Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-23
LAW STATEMENT
ISSUED BY COUNTY CLERK
Gives Opinion Regarding Petitions
and Other Features
of the Act

At the request of one of the officers
OF the Good Government organization,
c. G. Keyes, county clerk, yesterday
submitted detailed opinion of several
of the complications of the new direct
primary law, as it affects the circula-
tion of candidates petitions, Mr..
Keyes' letter throws a clear light on
this feature of campaign work, and
contains information very important
to candidates and petition bearers. His
letter is as follows:
AS to your first inquiry as to 'verifcation
deputies acting in behalf of various candi-
dates, who are leaving nominating petitions
at the house or business office of persons to
be signed and afterward calling for same,
merely taking the acknowledgment of the
voter instead of having the petition signed IN
the presence of deputy" l would state that
If the verihcaton deputy, when he collects
such petitions the party so signing and
asks him, rs that your signature and DO
you swear to the truth of the matters con-
tained herein," l would hold that such action
is sufficient to constitute valid verihcation.
If, however he does not after the signature
is attached, sec the party, and does not in
fact have the party verify the petition as
above indicated, but affxes his attestation of
such verfcaton therein, such verifcation
deputy is guilty of felony stats. 1901. page
445), and IL I know of any such case 1 would
throw out any such petition or petitions as
invalid.
FACE VALUE
OF course, in absence OF proof to the con-
trary, I have to assume all petitions that are
regular and correct in form to have been taken
in accordance with what they purport to show.
AS regards your second inquiry to pro-
portion of signatures necessary in precincts
as they exist at present, or as they existed at
the last general election, l am in doubt just
how to answer.
The law unquestionably contemplates the
precincts as at present constituted and as the
vote proportion of which is necessary wa
the one cast in the precincts formerly con-
stituted, 1 have been unable to arrive at any
conclusion as to how 1 will act should this
matter come up, as it is an absolute impossi-
bility to tell the number Of votes cast in any
particular portion of an old precinct which
has been incorporated in a new precinct
WOULD DEFEAT PURPOSE
could not however, limit the certifcation,
as you suggest, to precincts the boundaries
of which have not been changed, as this would
deprive the electors in great number of pre-
cincts of their right to participate in the
nomination of officers to be voted Tor IN
November, thus defeating, in a measure at
least the very purpose of the direct primary.
do not hold that the law requires not
less than nor more than 10 per cent in
each of the precincts of the district in which
the candidate is being signed for, but that
the signatures in these precincts as whole
must be obtained in 25 per cent of the pre-
oincts in said district. and all petitions that l
have certified to far have been signed by
electors residing in a considerably larger
number of precincts in the district than the
25 per cent called for, and in a territory which
included both the old and new precincts, so
that 1 am hoping that 1 will not be called
on to decide the point you raise.
GENERAL APPLICATION
AS the whole purpose of the requirement of
a candidate TO have certain number of cleo
tors sign his petition is, 1 assume, to pre-
vent any and everybody asking to and having
his name placed upon the ballot without
making any effort to show that it is the wish
of any considerable number of electors to have
his name so placed and as paragraph four
section one, of the primary act says this
statute shall be literally construed, 1 SHALL
as far as l possibly can, so construe 1t, and
where candidate has made an honest effort
to comply with the law, 1 shall be extremely
disnclned to defeat his purpose on account
of any technicality.