The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1924-08-02
FARMER LABOR
MAY NOT GAIN
PARTY COLUMN
Method of Creating Party
Legally. and Putting it on
Ballot, Held at Fault
WHATTHELAW PROVIDES
Plan Had Been Advanced of
Running A. G. SOrlie on
Stickers in the Fall

The proposal made by K. H. Wal
ker, chairman of the Farmer Labor
Party in North Dakot TO run A G..
Sorlie, Nonpartisa san League indors-
ed Republican candidate for Cover
nor, on "stickers' in the fall election
with the designation Farm Labor
Party" after his name. in the hope of
casting five percent of the total vote
for him in this manner and thus es-
tablishing the Farmer Labor Party on
the ballot two years hence, is be
Ileved here to be an unique scheme
in North Dakota politics. Doubt al
so is expressed as to whether the OBJ
ject could be accomplished by this
method.
The practical stumbling block
pointed out to the Walker plan is
that, after election, there would be
no method of determining whether
or not the "sticksr" vote equalled
five percent Of the total.
A search of election laws and rcgu-
latiOns fails to reveal any require
ment that the party vote be totalled
separately in the fall election, and
in the opinion of politicians he,
election officials would simply add
together the votes obtained by Scr
lie in the Republican column and by
the "sticker" method. Unless re-
count were ordered or some method
determined by which the number of
votes obtained by Sorlie through
Farmer Labor support, it is held that
the Walker method could not estab-
lish his party on the ballot
League Party Created
Two years ago the Nonpartisanl
League Party was created, under the
Secretary of States ruling, because
William Lemke, candidate for Cover
nor in the individual nominations
column, carried the designation Of
principles, "Nonpartisan League" af-
ter his name and received more than
five percent of the total vote cast.
For the Farmer-Labor Party to ac-
complish the same object it would be
necessary to have candidate other
than Mr.. Sorlie, for whom the vote
would be counted separately, it is
held here.
The opinion given by Attorney
General Shafer on February 90. 1929
when the question was raised as to
wheth'/ or not i, Democratic party
had lost its status as political par
ty, was recalled in this connection.
He pointed out the so-called Give
percent clause, being section $50 of
the compiled laws of 1913, which
reads rs follows:
ANY citizen otherwise eligible by
law, affiliated with or representing
the principles enumerated in the ma
tional platform of the following par
ties, are eligible to nomination under
this article: the Republican party,
the Democratic party, or any party
designation that cast five percent of
the votes cast for Governor at the
last general election"
Effect OF Law
The opinion of the Attorney Cen
eral. in explaining the effect of the
law, continued:
"Then, too, it is not certain that
party must have candidate for
Governor, in order to have and retain
party status. The five percent
clause referred to says or any party
designation that cast five percent of
the votes cast for Governor at the
last general election" 1t does not
say that its candidate for Governor
shall have received five percent of
the votes cast for Governor, at the
election. l am inclined to think that,
properly construed, the clause means
that, in order to acquire party sta
tus, particular party must cast a
vote under its proper designation,
equal to five percent of all the votes
cast for Governor at the last general
election"
Since the Nonpartisan League cam
didates who are to run as Indepen-
dents have stated they will resign
from the Nonpartisan League column,
in which they were nominated with
very few votes, it is not improbable
that this party will disappear from
the ballot after the fall election.