Norwich bulletin., 1912-10-09
Limits To Candidates Expenditures
Corrupt Practices Act Defines Amount be Spent in Run- ming For Ofice-$27OO the Limit For Governor Under State Law-Afects Aspnants For Any Office

congress in the Hartford district, for | instance, cannot exceed $750, while in the Fairfield and Litchfeld districts it will be somewhat less.
 VI. What constitutes corrupt prac- tices under the law?
 For a full answer of this question, Section g. Chapter 253, 1909. should be consulted. It may be briefly sum marized as follows:
 Amount to Be Spent.
 III. What amount of money may candidates through agents legally ex- pend?
 In this election, for the first time iii Connecticut. the amount, outside of personal expenses, which candidates may expend for election purposes is strictly limited. The amount spent by each candidate, in order to promote directly or indirectly his nomination for an office must not exceed in the whole $10 for each 1000 Cor major portion thereof) of the registered vot- CTS who voted at the last preceding election for the candidate of the same political party and for the office for which such candidate seeks nomina tion."
 For example, in the Ninth senatorial district, comprising Wards 1, 2, 10 and 13 of this city, republican candidate at the last election boiled 2309 votes and the democratic candidate boiled 1886 votes. In the contest for the nom nation at the present time, any can didate by law may expend only $20 outside of his personal expenses. Any candidate for office may find out how much he is allowed to expend for the nomination by a simple arithmetical calculation. Let him divide by 1000 the number of votes cast for his party candidate for the office which he seeks, at the last election. If the remainder is more than 500. let him add one to the quotient. Then let him use this quotient as a multiplier with $10 as the, multiplicand and the product will be the amount of money which he must not exceed in expenditure for nomination purposes. If the remain der Is less than 500. let him disregard it and use the quotient unchanged as the multiplier.
 How Computed.
 In the case of election expenses the method of computation Is much the same as in the case of contests for the nomination, but the dividend in this case Is the total number of registered voters in the entire political area who have the right to vote for the candi- date in question. For every 1000 or major portion. there of the total number of registered voters in the entire area, each candidate may ex- pend $15, and no matter how small the area or number of voters, each candidate may expend $25 at least. The rule, then, for determining how much above this sum each candidate may expend Is to divide the total number of registered voters by 1000. If the remainder is more than 300 add one to the quotient and multiply s15 by this as a multiplier, which will give as a product the limit of elec- tion expenses that must not be exceed ed by any candidate. If the remain- der is less than 500. use the quotient without change as a multiplier.
 Or, to put it in another way, if the whole number of registered voters in any district who are qualified to vote for certain candidate is nearer 10000 than 5000 then $15 should be multiplied by ten, giving $50 as the maximum amount of expenditure which that candidate may incur aside from personal expenses already men tioned. If the number of voters is more than 5000 but nearer 5000 than it Is to 10000. or if 1t is less than 5000, then the S150 should be null | tiplied by g, giving $125 as the limit of the possible expenditure of each candidate. For example, the number of registered voters in the Ninth sen atorial district in this city in 1910 was about 5000. On that basis. then, each i candidate for senator in that district must keep his election expenses, apart from his personal expenses, down to ' $s0. If he exceeds that figure he vio- lates the law.
 All candidates on the state ticket 1 for state offices are limited to the same amount of expenditures. The approx innate number of registered voters 1T Connecticut at the election of 191( was a little over 1S0,000, namely | 1S1.S76. Consequently, on the lega
 basis of computation no candidate fol state office at the present election ] can expend more than $2700 apart | from personal expenses without violat- | ing the law.
 (See section 4, chapter 243, 1911.) q The giving indirectly or direct. ly of any valuable thing of any sor l to influence votes in any election | caucus convention, primary election ol l general assembly.
 l CD The receipt, acceptance, re- | quest, or solicitation of any valuable thing from any person. association committee or corporation, under sim ! liar circumstances and for a simila, purpose.
 (S) The voting or the abstentio1 of voting of any person which wa | h-- 0f | gift of value.
 | (4) The solicitation from candi dates of money for election purposes by anyone except duly qualified mem bers of political committees.
 (5) The payment of money fo election purposes to any other persol than a properly qualified treasurer o political agent, with the exception o the candidate who is paying his per
 sonal expenses
 Promises Barred.
 (6D The promise of office, or ap pointment to an office of profit, trus or emolument in order to secure tn
 nomination or election of any person.
 CD The payment by any person t
 a political agent or treasurer in an
 other name than his own of any valua ble gift for election purposes.
 l (S) The receipt by any treasurer
 or political agent. knowingly of sue
 gift in any other name than that c
 the original giver
 (s) The payment by a candidat,
 treasurer, or political agent. of cleo
 tion expenses for any other purpos
 than those mentioned in section
 chapter 25s. 1909, or the payment C
 any amount of expenditure for cleo
 ton purposes by candidate, exclus i've of his personal expenditures, in ex
 cess of the amounts provided for un der the rules prescribed in section
 chapter PAS. 1911.
 Both federal and state laws abso lutely forbid that contributions ( , favors of any kind shall be made (
 offered by or solicited from any pr vate corporation for the payment ( | election expenses of any sort. Tn : punishment on conviction for viola tions of the law shall be a fine of nt more than s1,000, or a term of in } prisonment of not more than tw