The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1919-11-08
NO PLUMBERS TO Be
ALLOWED in NEXT
ELECTION
Voters Warned That Law Pass
ed in 1919 Prohibiting Prac-
tice Will Be Enforced
VIOLATION OF LAW
WILL SPOIL BALLOT
Many Voters Unaware of Act
Passed Immediately After
Parker-Pleasant Fight

! "Plumping," or "single Shots will
not be allowed in the January prim-
airy election, much to the dissatisfac
ton of many voters.
1t will be remembered that in 1916
the assembly, fresh from bitter par
tisan fight, after the democrats had
suffered in many parishes by the
'plumping" in practice at that time,
enacted a law prohibiting plump
ing" and now the voters have no al
tentative. Where six candidates are
running for three positions, for in
stance as in the case with the race for
representatives in this parish, the vot-
er must cast his ballot for three. In
the event he fails to do so, his ballot
will be declared Spoiled" and will
not be counted.
Publicity alone. can prevent the
spelling of hundreds of ballots. It
is therefore necessary that voters pass
the word down the line, that "single
shots" will not be allowed, and no
matter how anxious a community may
be to elect its favorite candidate in
the race for the legislature or the Pc
lice jury, "plumping" can do its cam
didate no good and may do harm, as
all single shot ballots viii be cast
aside as spoiled, and the voter who
cast same will also lose his vote on
every candidate he voted for, as our
understanding of the law is, that
ballot spoiled on the legislative ticket
alone will also be spoiled for the bal
ance, and the voter thereby lose out
for his failure to observe the provis-
ions of this new wrinkle in state leg
islation.
There has been no general state
election since the passage of the law
and hence the general public has not
been made wise as to it's provisions,
even some of the best informed men
in this and other communities being
totally in ignorance as to the enact
ment of the law, and being in such ig-
norance, will no doubt follow the old
time practice of pumping" as in
the past, and thereby lose out all
around.
Many people, just put wise to this
laws existence, have expressed dissat-
isfaction over its provisions, saying
that it is not right and somewhat I'M
democratic to force man to vote for
candidates that he does not consider
capable for the office, prefering to
surrender his right to vote for, say,
three, and vote for only one or two.
However, as the law stands, it has to
be enforced and the only way a voter
may possibly get around its provisions
is to write out his ticket in the blank
column of the ballot and vote for one
or two of the regular candidates and
write in the name or names of some
man who is not a candidate, as it is
undoubtedly the privilege of a voter
to do when he chooses to write out his
ticket in the blank column rather
than stamping opposite the name of
any candidate on the ballot.
The problem of saving the votes of
the uniformed men this coming cleo
ton win no doubt prove somewhat
difficult, unless the commissioners
are well informed themselves and in
structed to make known to each voter
the provisions of this new law. Full
publicity should have been given this
matter long before now, but it is not
too late to inform them SO that by
the date of the January primary ev-
cry voter in the state viii be wise to
the fact that ''plumping" as hereto