The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-10-25
BY vERN SMITH

MOSCOW, U.S.S.R., Oct. "a
The ninety million workers and
farmers who will cast their votes in
November and December for mem
bers of sovietS are now talking pol
tics" An election campaign is 60
ing on. Everyone is interested.
Practically every adult will vote.
Instead of millions of workers be-
ing barred from voting by residence
or poll tax requirements or by lit
eracy tests or registration require
ments, as In America. here every
worker, every farmer or housewife.
student, or Red Army man., every
one, in fact, over the age of eight
cen who makes his living by useful
labor of hand or brain, has a right
to vote without regard to residence
period, race, creed, color, income or
education. Only enemies of the
workers, such as former Czarist or
White Guard officials, especially
those who acted as jailerS or police
officers, employers of labor for profit
Though there are very few of these
now, priests, criminals actually in
detention or kulak Sabotagers con-
victed and living on probation for
certain number of years, the in
sane, etc. are denied the right to
vote. The fact that such enormous
numbers do vote, over 10000, 900 out
OF population of 170,000,000 or
more than half, shows that the list
OF workers enemies is after all
quite small nowadays. In the
United States the proportion of legal
electors to the general population
is about one-third.
Instead of barring from the polls
racial minorities, as the Indians on
reservations are legally barred in
America, and as millions of Negroes
in the South are Illegally barred,
the Soviet law makes particular
place for national and racial mi
norities, insisting that they shall
have their representatives on all
elected bodies, and on all election
commissions, which are appointed
by the Soviets or executive commit
tees Of soviets to arrange election
meetings and watch the enforce
ment of election laws. The election
laws are so drawn that national mi
norities are represented on all So
Vets and congresses of soviets, if
there are such minorities in the
area concerned. It is particularly
specified that each autonomous re-
public, region or other area inhab-
tied by national minority shall
send its representatives to the ALL
Russian Congress of Sov:ets, the
highest governing body, in accord
ance with its population, just like
the Russian speaking areas. At the
Seventh All-Union Congress, which
meets Jan. Is, 1885, it has already
been announced there must be, for
example. 81 delegates from the W.
bek Socialist Soviet Republic, Is
from the Turkmsnian Socialist So
Wet Republic, IA from the Talk So
cialist Soviet Republic, etc.
Not only that, but in each cleo
ton to village or city soviets, the
election laws specify that whatever
or wherever a group Of people of a
national minority live inside the
district mainly populated by another
nationality, the smaller group may
have their own election meeting and
elect their own delegates to the local
soviet, provided there are enough Of
them to elect even one delegate.
Foreigners Vote
Instead of foreigners being abso-
lutely barred from elections pro-
vision that excludes millions of
workers in America from the right
to vote or hold Office, these rights
are guaranteed to foreign workers
in the Soviet Union even though
they may still retain their foreign
nat onality.
The electoral basis, the franchise,