The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-10-11
Governor Harding Names Commits.
sioners to Work Out Plans 30
10000 Men in Camps
Can Vote.
CANNOT VOTE IN FRANCE
1t is Impossible for the Soldiers IN
Great Numbers to Take Ad.
vantage Of Absent
Voters Law.

voters Law.
There are forty thousand Iowa sol
diers now in army service In one
| half the camps of this country, and
| few thousand others who are scat
tered here and there in camps where
| they have been assigned as yolun'
| teers in the navy, in coast artillery
in aviation, engineering, medical and
| training sections.
| 1t is designed to give these sol
diers q chance to vote at the coming
election by again employing the old
law OF 1863 under which soldiers II
the civil war were given chance to
vote while in the field. Governor w
L. Harding submitted the question to
the attorney general, and that official
gave detailed opinion, as did Cos
son two years ago, that the old law
should be used for the benefit OF Iowa
soldiers this year, In view of the fact
that there are so many In some
camps that it will be physical i'm.
possibility for them to vote under the
absent voters law. The fact that
there are in camps from 1o3 to $4,000
Iowa soldiers, and that every absent
voters ballot voted has to be sealed
and sworn to before notary public
would cause a large part OF these sol
diers to fail to ever receive their bal
lots to vote and to fail to get them
back to their home precincts IL voted.
Military officers cannot take acknow-
Judgements in civil proceedings. At
Camp Pike, for instance, where there
were last month 1858 Iowa men, it
would be out of the question for any
considerable number of these men to
ever vote under the absent voters
law. The election commissioners will
provide regular polling places for
them, and their votes can be taken
under the same rules and restrictions
as II at homo for all officers from
senator down to county positions No
officers In districts less than county
can be voted for owing to the impos-
isibility OF making the canvass and
entering the votes for these minor
Offices.
The Commission Appointed.
Governor Harding has named At
torney Price Of Fl. Dodge, Editor
Junkin of Creston and Seantor Cas-
well of Denison as three commission
ers to plan and map out the details
for the big task Of taking the Iowa
soldiers vote In whatever camps q
sufficient number may be found to
make 1t practicable. These commits
sioners met with the governor in Des
Moines Sunday, and with Secretary
Of State w. 8. Allen later, to outline
the situation and start the important
work. First the information as to the
number of Iowa men in each camp
and the numbers from each county In
each camp has to be ascertained,
then a sufficient number of ballots
for each county in the state to sup
ply these men at the election must
be prepared and then the commits
sioners must arrange for election
judges and clerks at each camp and
see that the vote is regularly and
legally polled, with the same restric-
lions as to citizenship as though the
soldiers were at home.
Secretary Of State Allen thus has
a tremendous job In preparing these
ballots and getting them correctly
printed for each county in the state;
also furnishing proper special poll
books that will permit Of recapitula-
tion Of the votes after they are taken.
The work in hand will take the
commissioners from now till some
time after election. They will pub
lish very soon a list OF the camps
where they will hold regular cleo
lions for the soldiers and list of
other camps where the only means
that can be provided for taking the
soldiers vote will be by use of the
absent voters ballot law, and in the
latter case will advise relatives and
friends of soldiers known to be IN
such camps to instruct their soldier
relatives and friends to make app1i-
cation in proper manner to their
county auditors for such ballots, and
thus they may get them back in time
to be counted at the election.
Cannot Vote In France.
The war department recently, In
the application of the state Of New
York for permission to take the vote
of the soldiers of that state in France
and England, declined such permits
sion. on the ground that the soldiers
over there are so constantly on the
move and are so necessary to the
fighting units in action. that It would
be impossible and inadvisable to have
try to take their votes
outside of the United States. The
war department did, however. prom
Ise cooperation and all the facilities
possible for taking the vote of sol
commissioners will therefore not at
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