The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-08-04
MUDDLED COUNT
SHOWS CHANCEIN
COUNTY RESULTS
Worst Tally Sheets in Years
Face Shawnee Canvassers.
Local Board Just Guesses as to
Probable Meaning.
WORRY IN HEART OF CANDIDATE
WouId-Be Sheriffs Watch Every
Move That Is Made.
Numerous Errors Found in Pre-
cinct Books Today.
Local Board Just Guesses as to
Probable Meaning.
WORRY IN HEART OF CANDIDATE
Numerous Errors Found in Pre-
cinct Books Today.

Anything-just anything-may hap
pen in the canvass OF the votes cast in
Shawnee county at Tuesdays election.
The total vote of any candidate may
go up or down, depending entirely
upon what sort of guess the board
of canvassers makes. No such set OF
tally sheets ever appeared before the
local board of canvassers. When they
were opened up today whole columns
of votes were found to be blotted be-
yond any chance of legibility.
Apparently the quality of paper
used in the books is largely to blame.
The ink ran" It ran north, south,
east and west. One vote, jotted down
on one or both sides and the neighbor
| then overflowed and ran on. The pa
per ASSUMED the properties of a blotter
and when the page was turned over
and the pressure of a hand or elbow
applied the whole works ran together
How the judges and clerks in some
| of the precincts arrived at their totals
for different candidates will never be
known. James Sinner has been try
| ing to figure 1t out all day. The only
when in doubt-which must have been
most of the time-they measured the
| length of the tally column and guessed
| the number of votes it ought to con-
tain. By no other means could to-
/ tai have been secured in some in
: Mr. Sinner is the member of the
/ board of canvassers who is checking
the tally sheets with the totals set
Down by the judges and clerks. There
is grave responsibility resting upon
him He can make or unmake nomi-
nees with q few strokes of his pencil
lrnd he doesn't like it.
| - Close Contests.
! In a number of county contests the
i vote was close. Hugh Larimer. for in
stance. has only 100 plurality over j.
| E. Wilson. "A few guesses guessed
wrong would put him in second place.
The same is true with several other
! county offices, although no other was
i quite so close.
AS soon as Wilson and Larimer
learned of the condition of the books
they got on the job and are sticking
there, right at Sinners elbow Any
guessing relative to the office of
sheriff will be subject to an argu-
ment.
I've seen lots of tally Sheets" said
Mr.. Sinner, but never saw any in
such condition as these. 1 am afraid
to try to check them
| Numerous errors were found this
morning even in the columns where
the ink had not one on a rampage. In
| one precinct a mistake of nineteen
votes was found-Weightman having
been given that number more than the
tally marks showed. In numerous
| other cases errors of from one to ten
| votes were found.
| Some of the precinct returns look
more like they had been painted with
| a wide brush and lampblack than
with pen and ink.
| No Talk of Contests
| There has been no talk of contests,
even where the offices were closely
contested. but the books turned in to
the board of canvassers certainly form
the basis for any number of contests.
| Il hav seen nothing so far that
would justify any change in my vote
and it has not been changed" said
| Hugh Larimer, successful candidate for
the Republican nomination for sheriff,
t''but if this effort at guessing what
the judges and clerks intended should
wipe out my plurality l would be sat
isfied with nothing less than & re-
count of the ballots themselves !
would demand it, too. 1 wouldn't
blame any other candidate who did,
In one precinct today a dozen or
more votes were taken away from G.
w. Belts. The total was there MT the
actual votes were not, according to
| the sheets.