The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1909-04-02
RIBBON BALLOT
WILL AID VOTERS
Furnished With a Sample lliterate
Man Will be Enabled to Cast
Vote lntellieently.

Guthrie, Okla, Mar 27,--"The re.
publicans are foolish If they submit
the new general election law to a ref |
erendum VOTE said we'll known
democrat today They think the law
will disfranchise thousands of their
colored voters and are anxious there
fore to have it repealed by a referen-
dunn vote before the next general cleo
ton.
II believe that. instead OF doing that
the new law will facilitate the casting
of the illiterate vote and that IL will
impose the burden of red tape in vot
ing upon the intelligent voters OF each
party, thereby having an opposite eff
feet than has been predicted by the
republicans. This will make the law
unpopular with the intelligent voters
OF both parties and will make It mill
stone around the necks of the demo
cratic party in the next general cleo
tion, whereas it submitted u refer
endum vote many of the democrats
will join in voting it down and the
democratic party will be able TO claim
the credit for defeating an unfair"
election law
This novel view which Is shared by a
number Of democrats is based on the
theory that if the ribbon ballot cleo
ton law is in force at the next general
election each party, and especially the
republicans, viii furnish al Their IL
literate voters with sample ballots be-
fore going to the polls, which will act
IS keys, while the intelligent voter
viii not be furnished with these keys
by his party and he will be compelled
to study out his own ballot before
voting. An illustration Of this proposi-
tion is given as follows
The republicans have sample ballots
struck off containing only the names
of the republican candidates with
only blanks substituted for the names
of other party candidates coming in
between each blank being indicated
by black line This key ballot Is fur
nished to the nliterate republican
voter somewhere outside the voting
place and the voter Is instructed %
take 1t into the booth with him lie
will spread It out beside the ballot he
intends to vote and if he cannot read
the names he will merely count the
number Of lines on his key ballot until
he reaches the name of the first re
publican candidate.
lie will then count of the same
number OF lines on the original ballot
and stamp IN the square opposite the
name. He will proceed in this way
counting two. three or five spaces
down the ribbon ballot to the nexi
name that is written out on his sample
ballot and repeat the same process on
the original ballot, stamping as before
In this way the ignorant voter IL he
can count and the assumption Is made
that most Of them can, VIII be able
70 vote faster than the man who has
to read over every name and depend
on his memory as to who the republi
can. socialist or prohibition candidates
are.
Il don't believe that scarcely any
iliterate voters wis be barred from
voting BY the ribbon ballot il key bal
lots are furnished them said a dem
ocrat who takes this view of the law
and If the men who passed the elee
ton law hoped thereby to practically
disfranchise negro voters. they hay'
taken the wrong method. in my opin
ion. TO get at this result.