Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-07-18
A Decidedly Bungling Job.

A. ONNANSAAJ SOb'
Although few people are aware Of
it, an amendment to the constitution
Of Nebraska is to be voted upon at the
coming primary to make new defini-
ton of what constitutes the voting
citizenship of the state.
Without taking issue with the pur-
pose Of the amendment which is to re-
strict the right of foreign-born citizens
to vote to those who have been fully
naturalised, and without even ques-
tioning that the amendment will be
adopted under the peculiar system of
ratification which has been put into
force, yet 1t Is not out Of order to re-
mark that whoever drafted the pro-
posed amendment did !. a decidedly
bungling job.
In the hrst place. the proposed
amendment provides that Every male
citizen OF the United States. Of the age
of al years, who shall have been a
resident of this state, etc., shall be an
elector." The existing section for
which this substitutes reads, Every
male person of the age Of 81 years or
upward" Strictly construed, and TAX
ing into consideration the omission of
the words, cor upwards" 1t would be
easy to hold that the proposed amend
ment when adopted will confine the
electorate to citizens of 81 years of
age and none other, and disfranchise
all over 81. Whether any court would
go to such length We do not know,
but the plain reading of the words
would fully justify 1t.
In the second place, the proposed
amendment tacks on this proviso al
most equally illuminating:
Provided. That persons who shall have
declared their intention to become citizens
conformably to the laws OF the United
States and are voting at the taking effect
OF this amendment, may continue to exer-
else the right OF suffrage until such time
as they may have resided in the United
States five years, after which they shall
take out full citizenship papers to be en-
titled to vote at any succeeding election.
Presumably, the intent of this pro-
viso is to avoid DISTINGUISHING any for
eign-born citizen who has already ac-
quired the right to vote in Nebraska,
but, II SO, 1t does nothing Of the kind.
The exemption goes to those who ARE
voting" at the time of the taking effect
Of the amendment. But how can that
be ascertained? Those who may be
entitled to vote are not necessarily
those who are actually voting at any
particular election. and at best the
record of those who vote is not a per-
manent record.
The amendment permits foreign
born citizens to vote on first papers
until such time as they may have re-
sided in the United States FIVE years"
after which they must have full citi-
zenship papers to be entitled to vote,
the assumption being that at the end
of Ave years residence they can take
out full citizenship papers. But even
this does not follow because part OF
the hve-year period of residence may
have been passed without taking out
first papers, 30 that the most eKpedi-
tious naturalization would still leave
a period during which a person now
entitled to vote would be disfran,
chised. This applies particularly to
those foreign-born citizens now voting
on first papers who have already re.
sided in the United States more thar
Ave years, and who would. therefore
be disfranchised Immediately upon the
taking effect OF the amendment ana re
main disfranehised until they could
1 complete their naturalization, which
some are not in position TO do.
!, IL is utterly unexplainable why any
one framing a constitutional amend