The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-06-23
Same Split Ballot Is
Counted at Remaining
Fifteen Precincts.
j UDGES DIFFER
AS TO RULING
City Committee. at Meeting To-
Night, Will Receive Candi-
dates Petition for Recount.
Members See Wisdom of
Ordering It-No Direct
Fraud Charged.

While there is no direct or indirect
charge OF fraud. the petition Of Can
tain John a Curtis for recount of
votes cast In the primary of Juno IL
Tor the House OF Delegates contains
the rather remarkable statement that
seven precincts followed one rule and
nfteen followed another. Tho City
Democratic Committee directed in its
plan that ballots containing the names
OF one two three or four candidates
Tor the Legislature should be rejected
ne Byrd law, under which the pri-
mary was conducted. provides that the
only ballots to be rejected are those
containing moro than five names. the
law being that = man could vote for
only one candidate. If he desired, such
ballots to be counted
Committee Meets Tonight.
Tho fact therefore. that no uniform
system Was followed practically forces
thc city Committee 10 order !. recount
\ majority OF the members want the
truth. which can only come that way
refusal TO act on the Curtis petition
III view OF the charge. might load 10
court proceedings Chairman Miles NJ
Martin has called ii meeting for to-
night, at which action will be taken on
the petition and if recount is order.
ed, a date viii he agreed upon to open
the boxes and give the votes the real
count which the public seems to de
inand
calling attention TO the committee
plan and the Byrd law Captain Curtis
asserts that the election officials in
seven precincts rejected all ballots for
members OF the House OF Delegates
which did not contain exactly nv.
names. as required bv the plan. while
election officials in the remaining: nf-
teen precincts did not follow III. pl;,,
'ld counted all votes east CAPTAIN
,hrts contends that either ono Of two
ihings is true namely. that the off
Gals AT seven precincts We're right and
the officials at fifteen precincts we're
wrong, or vice versa
cites Another Rrn-on
The failure to account for 4ss bal
lots Is also cited as q ground for a re-
count the counting OF very few OF
these being sufficient. Captain Curtis
claims. to THROW him into the afth
place. while II all arc counted even
Ereater changes might ho made i'm tho
ieturns Tho city Democratic Commit
tee, In its canvass of the returns. Ger
tined that 9,td6 ballots were east i'm
the entire city. Adding tho votes of
the nine candidates for tn. House. the
toto is $3.50; dividing this by I'VE il
VIII he seen that S.97O % ballots are
accounted for, leaving ig5 3-5 ballots
unaccounted for Several hundred
ii''" NoteS were counted in the ser
Eeantcy contest than appear in the re
turns Tor the House Of Delegates
Rumors OF other irrcgulari,ies hayc
been frequent The charge was ooeuly.
made that there was an error of 100
Notes IN the Griggs Sattcriield fight in
one OF the Jefferson Ward precincts.
hut Mr. GriEee'. who ran 730 votes be-
nina Satteriield. declined to make a
contest
Thoroughly Worn out.
The unusually long election dav nx
hausted the election officials. and some
Il them frankly admit thai they were
hardly in condition physically to pro
c"ed with the work Of counting ballots
when night fell. With the all-nicht
count winch followed, Captain Curtis
points out that il Is not humanity nos
aihle 10 avoid gross errors. either I'm
Continued on Seventh Pacel