The Penn's Grove record., 1920-04-02
Presidential Primaries
In New Jersey
Law Governing Selection of Del
egates on April 9th
Explained

GuWdruS, WHO Was elecCeQ on a Q1S-
tinctly wet ticket, having been put
forward as a presidential possibility.
New Jersey has already furnished two
presidents. Grover Cleveland was a
Jerseyman by birth and Woodrow
Wilson is a ~Jerseyman by adoption.
The vice president was the late Gar
rett A. Hobart, of Paterson.
Tie election law bearing on the
presidential primaries provides that
n thousand voters of any political
party in the state may file a petition
with the secretary of state on or be-
fore the first April in a presidential
year requesting that the name of the
Le-son endorsed in the petition as a
candidate of that party for the office
o. president shall be printed upon the
official primary ballol of the party for
The ensuing election for delegates for
the national convention. This petit
ton must be in the form required by
the law for the endorsement of a can-
didate for United States Senator, but
it is provided that it is not necessary
to have the consent of the presidential
candidate endorsed on the petition.
The law provides that the secretary
of state shall certify the names of
presidential candidates thus submitted
on petition, to the county clerk of each
county ON or before April g., and the
county clerks shall pass the certifica-
ton onto the municipal clerks to be
printed on the official ballots, under
the heading "Choice for President"
The voters at the primary election on
April 9th may indicate their prefer
f e..ce among the candidates for Presi-
dent, whose names thus appear upon
the ticket, by marking a cross in the
square at the right. The votes cast
for these candidates must be counted,
canvassed and returned to the munic-
ipal clerk by the board of registry and
i elections; then forwarded to the
County clerk; thence to the secretary
of state and the latter must publicly
announce the vote cast for each candi-
ate lor president in each party as
s..own by the returns filed IN Lis Office.
The foregoing is the met'od of placing
presidential candidates On the tlc6eI by
petition.
Each Congressional district shall
have one delegate and one alternate if
the vote at the last congressional
election fell below 1900. AS all of the
districts in New Jersey a above
1900 each district will have two dele
gates and two aiternates for each of
the two parties. Four delegates at
large and four a~lternates at large are
to be elected by each party.
The secretary of state on or before
April 12, will certify to each county
clerk this number of delegates and al
ternater at large and the district dele
gates and alternates to be chosen at
the coming primaries. Not less than
+ 100 members of either party may file
with the secretary of state on or before
April l a petition requesting that the
name of the therein endorsed be print
ed on the primary ticket as a candi-
late for delegate at large or alternate
at large or district delegate or district
alternate. The signers of the latter
petition must be legal voters of the
state and the signers for district can
didates must be voters for the district
or subdivision of it. Within five days
afterwards the secretary of state must
certify to each county clerk the noml-
nations of delegates and alternates at
large and he also must certify to each
county involved in the district con-
cerned the nominations for district or
alternate delegates.
Candidates for delegates or district
delegates may be grouped together
and they also may have the name OF
the candidate for president whom they
favor placed opposite their individual
names,or opposite such groups, If they
so request in their petition, under the
caption "choice for president
Each county clerk must forward, on
or before April 8, to each municipal
clerk in his county a statement OF the
persons whose names are to be printed
on the primary ticket of each party
as candidates Tor the position of dele
gates or alternates filed with or certl-
fed to him. The municipal clerks are
to see to the printing of the official
tickets. Each of the municipal clerks
is to deliver to the clerk of each board
of registry and election in his munich
pality, at the office of the municipal
clerk, on or before the Tuesday pre-
ceding the day of the primaries, the
noll book and the primary book made
up in the district at the last general
and primary elections respectively, and
the books and forms for writing In the
names of the voters, making out re-
turns and the affidavits filed with him,
and generally such things as the clerks
are now required by law to furnish to
the boards for their use. On or be-
fore the day of the primaries, the mu-
nicipal clerks must furnish to the
boards the ballots and ballot boxes for
each party.
The law provides that the presiden-
tial primaries shall be held on the
ourth Tuesday of April in each presi-
dental year. This year that date will
be April 9th. The primary elections
are to be conducted in the same man
ner as the usual September primary
elections.
Every voter on the poll book Of the
last general election in the district in
which he offers his vote, or who has
been registered by affidavit is entitled
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