Evening star., 1924-07-20

ROUSE ye voters, Out of the
~ fullest exercise of the great
- American right of suffrage
will come what is best for
the welfare of this nation.
In Washington. while the residents
do not have a vote in the District of
Columbia, thousands of them do vote
by mail, retaining a voting residence
in their "old home towns"
These men and women are all par
ticularly interested in knowing
what the registration laws of their
states are, and also inquire regard
ing the absentee voting laws.
In the National Capital there are
sOJ.255 persons over twenty-one years
of age OF these 1864 are unnat-
uralized or otherwise disqualified. so
that it is estimated there are $685. ,591
persons in Washin gton who, while
denied a right to vote in the federal
city. may under certain state laws,
qualify as Stayat home and absentee
voters.
RcEistration as Requisite.
The foundation of the ballot is the
registration. In a vast majority OF
protected by the requirement that all
voters-the principal exception being
in rural districts-shaIl be registered
before election day Two services
are rendered by registration: First,
election judges have an assured foun-
dation on which to rest in challeng-
ing doubtful voters; and, second, cor
IuDt bosses are blocked in attempts
10 carry elections by storm. Regis
tration assures an orderly and sound
basis for an accurate and true bal
lot.
At the same time registration laws
are in some states so strict that quite
n large percentS ge of the lawful and
qualified vote may in effect be dis
franchised Voters absent from their
polling precincts on registration days
may be excluded on election day
Absentee election laws do not avail
in such cases. In some states the
voter who was unable to register may
be allowed to swear in his vote at the
election. But, rather than go to the
trouble. to consult authorities and
collect witnesses, the registration
absentee perhaps more commonly
the patriotic voting citizen, and as
we'll the efficient campaign commit
tee, to give more attention to regis
tration, for that is the foundation on
which close elections are won.
Features of State Laws.
The principal features of the regis
tration laws of the forty-eight states
cover: The period necessary to esq
tablish legal voting residence, years
in which registration is required, last
available date of registration, and
the proper registration officer or Off
GERS In a few states the purposes
of registration are achieved by the
assessor and tax collector, and in
others by the list posted by the town
or precinct board and subject there
after to correction. The purpose and
result are the same,
In states where absentee voting
laws have been enacted it is quite
commonly assumed where there is
not an express statutory provision to
the contrary, that the absentee's affi-
dayit covers the ground of registra- =
ton. This seems to be largely a
matter of administrative construc-
ton, however, and citations thereon
cannot be given with any confidence.
Voting By Mail Privilege.
Absentee voting by mail is now
provided for in the election laws in
the vast majority of states. There
are twenty-six states, which grant
absentee voting to all qualified voters
temporarily absent on election day in
any state in the Union, and at both
the primary and general elections
namely: Alabama, California. Idaho
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi. Montana, Ne
braska, Nevada. North Carolina, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania
South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont
Virginia, Washington. West Virginia
Wisconsin and Wyoming.
There are eight additional states
which authorize absentee voting by
mail at the fall general elections
Arizona, Delaware, Kentucky. Massa-
chusetts, New Jersey, New York,
Texas and Utah.
These thirty-four states extend the
Jabsentee voting privilege to all duly
qualified voters complying with the
state registration laws. The usual
method of such absentee voting is as
follows:
Xhs absentee voter writes TO the