Evening star., 1944-01-16
Vote for Soldiers Approved
But Plan Is Bitterly Argued
Complex Problems Are Presented by Proposal
For Balloting by 100000 in Service Which
Runs Afoul State Regulations
BY Richard l.. Sfokes
BY Richard L. Stokes.

L. Stokes.
dates is made an integral part of the
process.
An operational breakdown of the
Public Act of September 16, 1912, gave
rise to the various drafts of the, Green
Lucas -Worley bill. This was due to de-
lay in passing the act, which was not
adopted until about six weeks before
the congressional election of that year;
and to it's laborious mechanics, which
required servicemen to apply for bal
lots, their transmission by the secre-
taries of state of the 48 commemorative
to members of the armed forces in all
parts of the world, and finally their re-
turn by servicemen abroad or in this
country to the respective secretaries of
state.
Only $4,000 Voted.
Out Of some 100000 men and women
in the armed services at that time, only
$4,000 cast ballots. The vote as a whole
was the smallest registered in any ma
tional election in 20 years. 1t was
5000 900 less than the vote in the last
previous off-year election in 1888, and
betrayed falling off of about 40 per
cent from that polled in the presidential
election of 1910. This melancholy SHOW
ing was ascribed in part to the fact that
the act of 1942-and this is true of both
the Lucas and Eastland bills-took no
cognizance of millions of electors in
volved in large-scale migrations to war
production centers.
In the opinion of Senators Lucas and
Green, hosts of service men and women
would be disfranchised in the coming
presidential election unless steps were
taken in good time to substitute me-
chanlcal procedure of utmost simplicity.
Work on their bill started last June.
The current draft retains the 1912 acts
suspension OF poll tax and registration
requirements for the duration, and then
proceeds to set up United States War
Ballot Commission of four members, two
OF them Democrats and two Republicans.
to be appointed by the President and
confirmed by the Senate The board is
to function as liaison between the States
an dthe War and Navy Departments,
and its operations are to be exclusively
administrative.
The commission is authorized to pre-
pare and print an adequate number of
official Federal war ballots, the form of
which is supplied, together with inner
and outer envelopes, as a double pre-
caution in behalf of secrecy, which are
suitably printed for writing in the name
and residence of the absentee voter and
an oath affirming his qualifications, to
be sworn before commissioned nom
commissioned or petty officer, not below
the rank of sergeant or its equivalent.
The sealed ballots are to be returned
to the commission, which is instructed to
count and forward them unopened to
the appropriate State secretaries of
state, who will then distribute them. still
unopened, to the proper local election
ofhcials. Only such officials have author
ity to open either or both of the two
sealed envelopes containing marked
ballot.
"ouiu DdT Propaganda.
In addition to men and women in
the armed services, the bill extends its
privileges to officers and men of the
merchant marine, on duty abroad but
not at home; civilian employees attached
to the Army and Navy overseas, but not
those serving at domestic posts. and
civil employees of the Government sta
toned abroad but not those at home
Service personnel from such territories
as Alaska and Hawaii, who would vote
IN general elections for delegates at
Congress, are disfranchised outright.
Embodied in the second and third
drafts of this bill is an amendment reg
ulating the use of propaganda in elec-
tloneerlng among soldier sailor voters
which was proposed by Senator Robert
A. Taft, Republican, of Ohio.
Three provisions of the Lucas bill out
ragged Republicans and Southern Demo-
Gratis and led to the revolt which found
voice In the Eastland bill, now a victor.
at least Temporarily, over the administra-
ton measure. The first was its estab-
1shment of Federal agency to admin
lister the operation, which was denounced
as an invasion of States rights and by
extremists as a satanic plot of the ad-
ministration to "steal" the Forthcoming
election by means of the soldier vote.
The second objection was to a pro-
vision which would enable the War
Ballot Commission to make record of
ballots rejected by local election Off
cials, and thus amass authoritative data
on disfranchisement processes in some
States. At least, that was the view of
Senator Eastland, who foresaw "swarms
of agents, investigators or carpetbaggers
(See VOTES, Page C-3)