Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1909-03-11

citizens of Spanish, German, Scandi-
navian and other national descent.
for no sufficient reason.
To make operative the provisions
of the constitutional amendment the
legislature Of Maine in the same year,
1893, enacted rather elaborate sta
tutory regulations, preserving always
and jealousy the rights of the vot-
ers
If the trainers of the Arizona law
had followed the example of Maine
throughout, this bill could and would
have probably applied to it no other
appelation than that of an "educa-
uonal qualification Law"
The Maine law provides for a reg
istration of voters. In cities or towns
of 1000 or more inhabitants, a board
Of three is appointed, one by the
governor, one by the republican and
the third by the democratic party
organizations. This BOARD fixes a
place and a time for registration;
has the power to call witnesses, and
makes other provision for dispas-
sionately and honestly and impartial
~ trying the question of the ability
of the voter to read. The method
removes any possibility of an I'M
just decision Of that question and it
must be fairly tried In towns of
less than 1000 inhabitants certain
municipal officers are charged with
the duty of registration with like
powers and with like safeguards
thrown about the right of suffrage
Comparison of the system of reg
istration in Maine with that in Ari-
iona makes at once apparent the
danger of this bill if it becomes a
law. 1t is wholly unnecessary to
point out the differences.
But the trainers Of this proposed
law seem not to be content with the
decision of a peripatetic registering
officer whose business in the Ari-
IONA practice is to drum up voters
of his own political party. The
voter is required to submit to a
further test. de, Notwithstanding
the registering officer has passed
him, must submit to the ordeal of
the scrutiny Of an election board on
election day. He had a right to
have reviewed by a court the deci-
sion of the registering officer, if it
were unjustly land unfairly adverse
to him. But even that is cut off by
the provision of this proposed law
that he may be challenged upon the
ground that he cannot read the con-
stitutiOn of the United States in the
English language in such a manner
as to show that he is neither promp-
ted nor is reciting from memory.
From the decision of a partisan cleo
ton board he has no appeal. Not
withstanding the registering officer
has decided that question in his fav-
or-nay even though a court may
have done so-still on the day Of
election his right can be denied and
he is helpless. l confess l cannot
understand why this was made a
cause of challenge upon any theory
that this law is in good faith an
educational qualification law"
Presumptively a man whose name
is on the great register is a qualified
voter; at least if his name is prop
erly on the register. Our statute
heretofore has proceeded upon the
presumption of the existence of the
time of registration of every fact
qualifying the voter to registration.
II a man has falsely registered he
is to be punished for that
A disqualification that might have
existed at the time of registration
and which could not have arisen
since registration was not a ground
for the challenge of a registered
voter until this, law proposed a rad
ical change.
Our law requires that a voter shall
be over twenty-one years of age.
That he is not twenty-one years of
age is not a ground of challenge.