| whose name appears on anv of the
party tickets. or his vote will be re-
| jected. The man who receives the
most Independent votes for any office
will go on the ballot of the general
| election under the heading of the In
| dependent ticket" The probability Is
that the Independents will in this way
fill up an entire ticket for the general
election.
| If anybody thinks that man is
voting at the primary of party of
| which he is not member. he can
challenge the vote, and the voter must
then swear to the following oath:
"I am a member and affiliated with
the party; I have not signed
| the petition Of a member of any other
party who is seeking nomination at
| this primary election; 1 have not
| signed the nominating petition OF an
| independent candidate for any office
| for which candidates are to be voted
| for at this primary election"
Nomination of United States Senator
| While in a way the electors are at
| this primary afforded an opportunity
| to vote their choice for United States
/ senator, yet under the United States
/ constitution. the United States senator
must still be chosen by the legislature.
| What the law does it expresses
itself as follows:
"It being the purpose and intention
| of this provision. SO far as the same
/ is within the power of the legislature
| to do, to give all electors in the state
| of Kansas the right to express their
| party choice for United States sena-
| tor, and to direct that the same be
| carried out by their party members Of
the legislature of the state
When the elector votes his choice
| for United States senator, he is simply
| voting to "direct" his state senator or
| representative to vote for certain
| man for United States senator.
But even after the majority of the
voters of a district have directed" the
| senator or representative of that dis
| trict to favor certain man for United
States senator, that direction may be
overturned provided a majority Of the
other senators and representatives are
| directed" by their constituents-for
| some one else. The law says:
THE person receiving the highest
number Of votes of his party in the
greatest number of representative and
Senatorial districts Of the state shall
be declared by the state board of can
vassers the nominee of such political
party for United States senator"
So in case a member of the legisla-
ture is directed" by his constituents
to vote for a certain man for United
States senator he may prefer to follow
this direction rather than vote for an
other man, in case some other man is
made the party nominee. 1t opens the