The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-05-04
HOW BALLOT LAWS WERE
 DISREGARDED
Every Form of Protection Over thrown in Taking Vote on
 Bond Issues.
Ballots Were Illegally Circu- lated, No Booths Were Furnished, and Voting
 Was Not Secret.

Almost without exception those who voted in the bond ing elections, Saturday., were impressed with the loose man. ner in which the ballot was conducted, and overwhelmed by ocular evidence of the ease with which the boxes could be stuffed.
 The election was entirely in the hands of the bonders. Bal lots were unprotected, and from start to finish almost none of the safeguards of an cleo tion were provided.
 The special law relating to. bonding required the election to be held in the same manner as city officers are elected.
 Strictly speaking. this would. re- a,1ire the voting tos be by machine.
 But the departure from legality would be merely technical. because ballots: were used providing the voting had been& eafsssiarded and conducted in: the ordinary way, in the manner pro- vfded for the election Of officers.
 There can be no question but the General Assembly intended to throw about bonding elections, all the pro- lection given to other elections
 These are a few of the requirements at elections when officers are voted for by paper ballot:
 All ballots used either at regular or ia1 e1a ed by, the secretary of state.
 The official endorsement shall ap- pear on the back thereof.
 Whenever any vote shall be taken upon any question submitted under a special law, the ballot shall be so ar expressed by marking a cross oppo- site Yes or .eNo'' and a ballot marked in any other way is void.
 Each ballot shall have a stub and be so printed that when folded it's face shall be concealed.
 The stub shall be torn off when the ballot is voted.
 The ballots shaI be in sealed pack ages and any person other than g. ballot clerk, who shall open such package. and any person who shall improperly have g. ballot in his pos- session shall be fined or imprisoned.
 These are but a few of the steps that the law orders to make a ballot secret, and to protect it from inter- ference, and tampering. Where voting is By ballot the law also makes rigid requirements as to how the voting place shall be ar ranged, and how the ballot shall be cast. To insure secrecy the se1ectmen are required to furnish booths. Each voter must enter the booth alone, and but one person can be in a booth at a time. A exit must be provided so that the voter cannot meet, or communicate with any voters coming in to cast bal lots.
 No person can have ballot, or hand a ballot to voter, excepting the proper election officers.
 The voter, having received a ballot, must cast it, or return it to the clerk: he cannot. keep it in his possession. No person is permitted to observe how a voter marks his ballot and to do SO, or attempt to do so, is a crim- inal offense.
 As the election actually was con ducted, pretty nearly all these safe guards were overthrown.
 An unusual ballot, not contemplated by the law, was provided.
 This ballot was marked in man ner novel to the voters, and confus- ing Ito them, and not in the manner provided by law.
 
 possession of many unauthorized per sons, and were to be had outside the voting place.
 In some cases ballots were marked and given to the voter, so marked, in distinct contrayention Of the law.
 No booths were provided in which the voter could secretly mark his bal lot.
 The voter was obliged to mark his ballot, in the presence of the election officers, and in the presence, in many instances, of persons carefully ob- serving how he was marking it. Nor could the voter take his ballot to another place, because, having ob- tained it, he was guilty of a criminal offense if he went outside the voting place with it.
 These are but few of the respects 1 in which the Eoters were denied the protection of law, Saturday, and only l some of the ways in which the sane tity of the ballot was attacked. It is probable that the illegal man ner in which the election was held l invalidates the result. The vote as returned to the town clerks office showed a majority of the