Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-03-14
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
New Election eiii Before Legislature
Suggests Questions, All but One
OF Which Are Answered
BY SARAH ID. IOMRIE

sponsored by state senator ration. con
cerning slight changes in state election laws
which, to those who are 'in the know"
is not only very interesting. but which
may have very decided bearing on political
activity should it be successfully engineered
through. At oil events II will be an inter
esting bill to follow. because Of it's origin
its hackers aud its character.
As 10 its origin: 1t began in n committee
Of city and county officials called TO discuss
changes in the election laws: II received the
recommendations Of the City Council OF
Philadelphia, and. thus brought into being
was handed on to Patton as pilot 20 to be got
through the shoals Of the State Legislature
At least two and possibly more large city
organizations Of women voters we're con
suited as TO their viewpoint on the changes
proposed in rho bill while II was still in
committee. IT now remains TO be seen how
the stat" at large will regard changes in its
election laws proposed by Philadelphia.
Informed by Pittsburgh politician
that the state at large will take II very ILL.,
But ] cannot determine whether that is II
worms eye or birds eye point of view.
THE proposed changes in the election laws
L have TO do with the assessment. regis.
tration, care Of the ballot boxes, publishing
Of assessors lists and the date Of assessment
and printing Of the ballots.
Instead Of seventy five ballots being
printed for the use Of every fifty voters,
fifty ballots shall be printed.
Instead OF two assessments of voters, there
shall be one, and that one in March.
But 1t is recommended with regard TO the
assessors that they be present at the polls
during the hours Of registration. 90 that citi-
zens intending to vote may apply for regis.
tratiOn. may be assessed. pay their poll tax
and enroll as party members at the same
time. The last date for registration at the
polling place shall be the sixty second day
before the November election. Electors who
cannot register then or before then at their
division polling place shall be required to
file petitions with the registration commits
sion setting forth their reasons for not having
been registered at the polls at least three
days before they appear before the commits
sion to apply for registration.
The assessment lists printed by the county
commissioners should also be made to show
the registration Of electors instead Of the
lists called street lists now printed by the
registration commissioners. This last gives
a person whose name is omitted an oppor-
tuDity to ascertain the fact and TO file
petition to be placed on the lists.
1t IL also recommended that after all cleo
tions the ballot boxes and their contents he
returned to the Mayor and the prothonotary
as joint custodians, and better provision
be made for the safe keeping and handling
of the same.
THE reduction in the cost Of printing two
i lists. the convenience to the voter Of
being able to be assessed in the spring II he
is to be out Of town all summer. of register
ing and being assessed and enrolling at the
polls al the same time If he is in town
sixty two days before election. the provision
made for registering before the commission
IL he cannot do so at the polls by filing
petition three days before the date set to
register with the commission. the safe
keeping of the ballots in their boxes by the
Mayor and prothonotary after the election,
are all excellent provisions, and II Pitts
burgh turns them down because her town
council did not think of them first so much
the worse for her
T WAS asked the other day by lot Of girls
L the following questions about our Penn
syvania elections think they asked me
to stump me. and they succeeded on one
| question
Why are primaries very important in
! Philadelphia?
Ans. OF course. TINT is very easy Be
cause the minority party is too small to
| make q general election doubtful. therefore
| the only election that really counts is the
| one at which the candidates for the Repuh'
| lican party ARE nominated. Once nominated
they have every chance of being elected.
! How does n challenge at primary cleo
| tion differ from one at general or mu-
! ncipal election?
Ans. That is not 50 easy. The cpctor
! at primary must announce the name Of th"
! party with which he wishes to vote. He
must il challenged. swear he voted for that
party at tho last general election or lose his
| vote on the party ballot. So the challenging
! iluPrS from tndt OF general plPttlOn III tnNt
the voter, in order to cast a ballot. can b"
required to execute an affidavit that he voted
/ for the majority Of the candidates Of the
! party in which he claims to belong.
II the voter can be challenged at the pri
mary To swear a. to what party he voted for
NJ III" previous election, how is his ballot a
, secret one:
Ans. That's hard one In fact do
! not know the answer TO thai.
Why were primaries made constitutional
elections?
Ans. That was done before my day as n
voter. but ! put it 70 very erudite lawyer.
who spoke thus: The primaries are an
afterthought of tn" constitution. but very
| important afterthOught. Perhaps they are
! still little Clumsiy devised, but they are
preferable to the former method Of separa to
party conventions before each election, when
! the choice of candidates was not safeguardcd
! by low or any uniform legal restrictions.
Confusion and Corruptions marked the con
! ventions. which dictated to the voters rather
han accepted from tn" voters the party can
didnt"s'
put it to ward leader. who spake thus
! "Its all settled now beforehand without any
| talk The names OF the fellows for the diff
fercnt Offices get sifted down and sfted down
! by few meeting together at the call Of one
man and doing the sitting, And when they
| get through there are maybe three names left
for each place. And then the Wares and the
| Crows and the Trainers aud fcW more Of
! rs go to il, and the man that gets the oh
is the man whom the big boss has siited out,
Where do the party voters come in? Why,
after it's all over but the shouting
One other question thai those girls put 70
me forgot the answer to. but remembered
it later. or rather ! remembered The page in
| the book and just how rho sentence looked
that contained the answer. II is headed
"Nonpartisan Voting:
candidates for the Office Of judge of any
court of record in this state, and for al, elec
tive offices Of cities Of the second class il
this stnte, are now voted for on o separat tG
nonpartsan column or ballot. The voter
docs not have to declare himself member
of any political party in order to vote for d
nonpartsau candidate.
| shall forget that again by tomorrow. but
shall not forget that ! only nave to vote
for a majority OF party in order 10 brIon,