The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-11-03
Facilities at Topeka Polls Arc
Inadequate Today.
Hundreds Left Precincts with.
out Casting Their Vote.
VOTED OUT IN PLAIN SteHT
Many Irregularities Arc Report
ed Over the City.
May Furnish Basis for Contest
ing Entire Vote.
WOMEN CAST BALLOTS EAmY
New Voters Drove LabOrlng
Men Away From Booths.
Returns win BE Unusually
Slow Owing to Trouble.
Dawson Rules That Votes Can
Be Taken After 2 r. M.
WOMEN CAST BALLOTS 6ARLY
Returns win BE Unusually
Slow Owing to Trouble.
Dawson Rules That Votes Can
Be Taken After 2 r. M.


county election began in Topeka at
o'clock this morning. and 1t was only
a few minutes later until complaints
began pouring into the ONCE Of w. II.
Kemper. commissioner Of elections.
BY o'clock the situation looked seri-
GUS and by 8 o'clock there was mo
doubt Of it. Tho facilities for voting
were Inadequate. Persons were not
able to vote as fast a. they arrived.
Busy men expecting to vote on their
way to work stood in line waiting
an opportunity to enter q booth and
mark their ballots, realised that time
was passing too rapidly and went
away without voting.
Ordinarily women do not begin
voting in large numbers until after
O'Clock in the morning. They do their
! morning housework before eoink to
the polls But the women started ~
early this morning. At O'Clock ae
most voting places In the city ~ many
women Is men were TN tho ooe.ns
marking their ba.uOta. This eariy M
men away who could not walt to vote
and who could not AFFORD to be iate
to their daily occupations.
With ideal weather conditions the
twenty-five thousand registered voter
in Topeka lost no time In turning Outs
In0Se ~A~'~S>e~-
must ali vote in 2O7 booths. the ltm-
tied number of tooths, the extra time
required to mark the new horm y
ballot. and the fact that 81 anting suK-
frage to women has nearly oouD,eu ~
number Of persons voting. all COM
hined to swamp the voting places
There are no more voting precincts IN
the city now than there were Wne1
only half as many persons votec. 1no
there are no more voting booths IN the
Do~..~.son ~ the citv to meet the IN
creased demand.
Irrexularitics I'm Voting.
condition Of affairs at several pre-
cincts today would probably furnish =
basis for contesting the entire vote IN
these precincts. Scores OF voeeLs H,.,.H ~ -
one another. In one place, the secOne
OF the Sixth, the election booths hao
not even been draped with the cur
tains furnished for them.
booth, in plain sight OF everybody eIec
and they were comparing notes about
their ballots" said Kent Raub. depu-
ty county clerk. "One of them said t0
the other, III vote for tins one ne n yr1 you11
two of the candidates. They were
trading votes. There were probably
seventy five people there. waiting IoE
a chance to vote, and a third or mOre
OF them were busy marking their ball
lots and turning them in to the election
officers stopped the voting and save
the supervisor some instructions about
managing his polling place.
The members OF the election board
at this polling place were II. g. es4y-
ems, Democrat, supervisor; c. H. Hin
Democrat Judge; Flora Eakin, RepuU-
lican, Judge; N. c. Simmonds, Demo-
crat, clerk. and Martha Kelly. Repub-
At the West shorey precinct it was
discovered that one Of the election
! judges was also candidate for 9
township office. When the obJectiO4
to his serving on the board was called
to his attention he Withdrew and the
election went ON wit hthe remaining
Mayor Saw IL, Too.
| When r. L. Cofran, mayor. went to
the third precinct Of the Third ward to
VOTE he discovered q rather unusuai
proceeding. A large crowd had gath
cred waiting for an opportunity to vote.
Ballots had been issued to these y
waiting. The voting booths being full
| the voters were preparing their Dauots
! in view Of each other. many using the
1 side OF the building for writing desk
One old colored man who mad re-
lcefved q ballot, but not being able TO
read and by law being denied assist
ance, took advantage Of the confustou
and carried the ballot away with mms
presumably to have It marked in ac-
cordauce with his Wishes
j Beports at City Han.
Al o'clock this mofning reports
had soa.e come q g I eiecsions g msmDsh ssss S
second precinct Of the Sixs4
4 Ward. the third Of the Fifth. t.
il third Of the Sixth and the first q IT,
second were not ahie e nend1e tn1
ione v1ael iines @ sof perseas 8 wsse s W6ii7eG
while many had grown tiro6 - V411~