Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-09-13
MANY TURN AWAY
HUFFED BY DELAY
At REGISTRATION
At Closing Many We're Still
Waiting Outside the Poll
ing Places.
ELECTION OFFICERS ALLOW
THESE TO ADD NAMES, TOO
Cumbersome Law Entails Five"
Minute Average Rate for
Registering.

when the hour arrived last night Tor
the closing Of the polls for the hrst day
of registration there were Still III iin9
at mostly ali Of the polling places men
waiting TO have their names placed Oh
the lists. The election officers decided
20 baye these names added, irrespective
Of the fact whether or not they Wefs
inside the polling place at closing tline
The law SAYS that all within the rallied
enclosure shall be allowed TO register
at closing time. Registration under the
new law consumed so much time that
already many had been turned away
disguised. Experience OF yesterday
showed that it will take most men an
average of about five minutes TO nave Z
name properly registered to vote on
primary day.
The election officers had their great
est difficulty in trying to impress upon
the voters hat they must tell what
political party they intended to affiliate
with at the next election whea the
registered for the primary. The cleo
ton board must place the designation
r. or d opposite the name of each vote"
registered for the primary to indlcate
what party he belongs to. Some of the
objections to this part of the law could
not be overcome and many voters quiz
the polls rather than define their poht-
cal affiliations. But at SOME polling
places this was not asked.
In the ease of a man who went to
the polls yesterday merely to register
o the ensuing election. which he must
dc in order to have a vote, whether his
name is on the election list OF last yet.~
or not, the election officers in some in
stances insisted that he should make
known his political affiliations. In this
they seem to have gone too far. There
is apparently nothing in the law which
requires a man who registers for the
election alone to name his party. While
the law does require that every person
wEo votes at the primary shall reg
lister for the ensuing election it does
not demand that everyone registering
for election shall also put his name
down for the primary.
The County Board of Elections, how
yer. when appealed to on this point,
gave a decision, acting on the advice
of County Counsel Harrison, that it
was not necessary to register for the
general election in order to be eligible
to vote in the primary. City Clerk
James F. Connolly takes an opposite
view of the law. The language IN this
point does not seem to be ambiguous.
The law says;
ANY voter not registered, or not
wishing to vote al the primary. may
~n4-5-fa~ f-x. H. a,.-aa.r .,AnArn1 AI,4
ton. but every voter voting at the
primary shall register for the ensuing
general election in the manner provided
by law"
Seven Onicials Resign.
Watson Rodemann. clerk to the
Board of Elections. received today the
designations of seven additional cleo
ton board officers, making a total Of
seventy since the appointments were
made. The seven who resigned today
gave it up after Yesterdays experience.
Mr.. Rodemann was kept busy yester-
day n last night Strengthening out
the district boards and finding men to
man the polls where those who had
been appointed decided not TO serve.
In one district in East Orange it was
1:3O last night before he had -ound four
men to serve. one only being on the
job up to hat hour.
Election officers Not Equal TO Task.
Experience in Newark as elsewhere
in The State, showed that unframed
election officers wereefor the most part
not equal to the work imposed upon
them. Men who had done well in a
civil service examination after study
ing up the questions hat were to ne
asked of them were at sea when it
came to do the practical work. Last
evening and yesterday afternoon there
We're telephone calls to the Office of the
city clerk and the county clerk about
every minute or so to inquire about
this or that phase of the law.
Many voters took the view that the
election officers had no business to ask
them so many questions when they
sought to register. Consequently, there
We're many wrangles and delays.
Those who registered yesterday for
the general election were naturally
fewer than on the first day of registra
tion last year, which was primary day.
Therefore, a comparison of the totals