Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-28
Nebraska'S Experience
With Variegated Ballots

worse than the chaos that would be pre-
scented II every voter had to make forty
oross-marks on his ballot. The recent dem
ocratio legislature. protesting the usual
zeal for nonpartisanship which always
overtakes a minority party, tried to give
us a law with a separate Massachusetts
ballot for candidates for judicial and ed
vocational offices, but overshot the mark
by prohibiting the endorsement, condemna-
ton or criticism OF any candidate by any
convention or assemblage Of voters, and
the law succumbed before a supreme court
decision. Personally, I believe the Massa-
chusetts ballot would be desirable in local
elections In which personal familiarity with
the candidates is possible IL we had a short
ballot with not over four or five offices to
fill But I DO not believe II Is desirable in
state elections or in local elections where
we have from twenty to forty offices to
fill.
What I have here written relates to the
ballot used in the regular election. We
have likewise experimental in official bal
lots for primary elections at which our
candidates are nominated by direct vote,
The first ballot was a purely alphabetical
ballot. the names OF candidates in each
party being printed on a separate party
ticket alphabetically arranged under the
respective office headings. This was prac-
tlcally the Massachusetts, ballot. The chief
objection made 20 1t was the great advant-
age given a candidate first In the alphabet,
and the utter confusion produced by the
tremendous number Of candidates filing for
nomination, making It necessary 10 center
on some list in the nature Of a slate in or
der to avoid the nomination Of utterly unfit
men. The alphabetical preference has been
obviated by what is called rotation, the
tickets being rotated from one voting dis
trict to another so as to place each candi-
dates name at the top Of approximately
the same number OF ballots and give him
an equal chance at the accidental vote.
The same democratic legislature, to which
i nave already referred, transformed our
previous closed primary, in which each
voter was given only his own party ballot,
to the wide-open primary with all party
tickets printed in columns side by side on
a large blanket ballot, affording each voter
an opportunity to help nominate the candi-
dates Of any party he may choose, condi-
toned only tina he keep his cross marks in
but one party column. This open primary
/ regard as thoroughly vicious. 1t permits
one party to nominate the candidates for
another party and is completely subversive
of party organization and party govern
ment. We have had only one trial Of It in
an off-year, and will have a fuller trial
this coming summer.
Our whole experience with ~variegated bal
lots, in my opinion, has probably expedited
some reforms that would have come more
slowly, but also brought along some new
evils. The big improvement was the adop-
ton Of the Australian ballot and the ac-
~companying safeguards Of the ballot box
to prevent fraudulent voting, repeating, etc.
Outside of that we seem to be between
two extremes of blind party following on
one side and complete demolition of party
lines on the other. 1 believe that we will
nave to find some middle ground that will
insure party nominations made by the rank
and file of the respective parties and give
the parties an opportunity to marshal them
forces behind their tickets, while leaving
the Independent voter who wants to scratch
free to do so. ] do not think, however, that
we should do anything calculated to dis
franchise the large body Of voters of aver
age intelligence who stick to party lines
In order to make more effective the small
and possibly more intelligent body of no
party voters.
If you wish further information or sample
ballots, 1 may possibly be able to accom-
modate you, but 1 think you will find the
samples set forth in our Nebraska session
laws.
In this statement you will note tina
have made no reference to the s~o-called
Oregon plan OF choosing I'm ted States sena-
tors, which Mr.. Bryan has put on us, be-
cause 1t does not seem to bA within the
scope Of your questions. Yours very truly,
VICTOR RosEwATER.