Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-10-06
PROSECUTOR TO
PROBE ALLEGED
BALLOT FRAUDS
LehIbach Recount May Result
in Arrests of Republican
Election Officials.
w. |. LINCOLN ADAMS Is
NOW SO VOTES BEHIND
To Ask Justice Gummere to
Throw Out Part of One
District.
w. |. LINCOLN ADAMS Is
NOW SO VOTES BEHIND


Official cognizances of the irregu-
larities uncovered in the recount yes
terday of the primary election re-
turns in the Second and Fourth
wards has been taken by the prose-
cutor's office and an investigation is
now under way that may result in a
number of arrests. Soon after the
first discrepancies between the ballots
and the tally sheets were found by
the County Board of Elections the
prosecutor was notified and detec-
tive from his staff started the investi-
cation.
When the election board adjourned
last night. close to midnight, it had
finished the recount OF the Seeon
and Fourth wards, in each of which
there are nine districts that are in The
Tenth Congressional district. The
recounted returns gave Frederick r.
Lehlbach. the congressional candr
date. who was defeated by four votes,
q gain of forty-two votes. making his
net gain over w. l. Lincoln Adams
thirty eight votes. taking into con-
sideration the four votes Adams had
to the good on the original returns.
Twelve Adams votes and ten Dehl-
bach ballots were referred to Chlet
Justice Gummere.
One of the first discrepancies and
one of the most surprising was the
discovery that in the Fourth district
of the Second ward there were fifteen
more ballots in the box than there
were voters recorded. The board
counted only forty-nine ballots, the
number of voters registered, and put
the others in O. sealed envelope as re-
jected. The original returns gave
Lehlbach three votes in this district
while the recount Showed that he bad
five out of forty-nine cast. Adainss
vote here was cut from SO to ~,
number of marked ballots being
thrown out.
Another glaring mistake was found
in the Ninth district of the same
ward. The official returns from TINS
district were: Adams. 10; AhlFtedt,
9: Lehlbach, 8, while the election
board found only 20 ballots in the box
and these gave Adams "a, lehlbach Z,
Ablstedt 4 and there. sys1si -stfie blank.
me ,nenlbers of the district election
board explained that 1t was an 'er-
ror,' on the tally sheet, in putting le
instead Of Ia for Adams IN the Third
district of the Fourth ward, dis-
trict taking in number OF fhdsing-
houses, Adams got IS originally and
Lehlbach 1. and this was unchanged
in the recount, although Mr.. Lehlbach
declared that Democrats voted in the
Republican box in this district
The board decided that It was
not within its jurisdiction to inquire
into the registry lists, and Mr.. Lehl-
bach said he would call the attention
of the chief Justice to his claims and
asked to have part of the district
thrown out Adams lost in every dis
trict recounted. with two exceptions.
In the third district Of the Second
ward. where there were only six votes
cast. the vote remained as originally
given, three EACH and in the seventh
district of the Fourth ward, Adams
gained two.
Some question was raised as to the
authority of the County Board OF
Elections to count forty-nine votes
and then discard the remaining fif-
teen unopened, because there was not
that many voters registered, but ac-
cording to Commissioners William :.
McTague, a lawyer, paragraph VI,
of the election laws, covers the
Continued on Page 8. Column 81