New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1917-03-30
FRIDAY, R 80, 1917.
CONGRESSIONAL VOTE REPUBLICAN

Although membership in the House Of
Representatives, which convenes April 2. is
evenly divided between the two leading pol
itical parties, there was no such equality in
the popular votes by which those members
were chosen. Whether computed on the
basis of total votes cast for Congressional cam
didates of the two parties, or total votes cast
for the successful candidates of the two part
les. the plurality of votes is represented by Re-
publicans.
The figures of the vote for Members of
Congress at the last election are, therefore, in
te~resting and Illuminating. They show that
Republican candidates secured a plurality of
votes in twenty-six states, the democrats in
twenty-five. According to a list prepared
by the democratic clerk of the present demo-
cratic House. there were elected 2Is each of
Democrats and Republicans in the next House.
One Republican and one Democrat have since
died. OF those elected, the Republican States
contributed 1913 Republicans and sixty Demo-
Gratis; the Democratic States contributed l55
Democrats and twenty-five RePlblicans-shoW-
ing that il is easier for a Democrat to be elect
ed in a Republican State than for Republi-
can TO be elected n a democratic state,
The whole number Of Republican Con-
gressional votes cast was 7,874,64o; of Dem
ocratic Congressional votes the total was T.
7s3,2S6-a Republican plurality throughout
the country of I2I,403
The 2Is Republicans elected received s.
5II.429 votes; the 2I5 successful Democrats
got 4,o57,I76-a Republican plurality by
groups of 1.454, 253
1t required 25,624 votes, on the average,
to elect a republican Congressman; while the
Democrats were elected with an average vote
Of 1880 votes a piece.
There are twelve States where repressive
or unconstitutional laws bar the Republican
voters from the polls. These States elected
ZOO members Of Congress; the Republicans
elected five. The 100 Democrats received
an ayarage Of I2,8o2 votes each the five Re
publicans averaged 10,2o7 votes a piece.
There were thirteen States which return
ed a solid Democratic Congressional delega-
ton and ten States which were solidly Repub-
lean. The solid Democratic States elected
eiehty-seven Congressman, the solid Repub-
lican States elected forty.
The solid Democratic States have a popu-
lation Of voting age numbering q, 85o,s74;
the solid Republican States have a like popula-
of 2,577,I42. The Democratic States
spVE'Ni, OhhJ AA'S/CO wv " tS
Democrats whom tfey elected;
whereas the Republican States cast o8o.654
for the forty Congressman whom the
party elected III that group. In other words
it took 24,766 Republicans in the Republican
States to elect a Congressman whom 1890
Democrats could elect in a Democratic State.
Handicapped by substantially a million votes
the iniquitous election laws of the
Solid South, the Republican party neverthe-
secured a plurality of more than a hundred
thousand votes for Congressman throughout
the country and cast a million and a quarter
more votes for its 2Is successful CongresSion-
al candidates than the 2I5 successful Demo
Gratis received.
With free and fair elections all over the
country, where would the Democratic party