New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1916-11-17
FILE
ELECTION CONTEST
IN CHAvEs COUNTY
EIGHT PRECINCTS ATTACK.
ED FOR IRREGULARITIES
BY JUDGES OF ELECTION.
700 DEMOCRATIC AND 100
REPUBLICAN VOTES IN.
vOLVED
Special to State Record:

oPeCidi 10 otate
The republican central committe
of Chaves county, through its chair
man, E. A. Cahoon, represented b,
counsel, yesterday filed a Drotes
with the board Of county commits
sioners as an election c~anvassinj
board against the counting, certifi
cation or including the returns o
ballots from the following votinl
precincts within the county:
Caprock, Plainview, Tatum, Jen
kins, King, Baker, Plains and Rich,
land.
The protest was accompanied b,
several affidavits purporting to
prove:
| That the judges and persons in
charge Of the election refused to al
low the distribution of ballots at the
polls anynlace except in close prox-
unity to the voting box and refusing
to allow many voters who had pro-
cured bal OTIS from other precincts
and prepared them to suit themsel-
YES to vote them, but enormously
and illegally demanded and required
of all voters that they pick up their
tickets at the ballot box, fold them
in their presence and deliver them
to one OF the Judges to be placed in
the box. Tn alegation S made
that this method was illegal and cal
culatcd to intimidate voters to the
injury Of candidates represented by
the committee. That upon informa-
ton and belief this was done for
the purpose of forcing all the voters
TO vote the straight democratic
ticket.
2 That there were no clerks at
Cap Rock precinct.
3 That there was only one clerk
at jenkins precinct, instead of two
as provided by law.
4 And that these protestants re-
quest the board of county commits
Sioners as a %canvassing board to re-
irain from counting and carefully
preserve all the ballots and other
memoranda used at said election
and returned by the judges at the
above mentioned precincts, and
hereby give notice Of intention to
institute the proper proceedings in
a court of competent jurisdiction Ia
nullify the said election in the said
precincts.
After considering the protest, the
board of commissioners ordered it
to be filed by the clerk of the board
among the archives Of his office, and
that the board proceed with the
canvasing, counting and cert tying
Of The returns from all the precincts
in Chaves county, including those
i'll question, said protest 10 the corr
trary notwithstanding.
1t is stated that the protest is
made and court procedure may be
instituted looking TO the CT Sc 2lu-
ralities of democratic candidates
within both the county and state,
and possibly the presidential returns
if the count should become close, In
the county the only candidate which
would likely be effected if an adj
verse order should issue would ne
in the slcriff's race, the precincts
involved in the protest having re-
turned some $40 majority for c. A..
Rector, the democratic candidate.
If the issue should in any way re-
suit in the in%validation of these,
Harry Thorne, the republican candi-
date, would attain a majority Of li8
votes over his opponent.
ihc eight precincts pOllcd a total
f about eight hundred votes, of
about seven hundred were
democratic and about one hundred
republican. or a democratic major
ity for most of the candidates of
lbout six hundred, as unotficially
eported.