IMPROVE- MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RECORDING VOTES AT ELECTIONS
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CHAMBERLIN, of St. Leonards-on-the-Sea, in the County of Sussex, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, under
the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
bearing date at Westminster, the Thirteenth day of June, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-eight, in the eleventh year of Her reign, did, for
Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Chamberlin, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power,
my exors,
sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Chamberlin,
adñiors, and assigns, or such others as 1, the said William Chamberlin,
my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR RECORDING VOTES AT ELECTIONS;" in which said.
Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said William Chamberlin,
should cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Chamberlin, do bereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention consists of combining mechanical parts with counting or
recording apparatus, in such manner that persons having the right to vote at
an election may record their votes without others knowing for which of the
canditates such votes are given, and yet at the same time the persons giving
the vote shall not be able to give to any canditate or canditates more votes
than the parties voting are entitled to give.
And in order that the Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a plan of an apparatus with the top removed, for carrying out
my Invention.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section, shewing tho ratchet wheels and axles
which give motion to counting or recording apparatus, not shewn in the
Drawing.
Figure 3 shews another longitudinal section, shewing the means of
preventing more votes being given by any voter than he is entitled to give.
The apparatus shews only two instruments to be acted on by the voters, but
this number will be encreased to suit the number of candidates.
The apparatus is so arranged that the votes for each candidate will be 2
recorded by a separate instrument, and an additional instrument will be
employed to record the whole of the votes given. A and B are two knobs or
pulls, one of each would be appropriated for each of two canditates. These
knobs are affixed to sliding bars c, c, each carrying a click or driver d, to act
on their respective ratchet wheels A', B', and there is another click or driver e 3
on each of the sliding bars c, c, by which ratchet wheels f,f, fixed on the axis g,
will receive motion when the sliding bars c, c, are pulled outwards. This axis
9 is to be in connection with, and is to give motion to a counting or recording
apparatus, sufficiently extensive to record the votes of all the persons having a
right to vote. And this is to be what I call the public index, because I g
propose that the face and pointer should be in sight of the public, so that the
Fublic may see each vote recorded, and know that the number of votes agree
with the number of persons admitted to the instrument, whilst on the other

page_text: hand the dials and pointers of the counting or recording apparatus. put in
motion by the axes of the ratchet wheels A', B' will be kept closed till the
election is over, and then the result may be immediately ascertained by simply
uncovering the dials of the apparatus respectively put in motion by the axes
of the ratchet wheels A¹, B', and this would be the case, however numerous
the sliding bars c, c, may be. One, such sliding bar being used for cach
candidate, I have not thought it necessary to shew an arrangement. of
counting or recording apparatus, as. the same will be readily made and applied
by persons accustomed to such like work. The ratchet wheels are prevented
moving back by suitable spring or other stops. .h is a notch in each sliding
bolt c, the object of which notch is to allow of a catch i entering the same, in
order that when it has been once pulled out it may be retained from further
movement, and the person having thus recorded a vote by such instrument, he
may be prevented again acting by such instrument. And in order to prevent
more than one of the sliding bolts c being moved at one time I apply
sliding stops which slide in a groove; these stops are constantly pressed in
one direction by a spring or other means, and there is an inclined plane or
curve formed at one end of each such sliding stop; hence, if one of the knobs
be pulled, the lever stop k will come against the inclined end of its stop j, and
push it endwise, so that it will not allow another of the sliding bars c to be
drawn at the same time, but so soon as. the lever stop k on any one of the
sliding bars c has been moved beyond its sliding stop j, the sliding stops will
assume their proper position, and then any other of the sliding bars c may be
drawn out, and, whatever sliding bar or bars.c is or are drawn out it or they
will be retained till the person who has so recorded his vote for one or more
candidates will have passed out of the room where the instrument is placed,
and then by the act of closing the door after him or otherwise the bar.l is to
be moved, which will draw out the stop i of cach sliding bar c, and thus allow
of the sliding bar or bars going back by the springs or other means
provided for that purpose; for this purpose the bar is tó. be put in
communication with the outlet door, or other means may be resorted. to for
releasing the apparatus.after a voter has recorded his vote.. If the apparatus
be only intended for recording the votes given to two candidates: then the
apparatus above described would be sufficient, but where several persons are
5 to be returned from several candidates it will be desirable to have means of
preventing any voter voting for more than the number of persons to be
returned. For this purpose I apply a cog wheel m on the axis g, and a
sliding barn, with a toothed rack thereon, so that for each movement of the
axis I, in consequence of either of the bars. c being pulled, the barn will be

page_text: moved forward; and if only one candidate 'were to be returned, then, by
introducing a stop in the barn, at the first hole n', after either of the bars.c
had been pulled, the barn would stop the machine, and the other bar or bars
could not be moved again. If there were several bars c, c, and two, three, or
four candidates were to be returned, then the stop would, in the respective
cases; be placed in the second, third; or fourth hole, and thus it will be evident
that each voter might give a plumper to either candidate, or he might record
'his vote for two, three, or four candidates, but he could not record vote for
more candidates than were to be elected. The bar n, like the bars c, c, would
"would be put in communication with the bar l, so that when- the bars c. were
released the bar would be lifted to allow of its. being drawn back. And
in order (if it should be thought desirable) that the voter should not have it
known how many candidates ho. voted for, there might be an extra bar or
bars c, with a counting and recording apparatus which the voter might act on,
so as to move the public index to the whole extent of his votes, and yet he
record his vote for only one or more of several candidates. Thus any person
outside, wishing to have influence over the voter, and watching the public dial,
"would not only not know for whom the voter had recorded his vote, but he
would also not be able to ascertain for how many the party has voted. The
apparatus thus combined is to be placed in a secure manner in a room.in such
manner that only the knobs or handles to be acted on by the voters shall be
accessable to them, and the room should be well lighted, yet so as not to
allow of any person looking in to see in what manner any voter records his
vote. Arrangements should then be made for admitting only one person at
a time.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details, as herein shewn and described, as the
same may be varied, so long as the peculiar character of the Invention bo
retained, whereby mechanical parts are applied in combination with counting
or recording apparatus, so as to enable voters to record their votes and not
have it known for whom they voted, and yet be prevented voting more than
once for any candidate, and also from voting for more candidates than are to
:be returned.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Chamberlin, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.
WILLIAM (L.S.) CHAMBERLIN, Jr.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of December,
in the year of our Lord 1848, the aforesaid William Chamberlin came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,.
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Thirteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-eight.