The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-03-20
TROUBLES IN EVERY WARD
Women Show Better Interest in Second
Choice Ballots Some of the Election
Boards Work Until Late This Morn
ing to Determine Candidates.


A noble army of fifty men made up
of the election officials were sleeping
on their guns in Kenosha today anxious
to be called out to do battle against
the man who invented the Mary
Ann" law. 1t is certain that the
aforesaid Mary Ann law is the
most unpopular statute ever written
into the laws Of Wisconsin so far as
election officials are concerned and
nearly every man connected with the
counting of the primary ballot on
Tuesday night has declared his will
ingness to give up his job or to go on
determined strike for higher wages.
Most of the officials are suffering from
brain fag this morning as a result of
their efforts to figure out the way to
handle the second choice votes and as
to how to make up the Inspector
statement for return to the city clerk.
1t was an all night job for officials in
all the wards and in some of the wards
it took all night and most of the
morning
One man agreed to stick in the
fourth ward until the COWS come
home, but at that he was not able
to get the returns of the primary. Out
in the fifth ward it was something
awful and the tired and weary cleo
ton officials plugged along all night
trying to figure out the result Of the
primary. When the ward returns were
in the canvassing board found that it
had almost as much of Chinese puz-
zle as had been put up to the election
boards. Working and sleeping alter
nately and emphasizing every stroke
of the pen with some condemnation Of
the man who invented the Mary
Ann the men kept at the struggle
and it was declared that the returns
were completed in time for the can
vass.
The first ward election board made
record. The clock pointed to just
ten clock when the men completed
their work and locked up the polling
booth but the first ward had an easy
task as the competition in this ward
was only on a few Of the Offices. The
sixth ward with a vote Of less than
two hundred was the second to com
plete the work. 1t sent in return
close to eleven Clock and the report
came from the second ward half an
hour later. Some of the candidates
remained up all night waiting for the
count of the votes and then went to
bed uncertain as to the outcome.
The second vote was not universally
voted. In the north wards the per-
centage of second choice ballots cast
was decidedly small, but in. some of
the large wards on the south side of
the city fully fifty per cent of the
electors voted for second choice can
didates. In only a few instances did
the second choice have any effect on
the result of the primary.
It was great day for the women
voters and reports from all wards
show that women were voting strong.
There was a heavy woman vote on the
south side of the city ard nearly all
Of the women voted the second choice.
ballot. The women in the first ward
showed a decided preference, every
one Of them voting for s. c. Newman.
In some of the wards both men and
women voters sought to plump"
their votes voting for the same candi-
date for first and second choice. These
ballots were held to be defective.
There was considerable falling off
in the vote on account Of the law pre-
anting men with first papers voting
but the total number Of votes cast
and the extent of the falling off will
not be known until tie final report is
made up by the canvassing board.