The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-10-03
OPPRESSIVE ELECTION LAWS.

1t is clearly public outrage that in
this popular government large numbers
of electors are. or may be. deprived by
law from voting for the candidate
for President whom they prefer. Thus,
in Kansas and California. IL appears
that Taft electors cannot be put upon
the Official ballot because of the usur-
patton of the name and place of the
Republican party on the ticket by the
Roosevelt grafters, who, for their own
party advantage, insist that Roosevelt
electors shall occupy the place of the
electors on the Republican ticket And
the courts cannot interfere, for the
law allows it.
We have commented heretofore upon
the tendency of legislation of recent
years to compel voters to vote straight
party tickets. That is the tendency In
all official ballots, and it is especially
the tendency in the use of voting ma
chimes. for in The voting machines,
while persons who are familiar with
their operation can manipulate the ma
chine so as TO vote scratched tickets
and to prefer candidates, The masses
Of the voters are afraid TO tamper with
the little pointers for fear they may
do something that will vitiate their
votes Accordingly, they consider 1t
best to vote the party ticket straight.
We believe that in q popular gov
ernment the election laws should have
as little as possible 10 do with parties,
but should leave the individual voter
untrammeIed The right Of the voter
to cast his ballot without irksome pro-
scriptions in the law, aud without
cut and dried programmes for party
tickets. is nnouestionable. The law
should recognize this personal right to
the fullest possible extent. There is no
reason why we should have an official
ballot or voting machine, or anything
of the kind. Every voter has a right
to prepare in the privacy Of his home
the ballot that he wishes to vote, and
go to the polls and vote it. In that
way alone is the perfect freedom and
independence Of the voter assured. The
fact that there is blank on the ma
chimes and that on the Australian
ballot there is a blank space for the
candidate he wishes to vote for, by no
means meets the case, for the guild
ance, the inevitable tendency, we
might almost say the necessity, of
voter 10 vote what is there on the ma
chine or on the ballot already prepared
= - nnn{ra11,ro
The idea that voters by the tens of
thousands in Kansas, California, or any
other State. can be deprived Of the
opportunity TO vote for Taft -Presi-
Dental electors except by the ex"
traordinary means Of having peti
tions to put the names of those electors
on the official ballot is an imposition
upon the people, and travesty upon
popular rule. The people need more
independence, and not more party
guidance. They need more personal
initiative, and less machine usurpation;
and we cannot but think that all of the
restrictive election laws that have been
passed for many years past are de
vised in the interest of the bosses and
Of political machines, and to the INJURY
and afniction of the free voter
throughout the United States. voter
who wishes to cast his ballot without
regard TO any official preparations be-
fore hand, has Just as much right to do
so as another voter has to vote the ma
chine ticket. Evidently the next re-
form-and it will be a real REFORM cur
ing many cvils-should be the throw
iup out of all official ballots, Of ma
chimes, and allowing every voter TO
vote as he chooses without regard to
officially prepared lists of candidates,
either printed or designated or on
machine. Throw the obstacles out OF
the way. and let the voter cast such
ballot as he pleases, without having
ANYBODY prepare for him beforehand
an official ticket which he necessarily
will feel almost constrained to vote
The fact that these ballots print all OF
the official party tickets cuts no bgurc
in tbc case. There is getting TO be an
increasing number Of voters al over
tbo United States--may their tribe in
sc,-who don 4 want anything to
do with prepared tickets of any KIND,
official or otherwise. but want to he
left entirely free TO vote as they please,
without any guidance, restraint, or Po-
litical or other machine-made restrlc-