The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-02-24
CHANCE FOR EVERY VOTER
People who Are Out of City on Election
Day Need Only Make an Affidavit
Before Leaving and Then They viii
Be Able to Vote Same as If Here.

There is always some new wrinkle In
elections in Wisconsin and this year 1T
is not the Mary Ann Second Choice,
election expenses or anything OF the
kind, but something entirely new and
woodworking by mail
This year the real registered voter OF
Kenosha may spend election day IN
Honolulu or Timbuctoo and at the same
time cast his vote for the men who are
to be mayor, aldermen, school commits
sioners and constables. 1t is his per-
feet right under the state law to go
visiting and to vote just the same as II
he stuck right around the family fire
side in Kenosha. The new state law
has taken away the last resort for the
man to make excuses for not voting
If his business forces him to be in New
York on election day, all well and good,
but his being in New York is not going
to force him to lose his vote. 1t can
be said further that it doesn't make
any difference whether they use ma
chimes or not at the election. If they
use machines and You send along your
ballot from Los Angeles or Havana,
then the man in charge of the machine
must solemnly declare to the other fell
lows about the polling place that you
are on hand to vote. Then he opens a
letter and in the presence. of another
Of the election officials he goes. into the
machine and begins to finger, the levers.
When he gets through, you may rest
assured that your vote has been regis
tered Just the same as if you were there
in person and it is probable that the
experienced man will get through work
ing the machine quicker than you would.
The voting by mail privilege is grant
ed to the people of Wisconsin under
chapter 461 of the new Wisconsin sta
tutes The law was put on the statute
books at the last session of the legis-
lature and similar laws have been in
force in several other states in the
union for some years. The modus oper-
andi in voting by mail is not difficult.
Not more than ten days before the
election and not less than three days
the man who wants to vote by absent
treatment must appear before the city
or county clerk and present formal
affidavit made before a notary public.
This will show that he will necessarily
be out of the city on the day the cleo
ton is held, The clerk will then be
forced to deliver to him formal ballot
containing the names of all candidates
to be voted on at the election. This
ballot may be marked either in Kenosha
or in the city to which the voter may
GO 1t is placed in an envelope and
sealed up and plainly marked as the
ballot of the voter for the election in
question. This envelope must be placed
in another envelope and forwarded to
the city or county clerk. When the
election day rolls round the clerk must
take these sealed envelopes to the vari-
GUS polling places and deliver them to
the officials in charge of the election
Then they will be opened and the votes
counted the same as others cast at the
election. 1t is a hard matter for any
one to attempt to vote fraudulently I'm
der this new law as the penalty for such
attempts is placed at fine of a hun
dre1 dollars and a jail sentence can be
imposed.
Just how popular voting by mail will
prove in Kenosha remains to be seen.
The people will be fully advised as to
their rights to vote regardless of where
they are on election day and it is not
improbable that lot of votes will come
in by mail. The one thing needful is
to make the affidavit and get a blank
ballot before you leave on your trip.
1t is probable that the law will be a
little unwelcome to the officials as like
lot of other laws it will bring a lot
of red tape to be taken care of in con-
nection with the election.