Evening star., 1928-10-29

bv any governmental agency to deter
mine in aduarce the number OF persons
eecie9 sea e Te eaSsase F Press Toaos
its correspondents, has gathered these
Der eligible to pote on November s. The
/ figures are approximate because regis
tTotion has rot, ended in Gli states.
| In many cases the registration foGS de-
| fcrmined county by county. IN cases
,ohere figures cere not obtdtnable, esti-
nsgtfS,, mstss ,0ere made 0H 00r'OaS STATE
| (Copyrighted. 1929 by the Associated Press)
Voting booths in city and town, vii
lage and hamlet, will open their doors
! a week from tomorrow to the greatest
army of qualified voters il the history
of the United States-approximate
43, 900, 600.
How many of these men and women
who have registered their intention to
cast their ballots will actually do so
is matter of conjecture, but election
experts have figured the number as high
as 38.0O0,o00 In 1924 the total vote
for President was 29,091,417.
The more conservative observers place
the 1928 vote lower-around 35,OOO,oOO,
with women playing a major part in
the selection of the next President OF
the United States.
Cities Show Gains.
AS no Government agency has ever
undertaken the task of determining the
number of qualified voters in advance
of election, the Associated Press,
through its correspondents. has tabu-
lated the number of potential voters
in every State. This list shows .enor-
NOUS gains everywhere In the larger
cities.
One of the surprising results noted
in the 1928 tabulation is the tremen-
dous increase in the number OF quail
fying woman voters. Political leaders
and State officials generally agree that
the women will hold the balance OF
power. Every State has shown
startling Jump in the female regiSlra-
ton. It has been impossible to aScer-
tain the total number of women en-
titled to vote but, based on the known
segregation of registration, it Is eStl-
mated that in the larger cities women
will cast between 35 and 45 per cent
of the total vote. The percentage prop,
ably will be smaller III towns and rural
sections.
William Tyler Page. clerk OF the
House of Representatives, who for many
wears has made close study OF elec-
ton figures, estimate that the poten--
tial number of voters may not exceed
as 5OOO.000," and that the total vote
viii be about 33000,00o In a state
ment prepared for the Associated Press
he says:
'"The total number of votes cast in
1924 was 29,091,4I7. The number OF
citizens of voting age in the United
States, according to the census OF 1871,
was 54,421 1892 No doubt the number
today is much greater, but this does not
determine the number of persons en-
titled to vote. Registration ana otner
qualifications in the various States are
prerequisites to voting.
Set at 45,0OO,0Oo.
"The figures showing the total num-
Der of registered persons in the United
States are not available. After el1lnl-
mating all persons 81 years of age and
over who are disqualified for one reason
or another. the potential number OF
voters may not exceed 45,000,000.
"There are no bases upon which the
number can be computed with any de-
gree of accuracy. The age basis is in
accurate, and in. the. absence OF the
grand total of registered persons any
discrepancy between the number OF
those voting and those not voting is
conjectural.
sReports throughout the country OF
greatly increased registration indicate
a total vote at this years election OF
$4,000 ,000"
Simon Michelet. president of the Ma
tional Get-out-the-Vote Club CT Wash
ington, estimates popular poll OF
$1,000 600. He believes the women's
vote will be about 100000 more than
in 1924.
There are number of reasons for
the marked increase in registration.
The injection of the prohibition and re-
ligious issus into the campaign ac-
counts for a large part. The radio un-
doubtedly has also contributed, due to
the greatly increased use of the air
route by political orators to reach the
Democratic National Committee recent
ly estimated the Democrats had spent
$500 900 on radio. The Republicans
also have spent huge sums.
Dr. Hubert Work, chairman OF the
Republican national committee, at
tributes the increase largely to women.
John j. Raskob, chairman Of the
Democratic national committee, says 1t
is most important to the future well
being of our country to note the in
crease"
South Shows Gain.
The "Solid South" which is expert
encing. the thrills. of a, vigorous presi-
Dental campaign for the first time in
years, has qualified more voters than
ever. before. Registration in the South
ern States is different than that which
prevails In other sections Of the country.
South Carolina, for instance, has re-
registration every 10 years. In most of
the South once the voter is registered
he registration holds good as long as
he pays his poll tax. Payment OF the
poll tax, however, is not always fair
criterion to measure the registration
and the voting In Arkansas 343, ,687
persons paid a poll tax in 1924, yet the
total vote cast for President was only
1852
Texas, which is being watched closely
by both Republicans and Democrats this
year, has no registration of voters. Gov.
Moody estimates the voting strength
at $500 900 but expects a vote Of only
800 900, based on past experience. The
poll tax receipts issued in 1924 were
1,l95,239.'
In New Mexico the first real registra-
tion in its history has been put into