The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1910-12-08

legally go upon the ballot as a party
candidate or under a party name, and
that Is by participating in the primar-
les under a party name, and as you
are evidently totally ignorant of the
provisions of the law covering that
point We will call your attention to
chapter 297, article 8, of the session
laws OF 1909, which reads as follows:
Hereafter all party candidate for
the elective offices hereinafter named,
and for the office of United States SEN
ator, shall be nominated, and all party
delegates and alternatives to political
conventions, and all precinct, county,
state and national committeeman,
shall be nominated and elected at a
primary election held in accordance
with the provisions of this act. All
other nominations of such candidates
shall be by petition as now provided
by law"
This throws the burden upon the
general election law to provide a way
for the independent candidate TO get
his name upon the ballot, and here
it is:
Section 1902 Of article 6, political
code of 1903: Candidates for public
office may be nominated otherwise
than by convention or primary meet
ing, in the manner following: A Ger
tificate of nomination containing the
name of the candidate for the Office
to be filled, and such other informa- ion
as is required TO be given in certifi-
Gates of nomination provided for in
section 1900 of this article, may be
signed by electors residing within the
district or political divisions in and
for which such officer or officers are
to be elected in the following num-
bers, tO-Wit: Two hundr d or more
when the candidate is for an office to
be filled by the electors of the entire
state; twenty or more when the cleo
ton is for an office to be filled by the
electors of a county, district, or other
divisions less than the entire state;
and five or more when the nomination
is for al office to be filled by the
electors OF a precinct OF ward or a
township; Provided, however, that the
said signatures need not all be append
ed to one paper, etc. Such certificate
of nomination may be filed with the
same officer, in the anne manne and
with the same effect as certificates of
like character made by convention or
primary meeting"
Your statement that we gave you
instructions in preparing your ticket"
is not borne cut by the facts.
On September 16, we received a
telegram from Mr.. NJ. G. Opsahl, late
socialist candidate for governor, ask
ing if socialist democratic party petit
tons would be accepted if filed on or
before the 26th, to which we replied:
Nominating petition of any person
will be accepted and certified if in
proper form, but not as a party can
didate."
These are the only instructions we
have given to any representative of
the socialist democratic party.
We we're extremely liberal in certi-
flying the nomination to the various
county auditors in that We certified
them as candidates of the socialist
democratic party, and in this We per-
haps overstepped the law. They were
llOI tlllCltu W ~ Ol lut DdllOI ull-
der any name, but as independent can
didates only.
We know nothing whatever about
the merits of your kick" against the
county auditors. 1t is wholly in their
discretion to place the names or
tickets on any place upon the ballot,
just SO that they place the party ticket
in one column and Independent candi-
dates in another. We are not the
guardian of the county auditors; our
duty ceases when the nominations are
certified up to them.
The supreme court has ruled on the
matter under discussion and the at
torney general has filed an opinion,
both holding that in order to get on
the ballot under a party name is to
participate in the primaries under d
party name. If you have any other
remedy we shall be pleased to get the
formula.
Very respectfully,
j. T. Nelson,