The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-03-30
old MACHINES OILED Up NOW
Law Gives Voters Minute to Solve
Mysteries of Machine Voting and in
Some Wards Voters Will Have to
Hurry to Register Their Votes.

Regardless Of the apparent error of
the council in making the first ward
unwieldy by the redistricting every
voter in that ward is going to be GER
tain Of chance to cast his vote next
Tuesday, as on Tuesday afternoon the
city officials decided that two voting
machines should be placed in this ward
and this will make possible the casting
of 1850 votes on election day even if
every voter in the ward takes the full
limit of time allowed by him under the
law to solve the mysteries of machine
voting. An old machine which has
been gathering dust in the basement of
the city hall for the last seven years,
the only emergency machine is being
busted off and oiled up for the first
ward voters. This machine is exactly
the same type as those used in Keno
sha and the people will have no trouble
in using it. It will be tested out today
or tomorrow and if there is anything
not in perfect working order the officials
will see to it that parts are secured.
GIVE must either have two machines
for the first ward or use paper ballots
said the city clerk. "FUnder the law
| the voter is given one minute to cast
his vote on the machine All iof them
will not use the whole minute but with
city ballot and judicial ballot it is
pretty liable to take some of them
pretty close to the full time allowed by
the law. Now if you just take pencil
and paper and figure out you will see
that with them voting one minute it
would be possible to vote exactly $40
men and women on election day. On
primary day there were over 500 male
and 300 women votes in the first ward.
1t might be found impossible to cast
this entire vote on one machine. With
two machines working there will be
plenty OF chance for all to vote Men
and women will both use the two ma
chimes and no effort will be made to
segregate the votes.'
The first ward will have the distinc-
ton of being the first ward in Kenosha
IN which it has been found necessary
to use two machines for city election.
The only other ward that is causing the
oflclals any great degree of worry is
the third ward. This ward cast close
to 100 votes on the primary and it is
thought pretty certain that even a
larger number will be cast when cleo
tien day rolls around. Should such be
the fact then people in this ward are
warned to vote early as there NAV be
lot OF congestion at the close of the
day and some people may be forced to
lose their votes. A machine will on1v
cast just so many votes in fourteen
hours and third warders must see to it
that they get their votes registered.
1t is thought that in all Of the other
wards the machine will take care of
the vote even If the entire time allowed
under the law is taken by everv voter
lhefe IS certain to be some confusion
IN the larger wards on account of the
taco that there is a paper ballot as
Well as machine ballot to be voted
| me question of absent voting is still
bobblng up serenely and some of the
voters who may be out of town on cleo.
ton day are contending that the city
should provide to give them their full
legal rights as provided by the state
law. 1t is admitted that the COUNTING
OF half dozen absent votes in as MANY
different wards would mean a BIG ex.
pendlture to the city but the state law
strictly provides that even if VOTING
machines are used that the city must
provide a way for the casting of the
absent votes" 1t is probable that
demand will be made on the officials
for chance to cast the ballot. No
tickets have been printed 20 the citv
election and it would now be very diff.
cult for the city clerk to make provi-
sion for such a ballot.
There was little of interest in the
campaign today. The candidates are
down to the hard plugging and all Of
them are keeping away from the SEN
sational politics which have character
lied campaigns in other years in Ke-
nosha.