New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-05-28
Jockeying Judicial Elections
Proposed Ballot Puts Partisanshh
Into Judiciary Selections
Tn The Editor OF The Tribune.

To the Editor OF Inc tribune.
Sir: desire TO call your attention 10 u
Bowling bill, now before the Governor, prs.
viding for a new and different srrangemep4
Of judicial candidates on the ballot. n
bill is innocent enough on its face, but n
title, if fully expressive Of its purpose al
effect, would read: "An act to jockey In.
dicial elections in the City Of New York,
Suppose there are three vacancies 10 n
filed in the Supreme Court and three parties
make three different nominations. TODAY
these nine candidates go on the ballot in a
single group accompanied By their party
emblems and designations and any vote,
may mark any three he plcases.
Under the Bowling bill they would h
grouped into three separate groups of three
candidates each, a separate group for eseh
of the three vacancies. Each group vouH
contain one candidate from each party LII
US designate the candidates by the first rim.
letters Of the alphabet: Candidates A, B an
c would constitute the first group; D, Z sul
F, the second, and G, II and ], the third To-
day q voter may mark any three out OF tka
nine. But under the Bowling bill he eoQN
not mark both A and B, or D and L, for q.
ample, or more than one candidate in any Of
the groups. Moreover, IL the voters fad q
particular judicial candidate especially unSs.
sirable las we frequently do) their only way
to defeat him would be TO vote for one Of
the other candidates in his particular group.
They could not defeat him by electing .
second candidate from another group.
In other words, the voter is not only 10
be greatly restricted in his selection Of
judges, but that restriction is TO proceed On
partisan considerations. had supposed that
the community was coming more and more
to see the desirability OF removing judicial
Office from the realm Of partisan politics.
But here we have this bill passed By both
houses of the Legislature without, so far q
! know, a single editor waking up TO its sig.
niicance.
Under the old party column ballot, vhsu
a cross mark on one line operated not oaly
as vote for the candidate marked but sln
to exclude other candidates on the same lisa
we used toshsve the justices arranged viii
keen eye TO the effect Of the srrangemsat
on the fortunes of particular candidstsl
This particular feature disappeared with tis
introduction of the Massachusetts, ballet
But this bill seeks to reintroduce the oH
scheme, with all its opportunity for JOCKEY.
ing the arrangement Of candidates so % to
bring about particular result, 4gured out
ahead by the professional politicians.
To-day the responsibility Of renominstias
good judge, regardless Of his party shilis.
ton, is put squarely up to the parties. They
either do or they don't. When they do they
help on the nonpartisan judiciary move
ment. When they don't they get criticised
for not doing it, and run the chance Of
starting an independent movement. Under
the Bowling bill all they will need 10 do is
to make bipartisan dicker TO elect psrtie-
ular judges and arrange the ballot so the
special candidates agreed upon shall not run
against one another. e., shall appear il
different sections of the ballot.
The promoters of the bill offer as its just.
fcation that at present large proportion
Of voters do not and will not vote for three
judges out of a group say, OF nine, but vote
for only one or two; but that If the csndi-
dates are put into three groups the voter will
be more likely to put a mark IN each group.
The complete answer 70 that is that II
voter is not sufficiently Interested in the
judicial Office TO exercise his full right OF
suffrage his vote is of little service to the
community and his ballot might as well be
blank Why should the election process 90
out of its way to Offset the votes OF careful,
discriminating and interested voters b. the
votes of the careless and in fferent!
ALBEyT S. BARD,
Chairman Legislative COm-.ittee Citizens
Union.
New York, May IS, 1917