Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1908-01-30

ture to change the pr sent election
law as to the form of ballots and
methods OF registration: and also
authorizes the appointment of com
mitiees or commissions for invostl-
cation ,1d rcl-rt on such subjects
as may be deemed advisable. III
first topic ut once suggests how very
desirable 10 is that the present clec-
tion law should be entirely made
ov-r while the second indicates "a
feasible method of doing it.
Any one who has had experience
with the working OF the present laws
on elections by the people must have
realized that our system OF voting
is extremely cumbersome. costly and
inefficient. Its defects are so numer-
GUS TO point them out even If there
were SUFFICIENT space at hand 10 do
so. one fact in itself sufficient To
condemn the system is the immense
number Of ballots that have To be
thrown out AZ each election ON ac-
count OF defective marking. This
number has reached as high as seven
per cent" and probably higher. ar
different voting precincts.
Originally the main features of
the Australian method wer, thrown
m to the old system in crua? and
nasty way without any intelligent ar-
Tort TO produce congruous ana
harmonious system, and the result
Ing hotch-potch has since. from time
to time, been only tnkered with.
never intclligcntly revised.
Such thorough and systematic re-
vision as is desirable could not prob
ably be taken up and accomplished
at any session of the legislature. but
II the legislature that meets tomor-
row would take advantage OF the
governors call-and appoint com
mission 10 devise and submit at the
approaching ocular session bin
embracing everything concerning
elections by the people. reduced TO
compact and harmonious system.
it would be initiating a reform
that is very much wanted by the
people generally. And if such com
mission and the next legislature
would do what the people would
nave right to expect from them
there is no reason why West Vir-
ginia's election law shouldn't be the
best in the United States. instead of
being as it now is among the very
worst
The va:ue o. the work would of
course primarily depend very much
upon the makeup of the revision
commission. But it could be we'll
and easily done i'm the eleven months
before the next legislature by any
three honest, experienced and cana
bic men. of which there are a plenty
in the state for the governor or the
legislature to choose from. What is
most needed, and not surest to he
had, is on the part of all concerned
an honest patriotic determination to
get law that will be for the hest
permanent interest and welfare of
the whole people without any refer
ence to its temporary effect upon
any political party.
1T need hardly be added that in
the present state of political morals.
a prerequisite to any good election
law is an efficient system OF regis
tration, which It Is equally obvious
cannot be had without provision
requiring practically all voters to be
registered and the registers closed
long enough before election day to
afford ample opportunity for looking
up the record of all doubtful voters
Unfortunately this provision.
without which it is difficult TO con
ceive any effcacious system of gis-
tration is what the dominant party
fights shy Of, though the people en-
endorsed it by adopting
the registration amendment to the
constitution in 1902. If this partisan
view Of the matter continues there is
little hope that West Virginia will
have much to boast of in the way Of
an election law until the political
control Of the state has passed into
other hands. An event by no means
as far in the future as # has been.
In the meantime the Register M
least will have the satisfaction OF
knowing that it has discharged its
duty to the public I'm calling the at
tention Of the members of the pres
enilegis.ature 70 what is so clearly
theirs