New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-06-10
AMENDMENT ELECTION
WILL COST $4,000. SENA.
TORIAL ADDS VERY LITTLE

= Amending the constitution of tn,
e state of New Mexico is not only diff
ficult, but expensive. The II am
endments proposed, which will be yot
5 ed upon at the special election OF
Sept. 20, will require the printing o.
: 4,576, 900 ballots. These will cost ap.
! proximately $4,000. Publication O.
: the proposed amendments in the
newspapers of the several counties
will reach a cost of nearly 5000
5 Other printing incident to the electior.
registration and poll books and in.
structioh cards will cost about 81 ,J0
. more. This brings the total cost Of
printers ink and newspaper space t.
the round sum of $4,000. All this
: cost will be borne by the state. Other
costs, carried by the several counties
will be about $4,000, bringing the
total cost of the constitutional am
endment election to $4,000.
In this particular election there will
be slight increase in the cost, by
reason of the fact tina Gov. Merritt
c. Mechem has issued a writ of cleo
ton, calling general election for
the same date, to elect United States
senator. This additional cost will be
only about $1,000, which win be ex-
pended for the ballots for the sena-
torial election. The distribution of the
two sets of ballots will be made at
one time, thus reducing the cost of
distributing the senatorial ballots 70
very low figure.
This printing bill, which may seem
high, is in compliance with a provi-
sion of the constitution, which is tIat
each proposed amendment submitted
shall be Offered to the voter on
separate ballot, printed in both En-
glish and Spanish. The constitution
provides further that the proposed
amendments shall be printed in En-
glish in each county that has a news
paper printed in English, and may
be printed also in Spanish in any coun-
ty having a Spanish language news
paper. The matter of printing in
Spanish also in any OF the counties
is for the secretary OF state to decide
The question hinges upon the num-
Der of persons who do not read En-
] ShNiii anu WIN may DC lOu
through the Spanish language news
OF ballots for each amendment
there must be printed double the
number of voters taking part in the
last election. In round numbers,
there were 10000 votes cast in the
last election, which would mean 208,-
600 ballots for each amendment. For
the ii amendments then, there will be
? 2288O00 official ballots printed for
use on election day. Then there must
be a like number of sample ballots, to
afford ample opportunity for the pub
lie TO study before going to the polls
The ballots will be uniformly inches
in width. varying in length from 5
to Is inches, English in the first col
umn, Spanish in a parallel column
The official ballots will be on white
paper, the cample ballots on colored
paper,
Bernalillo county will get the high
est number of these ballots, 42o0DO
San Miguel following closely with
10000. The lowest number will go
to Hidalgo and Lea counties, each
receiving 1900 These ballots will be
forwarded to the county clerk of each
Of the 81 counties and that officer
will see to the distribution TO the sew
eral precincts.
Publication will be made in some
IS newspapers, including the Spanish
language publications. There is now
10 newspaper in the new county of
Citron. but one likely will be launch
ed in time to carry this legal public
alton, which will make some 720 lines
of type, varying from four to ) col
unms OF newspaper page The di-
vision of Mora county by the Great
ing OF Harding county cut off two
newspapers from Mora. and the one
remaining paper. al Wagon Mound
has been removed to Las Vegas. San
doyal for a long while was the only
county having no newspaper, and has
not yet increased the number. The
Valencia paper. AT Bclcn. is published
with unfailing irreguarity, and may
not asked to carry the publication.
Rio Arriba county has q newspaper
printed in Spanish only. Publication
probably will be made in both En-
gliSh and Spanish in Bernalillo. Dona
Ana, San Miguel, Tao and Union
counties. and possibly also in Guada-
lupe county.
PRINTING of this great number of
ballots IS quite an undertaking in riiis
state. Printing for II OF the counties
will be as follows: Bernalillo county,
by Bandera Americana, Albuquerque
Colfax county, by the Ration Range.
Ration; Curry county, by the Herald,
Clovis; Dona Ana county, by the Citi-
zen and the Republic, Las Cruces !;
Mckinley county. by the Herald,
Gallup; Mora ard San Miguel coun-.
ties, by Fl independents, Las Vegas !,
Quay county, by the American. Tue
uncon; Sovorro county, by the Chief
tain, Socorro; Taos county, by the
Bulletin or Revista de Taos; Torrance
county, by the Mountainair Indep-
endent; Union county, by the Citizen
or the Eews. Clayton.
Contracts for printing for printing
for the other l9 counties have been
awarded to the New Mexico State
Record, and this plant is now working
three shifts on the presses to get the
work out In addition.the State Rec
ord, under sub contract, is printing
the ballots for Curry. Mckinley. So
ccrro and Torrance counties. Its to-
tai is 2,5520O0, considerably more than
half of all.
LARGE CROWD wEL-