Bisbee daily review., 1914-11-03
BALLOTS ARE IRREGULAR IN THIS COUNTY.
EIeventh-HOur Discovery That Sample Ballots Do Not Con- form To Requirements Of Law May Make Votes Invalid
Further Possibility That State Vote May Be Thrown Out On Same Grounds lrregularity Attached To Amendments

Same Grounds lrregularity
 Attached To Amendments
 An eleventh hour discovery Of the fact that the sample official ballots send out for the instruction of voters of Cochise county apparently do not conform to the legal requirements and that therefore the Cochise county votes on the nineteen measures sub mitted to the people may be invalidat- ed caused a sensation in all quarters where the facts became known yes , torday. In ease the ballots submitted by voters today in this county should be thrown out, the effect upon the results of the State election would be of great importance
 The discovery of the error-if such 1t is-was made too late to learn whether other counties in the State are confronted with a similar problem. There was some talk yesterday among those prone to jump to conclusions that fraudulent practices have been invoked by some one in an effort 10 support or defeat some or an Of the nineteen measures. Samples of the ballots provided for Mancopa and Gila counties prove that these two counties al least, have confome1 % ta- re- qurements of the law
 The Revised Statutes pertaining to the election laws of Arizona contain the following under Chapter VII, Sec tion 2929:
 All proposed constitutional amend ments or other propositions or ques tons to be submitted to the voters shall be printed at the bottom of the ballot, in such order as the secretary of state may designate, and each such amendment, propositions or questions to be submitted to the voters shall be printed at the bottom of the bal lot, in such order as the secretary of state may designate, and each such amendment proposition or question shall be followed by the words, "'yes" and mo or "for'-and "against'- as the nature of the amendment, propo. sition or question may require, and at the right of and opposite each of such words shall be placed a square of the size of those placed opposite the names of candidate, in which the voter may indicate his vote for or against such amendment, proposition, or question, by a mark (X3'
 The sample ballots distributed in Cochise county do not conform with the law as above. The nineteen meas ures appear at the bottom of the bal. lot as required but are not followed by the words, "yes" and mo" In. stead. these words appear to the Ief, of the respective measures Each mea- sure, of course, bears two numbers iL order to provide either an afhrma tive or negative response as the voter elects.
 The Coohise ballots appear with tn, numbers and answers to the left in stead of the right of the measure Other than the most cautious votei will naturally read a measure anC continue to look to the light for tho space plONAufA LAA iAAeAA nAAAo' AfteAAAN he or she do this, failing to note tn, printers rule used to separate T6Xt the result will be vote for a measure other than that on which the attention is supposedly centred.
 Whether the validity of the entir ballot could be successfully attacked is a question which the courts ma, be called upon to decide IT the opin ion was handed down that the ballo was sprious in its entirety Cochis county votes for State and county of 6cers would be discarded. In thi case. the courts might decide that tn general State election was null am void in spite of the fact that the mis takes in the illegally printed ballot affect solely the vote on the nineteen measures. the voting squares for stat and county officials being correctl placed.
 If 1t be decided that the ballots cal be accepted as authentic in spite ( their irregularly, voters can expres their intentions on the several met sures by placing their mark in th souares to the left-instead of th riebt-of the measures. In othC words the yes and mo" precedin each measure and to the left of applies to that measure