New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-07-23
Literacy Test
Faces ALI New
Voters i'm Fall
Fifty Extracts From States
Constitution Form Basis
for Judging Applicants
Qualifications in English
Selections Not Difficult
Aspirant Must Show He Can
Read and Write, However,
Before He Is Registered

New York States literacy test for
new voters will be given it's initial
trial in New York City on October Q.
the first day of registration, it be-
came known yesterday when the Board
of Elections received from Secretary
of State Lyons copies of the 100 ex
tracts which he has taken from the
states constitution and which will be
used on registration days this fall.
Under the provisions of the new
law. inspectors on the registration
boards are given full authority to re-
quire all new voters to prove that
they can read and write English. This
class of voters includes those who are
naturalized and are voting for the first
time, those who have entered New York
from other states, and those who are
entitled to vote by reason of the fact
that they have reached their twenty
first birthday.
School Head May Certify
The law also contains a provision
which will enable the new voter to pre-
sent to the inspectors a certificate of
literacy signed by the principal or head
of a public school in the place where
the voter applies for registration. or
of any school in city or town which
the State Department of Education re-
cognizes as meeting the requiredIstand-
ards. This certificate will be to the
effect that the principal or head of the
school has examined the prospective
voter, or his educational credentials,
and found that he or she can read and
write. 1t will bear the signature of the
applicant made in the presence of
the principal, who also must sign it.
At registration a comparison will be
made between the name appearing on
the certificate and that inscribed by
the voter to prevent irregularities.
In selecting the excerpts from the
state constitution Mr.. Lyons has taken
care to avoid sentences containing long
and difficult words. At the same time
he has endeavored to provide phrases
Of about fifty words which will carry
useful information to, the new voter.
In Massachusetts, where there has
been 1iteracy test in existence for a
considerable length Of time, the selec-
tions taken from the state constitution
are of five lines length and seem to
have been selected with the idea of
testing the voters ability to read, with
out thought of conveying any definite
information concerning the constitu-
ton.
One of the extracts selected by Mr.
Lyons reads:
Gall able bodied male citizens be-
tween the ages of eighteen and fifty
five years, who are residents Of the
state, shall constitute the militia, sub
ject, however, to such exemptions as
are now or may be hereafter created
by the laws of the United States, or by
the Legislature Of this state"
Hard Words Are Avoided
The law allows the Secretary of State
some leeway when it comes to the num-
Der of words, as it says that "thc ex-
tracts shall be of approximately fifty
words each" In making the selections
for the test Mr.. Lyons has avoided as
far as possible all sentences which con-
tain words not frequently used, and
which might prove stumbling block
to the average intelligence.
Each Board Of Elections is required
to print its own pasteboard slips, on
each Of which will appear one Of the
extracts. Thase papers will be uniform
in size, and printed in English. The
new voter will be asked to draw out at
random enc such slip from the box in
which the hundred are kept in such q
manner as to conceal the slips from
view. He will read aloud intelligibly
the matter printed on the slip, where
upon an inspector will select another
slip from the box and ask him to write
legibly in English ten words of the
matter. If the applicant does this in
a passable manner he will be con-
sidered to have passed the test.
The State Department of Education
has decided to adopt somewhat diff
ferent method. Instead Of calling upon
the applicant to read an extract from
the constitution the department will
give what is known as silent read
ing test, which will determine the per-
sons qualification by requiring him to
answer ten questions from a selection
of about one hundred words. The Sc
lection will center around the follow
ling topics: AUGMENTATION, citizen
ship, civic duties and interests, Ameri-
can history and government.
These two methods will give the new
voter ample opportunity to show that
he possesses the educational qualifica-
tions emitting him to register and vote
The fact that a person might fail to
survive test of. literacy from the
State Department of Education will not
bar him from taking the test given by
inspectors on boards Of registration
and this fact will be made plain to
those who fail in the departments test
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