Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-09-30
Big STRAW VOTE
SOON TO START
Presidential Candidates Standing
VIII Be Mirrored To Public
Long Before Election

The most accurate and far reaching
straw vote of any presidential cleo
ton ever attempted in this country
is now under way Millions of ballots
will be cast in this first test vote, and
at least two weeks before the Novem-
ber elections those who follow this
straw vote will be able to tell without
fear of contradiction who will be the
next occupant of the White House,
and by how many votes he will win.
In order to accomplish this titanic
task, 5000 Reffiall drug stores in the
United States have been designated
by the United Drug Company, Bos-
ton, as the balloting points. In each
store clerk has been detailed to con-
duct the ballot and thus insure a sure
and fair test to vote. There will be
no stuffing of the ballot boxes, nor
will there be any repeating.
The big unknown quantity in the
forthcoming election is the Women's
vote. In order to accurately compute
this vote, two ballot boxes will be
installed in each Rexall drug store,
one for the male vote, the other for
the women. Each night the vote will
becounte d, that of the men and wo-
men totaled separately.
Each ballot clerk, in each town or
city, after compiling his local vote,
will telegraph his returns to a cen
trial point in that state. The state
captain in turn will compile the total
vote for the state and telegraph the
returns to the Straw Vote Director at
the Boston Office of the. United Drug
In addition to this the state captain,
after compiling the vote for his state,
will send these returns back to each
Rexall drug store in his state, where
they will be prominently displayed in
each store window.
The Boston Office, after receiving
the reports from all 48 states, will
compile the total national vote for
mon and women separately, and a
bulletin will be issued each night, to-
gether with the total figures of each
state, which will be sent back to all
5000 drug stores and to many news
papers and news agencies throughout
the country.
In order to handle this straw vote
an interchange of upwards of 10000
messages, telephone and telegraplnic,
will be necessary each day. Begin
ming about October !, announcement
will be made daily of the vote. An
actual test of the Rexall straw vote
was made in the last presidential
campaign. While balloting was con-
Quoted only nine days in all the stores
yet several million votes were cast
and five days before the election the
figures were announced.
This test vote showed that Presi-
dent Wilson had been reelected by
small majority. 1t showed that he
would carry California and also New
Hampshire, an announcement which
brought indignant denials from those
who were opposed to him. When the
total vote cast in the Rexall straw
vote had been compared with those
cast in the November election, they
differed from the actual figures less
than one-half of one per cent. With
80 days of balloting in the present
test vote, not only can the readers be
kept in momentary touch with the
temper of the public, but they will
get a very definite idea as to how the
women of the nation will vote on No
vember next.