The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1908-05-01
ON MATTERS POLITICAL
Distribute National Republican
Convention Delegates.
Three Fourths of 100000 Republi-
cans Expected to Vote in the
September Primaries.

ence. AT the state convention which
meets in Spokane on May IA two dele
gates to the national convention are to
be selected from each of the cOngression-
al districts and four at large. plan is
being worked out to select one OF the
delegates at large from Seattle, one from
Tacoma, one from Spokane and the
other from either Belingham or Everett
Each congressional district is to select
two delegates, then from the smaller
towns. The plan is suggested to pre-
vent the possibility Of the larger coun-
ties outvoting the smaller ones and Sc
curing all of the places.
Relative to the primary law, it is a
matter becoming quite generally COM
mented upon by those who have studied
the provisions of the act that the rank
and file of the party, and indeed some of
the usually well informed men, do not
fully understand the second choice pro-
vision. Ii for any state or congressional
office there are four or more candidates
for a single nomination the electOr must
cast both first and second choice votes
in order to have his vote counted
Many do not understand that it is abso
lutely necessary to vote for a second
choice candidate under such conditions
in order to have their first choice vote
counted. Once this is understood there
will be no occasion for mistakes, as on
the official ballot, wherever it is neces-
sary to vote for second choice candi-
date, the following words will be plainly
printed under the heading of the office:
''Vote for both first and second choice
for this Office"
The normal republican vote in the
state Of Washington is estimated at
about 100000 this year. This is about
the vote that will be cast, under ordi-
nary conditions, for the most popular
state or congressional candidates. The
vote on presidential electors will go
higher If the vote Of 1904 is to be taken
as criterion. In 1904 the highest re
publican vote on presidential electOr
was 1O1, $40. As a rule presidential
electors get higher vote than do the
state or congressional candidates. In
that year the next highest vote was on
supreme Judge, Justice Fullerton leading
the ticket with q total OF 81 ,224. The
increase in population is expected to
hrjnu tho al 70 40 IA0 00D
mark on the state and congressional
candidates.
One hundred thousand votes, however,
cannot be counted on for the September
primaries. A primary election rarely
brings out the full vote, and occurring
as it does in the midst of the harvest
season in eastern Washington many
voters in the rural districts will neces-
sarily be kept away from the polls.
Estimates are that about 10000 to 75,-
600 republicans will go to the polls in
not be surprising if ten per cent OF these
would fail to mark their ballots prop
erly, where it is necessary to designate a
second choice. Supreme judges will be
on a bipartisan ticket; congressman
are to be voted on by districts for the
first time in this state, and the second
choice applies to them. Presidential
electors are nominated by the cOnven-
tion method.
On the basis Of total republican vote
OF 70 900 in the primaries, it is interest
ing to note that in the case OF governor
and other offices for which there will be
four or more candidates, the candidate
to be successful on first choice votes
alone must poll at least $4,000. If the
highest candidate has less than that
number then the second choice votes OF
each candidate must be added to his
first choice votes, and the one receiving
the greatest number OF first and second
choice votes is the party choice for the
office
The attorney general this week ruled
ing the nomination OF candidates for
superior Judge in counties or districts
where but one judge is on the bench.
The primary law specifically provides
only for the nomination OF judges in
districts or counties where there are two
or more judges. In some quarters it
| has been inferred from this that it would
be necessary to nominate by the conven-
tion method in one Judge districts The
attorney general says mo" The pri-
mary law applies to one judge districts
| and counties as well as to those specifi-
cally mentioned. There must be no
designation of bis politics on the pri-
mary ballot and the candidate receiving
the highest vote in any district, where
but one Judge is to be elected, will be the
only one whose name will appear on the
official ballot in the November election.
/ Nominations are therefore equivalent to
| the November election. 1t is the same
with all superior and supreme court