The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1908-11-10
HAMPERING THE VOTER.

The use of the voting machines at
elections is being severely criticized in
various parts of the country. A New
York Tribune dispatch from East
Orange, \ J., on election day, gives
as follows Governor Fort s criticism
| of the machines:
| He was uncomplirnentary in his remarks
| about the device. The Governor looked
| az the chart of names spread before him.
! and pointing to the space reserved for
electors, remarked to the election officer:
In my opinion that feature would OF
| Itself render the whole vote on this or any
other. machine Illegal. II anybody, cared
select the names OF those ne wants 10
vote for, even If they are only Presidential
electors. and, though 81 makes no differ
encs 10 me, what would the man do who
desired 70 scratch an elector: I tell you,
II is depririns man of part OF his right
OF suffrage.
The feature 10 which the Governor made
objection had also attracted the attention
of the election authorities, and an attempt
To mitigate the difficulty was made by
providing separate ballots 10 be cast after
Scratching" the space on the machine.
but IL did not work very well.
There is undoubtedly a good deal in
what Governor Fort says. The fact is
that all of the election devices that
have come into use in the past twenty
years have tended toward the restric-
ton of the freedom ef'thc voter This
applies 10 the Australian ballot, as we'll
as TO the machines. The machine. how
ever, is unquestionably long step be.
L.
ing the freedom of voting. II is quite
true that if one is an expert be can
vote any way he chooses on the ma
chine, with the exception, as a rule, that
Governor Fort points out But the av-
erage voter is by no means an expert.
A Salt Laker expressed in an exag-
gerated way the difficulty with machine
voting when he said that to learn TO
use it was good deal like learning
to play on the piano. 1t is not quite so
bad as that, of course, but there is no
question Of its hampering power upon
the voter
The average voter when confronted
alone behind the curtain with the long
array of rows is apt to become confused
and not know precisely what TO do.
Even though he has pretty thoroughly
mapped out in his mind what he wants,
when he sees the whole apparatus there
before him he becomes uncertain and
timid. The result is that thousands are
constantly voting for things that they
do not want and for candidates whom
they would rather not support. In this
city at the recent election it was fairly
estimated that from forty TO fifty voters
in each of the ffty-four election dis
tricts voted for a local ticket that thew
did not desire to support merely be-
cause they were determined to vote for
Mr.. Taft for president and were uncer.
tain as TO the next process. And in
other respects, also, the machine was
confusing and uncertain. A good many |
persons went into the booth with full |
determination to vote against the three |
amendments, aud after |
they got In there and fixed their vote
up otherwise, they forgot all about those !
and came out without vot.
ing upon them at all.
We do not suppose that in this State |
there is any doubt about the legality of
the use Of the voting machines, al |
though Governor Fort seemed to think
there was some doubt about it in New
Jersey. But We believe, however. that
the freedom and the certainty of voting
would be immeasureably enhanced if the
whole legislation of recent years were
lone away with, with the voting ma.
,hines thrown into the rubbish heap,
and the Australian ballot forgotten.
The old way, whereby every one was
at liberty TO fix up a ticket to suit him
self aud vote it, keeping in mind only
he restriction that there shall be no
special Distinguishing marks or lack Of
in the size and appearance
II the ballot, was unauestionably the
rec and open way Of voting and to
De preferred Every improvement. So
,alled, has tended to narrow the bounds
# freedom and to restrict the voter in
us choice The pendulum has swung
altogether too far in the direction OF
disabilities, and we should be glad to
ice it swing back the other way, until
he whole Of these deyices we're done