The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-07-13

| On primary day no Democrat will be
permitted to interfere with the nomi-
nation of Republican candidates for
| any office, great or small; and no Re-
| publican will be permitted to interfere
with the nomination of any Democrat
| for any office great or small.
| If a Democrat call for a Republican
primary ballot on August he should
be challenged on the ground that he is
| not a Republican and that it was none
| of his business, on August 4 at least,
whom the Republicans might nomi-
nate; and he should be refused Re-
| publican ballot on the ground that he
is not Republican.
In other words, although the right of
| citizenship carries with 1t the right to
vote, that means the right to vote at
| the general elections at which public
| officers are chosen. But on primary
| day the rights of the several political
| parties predominant, and no person has
a legal or moral right to interfere with
the transaction of any political party's
| business if he is not mmeber of that
| particular political party. Perhaps
there is a Woodman lodge. a Workman
| lodge and an Odd Fellow lodge in your
| town. What would you think if. the
Woodmen or the Workmen attempted
to interfere with the nomination of Of
ncers for that Odd Fellows lodge?
Under date of July II, 1910, he deliv-
ers the opinion below:
Paragraph 1902. of the general stat
utes of 1909, reads in part as follows:
THE right of any person to vote at
primary may be challenged by any
elector upon the same grounds, and his
right to vote be determined in the
same manner as at an election, except
as otherwise provided herein: provided,
| that If the person offering his vote be
challenged as unqualified on the ground
that he is not a member of the party
announced by himself he shall make
and subscribe an affidavit in the fol-
! lowing form, which shall be presented
to and retained by the primary Judges
and clerks and returned by them with
the registry poll books"
Here follows the form of the oath, a
part of which reads:
And 1 am a member of and affiliated
| with - party"
In my Judgment the judges Of cleo
ton have the right to question the
challenged voter on any of the grounds
mentioned in the general ELECTION law
as grounds for challenge. See article 2,
| chapter &c, para graph 1922, ct seq, gen.
era. statutes of 1909. In my judgment
the judges of election have no right to
ask voter any questions regarding
| his party affiliations where he is chai-
| lenged upon that ground. The penal
provisions of the primary election
make it felony to swear falsely, and
| when a person is challenged on the
| ground that he does not belong to the
political party whose ballot he asks for
and he takes the oath given in the
statute, he has complied with the pro-
visions of the statute, and the ques-
ton is then a question as to whether
he has sworn falsely.
1.-The question is, what party is ne
affiliated with at the time he asks for
the ballot; not what party has he been
affiliated with.
1.-The law leaves it to the conscience
of the voter as to what party he is af-
| filiated with when he offers to vote,
and this, in my judgment, is in cor
| formity to the spirit and intention CT
the constitution. the Declaration of IN
| dependence, the provisions of the pri-
mary election law and the principles CT
| free government The law looks not 20
what man has been, but what he Is. =
| From reading the above opinions it
| will be readily seen that in one of them
| the attorney general says in substance
| that where a member of one party
calls for another party's ballot at the
primary the judges should refuse 20
| furnish him a ballot upon the ground
| that he is not member of that party
| In the other opinion he says in sub
! stance that the judges of election have
no right to ask the voter any questions
regarding his party affliation
! THE opinion of the attorney general
rendered July %, 1908, is in full accord
with the primary election law and also
| with my recent statement concerning
| the matter, which may be stated In q
few brief words: If a man votes any
other than his own party ballot at the
primary he violates the law and lays
himself liable to prosecution: And u
the judges of election permit a maa
thus to violate the law they are
equally guilty