New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-12-18
Non-Partisan City Elections
A Plan Offered to Prevent Selection
of Minority Candidates
To the Editor ~ The Tribune.

10 the tflIOF Ni NC iAluAhNf
Sir: Now that the tumult and shouting
of the recent municipal campaign are past
and the opening Of the 1918 session oil inc
Legislature draws near, this seems an appro-
priate time to consider what. if any, Iegisla-
ton the lessons Of the campaign call ior' III
this connection il should be borne III mlnp
that real permanent improvement IN our gov
crnment comes about not by the sporadic
case Of the election Of a great and good MAJ.
TO Office. but through the introduction Of
methods which enforce good government inc
lessons of the campaign point unmistahapIN
as it seems 10 me, to two lines OF leglsIa'
tive action, both, curiously enough, IN the d.
rection of non-psrtsanship;
/. Non.Partisan Municipal Elections hylsh
was a minority candidate. The unohlcle' re-
turns mot counting the soldier vote) TOT V.c
four chief candidates for Mayor are as iol'
lows: Bennett. 53,67s; Hylan, 2972S2; mt
quit. 142I7s; Mitchell, 1493O7. II the Soc'H'-
lists continue TO cast vote in any way ap-
proximating their vote of TINS year '''
MAYOR Of New York for many years 10 cof"'
,,.ill be n minority candidate. The best way
IN romedv this undesirable state OF AFFAIRS is
"a reduce the number Of candidates Tor eaeh
CITY. county and borough office to tWo' oy
vote taken AT the September primaries.
Tho details could easily be worked out.
von-partisan designations could be made as
nortl RESERVATIONS are now made. On pri-
navy day every man who had registered the
wear before and still lived in the election as
triet could vote; there could be two sets OF
ballots. one for party and the other Tor non
partisan nominations, just as there arc no"
scparate ballots for Presidential electors ana
for state Offices. The signature books are, ac-
cording TO existing law, in the polling places
on primary day. and hence could be used to
protcct the non-partisan as well as the
party primaries. Inasmuch ms no additional
election officials are required, the expense of
holding such non-partsan primaries would
not greatly exceed the cost of printing and
distributing the ballots.
The advantages Of non-partisan municipal
clections-the principle OF which is embodied
in the provision Of our state constitution that
municipal elections shall be held in odd num-
bered years-are obvious. With but two can
ddates fer each office a voter would know
more about them. The issues would be so
framed as TO be easily understood. In New
York for years TO come the issue would prob
ably be Tammany and anti-Tammsny. II
minority of the voters wanted the Tammany
candidates they would get them; while if a
majority were opposed to the Tammany can
didates anti-Tammany officials would be
elected.
=. Non-Partisan Election Ohicers.-lt is
we'll known TO those acquainted with the facts
that in certain districts of this city one po-
ltical organization controls the election Of
icinls Of both parties. Accordingly, the
theory upon which our bipartisan election
boards are chosen, namely, that with the rep
rcgentatives Of the two chief parties opposed
TO each other a fair election will be held,
does not always work out The September
primaries showed that in many districts the
election officers appointed by the party or
proceeded as il their first duty
was TO make up returns and mutilate ballots
so as to secure results which they thought
would please the men who had secured their
The remedy for this, az II
seems 10 me- is 10 provide that two Of the
inspectors of election shall be chosen as here
tofore from the parties casting the highest
and the next highest vote for Governor at
the last preceding election, and that the re-
two inspectors shall be non-psrtsan
and shall be selected by civil service eXami-
nations. One alert, honest inspector Of cleo
ton can prevent the doing Of most Of the
fraudulent work committed by board OF
elections-coud have prevented the frauds at
the primaries last September. Moreover, with
the present extensive authority given TO the
courts by the election law to examine ballots
and in other ways TO review the action of
election officials, the work of the inspectors
OF election has come to be largely ministerial
and the control of half the board Of inspect
ors has become relatively unimpOrtant to
honest party organizations.
WILLIAM n. CHADBOURNE.
New York, Dec. Il, 1917.