Elements of Civil Government Part 23

5. In this State a grand jury has how many members?

CHAPTER XVIII.

SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS.

SUFFRAGE.--The most important political right is the right of suffrage; that is, the right to vote. As the government exists for the benefit of the governed, the purpose of suffrage is to place it under their control. It gives each qualified voter a voice in public affairs, and places the country under the rule of the people.

As the interests of the voters and their families are the same, and as the voters represent these interests, the whole people, including women and children, have an influence in the government. The whole machinery of the State and of the United States is in the hands of those who do the voting.

IMPORTANCE.--The importance of this right can scarcely be overestimated. It const.i.tutes the difference between a free country and a despotism. There can be no freedom unless the right to vote resides in the people; nor can there be good government unless this right is exercised with an intelligent regard for the public welfare.

Yet vast numbers of voters never realize the power they wield or the great responsibility it entails upon them.

ELECTIONS.--The right of suffrage is exercised by means of elections.

An election is the direct method of ascertaining the will of the people upon public affairs. They are held for the purpose of giving the people opportunity to express their choice in the selection of officers, and thus to make known their will upon questions of public concern.

METHODS OF VOTING.--There are three methods of voting--_viva voce_, by ballot, and by machine. A man votes _viva voce_ by announcing to the election officers the name of the candidate of his choice, and having it recorded upon the polling-list. A man votes by _ballot_ by handing to the officers a slip of paper containing the name of the candidate voted for. The officers deposit the ballots in a box called the _ballot-box_. A voting machine has a k.n.o.b or lever for each candidate, and is so arranged that the voter can record one vote.

The _viva voce_ method was once considered the best; but voting by ballot or by machine has supplanted it generally in the United States.

The Australian system provides at each polling-place a private apartment, called a booth, where each voter in private prepares his ballot from a printed list of all the candidates, and then hands it to the officers, who deposit it in the ballot-box.[1]

OFFICERS OF ELECTIONS.--The officers of elections at each polling-place are usually two or more supervisors, inspectors, or judges; a clerk; and a sheriff, marshal, or other officer of the peace.

The _supervisors_ or inspectors decide who are ent.i.tled to vote under the law, and in elections by ballot they deposit the ballots in the ballot-box.

The _clerk_ makes a list of the names of voters, and when the election is _viva voce_ he records the votes.

The _sheriff_ or other peace officer preserves order at the polls, has charge of the ballot-box and polling-list after the election closes, and delivers them to the proper authorities.

In most States, at the close of the election the officers _canva.s.s_, that is, examine the votes cast, and certify the number of votes received by each candidate.

In some States the ballot-box is sealed at the close of the election, and delivered to the canva.s.sing board of the county. In such cases the canva.s.sing board of the county canva.s.ses the vote, and in State and national elections sends returns to the canva.s.sing board of the State at the State capital.

In some States election officers are appointed by the county officers, usually by the county judge or probate judge; in other States they are elected by the people.

BRIBERY.--Bribery in elections is one of the serious evils of politics.

_Bribery_ is offering or receiving a reward for voting. In most States, in addition to other penalties, persons convicted of giving or taking bribes are _disfranchised_; that is, are not permitted to vote thereafter. In ancient Athens a man convicted of corrupting a voter suffered the penalty of death.

The selling of a vote is regarded as one of the most infamous crimes that men can commit. Not even the conviction of theft so lowers a man in public esteem as a conviction of selling his vote, for bribery savors of both theft and treason. To sell his suffrage is to sell his manhood, his country, and his convictions. Most men who sell their votes do it through ignorance; they are not aware of the enormity of the crime. He who knows its infamy, and yet barters his suffrage for money, is unworthy of the smallest trust, or even of the recognition of honest men.

[1]For details regarding this system see Chapter XIX.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. In what way are voters responsible for the government of the country?

2. Do you believe in frequent elections? Why?

3. Do you believe in public voting or in secret voting? Why?

4. Why should election officers be fair and honest men?

5. What do you think of vote-buying and vote-selling?

CHAPTER XIX.

THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT SYSTEM.

ORIGIN.--The idea of the secret ballot system, now known under its various modifications as the Australian Ballot System, was first proposed by Francis S. Dutton, member of the legislature of South Australia from 1851 to 1865. At that time the vices frequently accompanying open elections had begun to flourish in Australia.

Bribery, intimidation, disorder, and violence were the order of all election days. The plan was elaborated, and became a law under the name of the "Elections Act" in 1857.

The beneficial results of this method soon became evident to other countries, and the movement spread to Europe, Canada, and the United States.

IN THE UNITED STATES.--A similar system to that originally adopted in Australia was first introduced into the United States by its adoption in 1888 in the State of Ma.s.sachusetts and in the city of Louisville, Kentucky. The next year the legislatures of Indiana, Montana, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, and Connecticut pa.s.sed laws providing for new systems of voting, more or less resembling the Australian system; and now their example has been followed by almost all the other States.

PRINCIPLES.--Although there are many modifications of detail in the statutes of the various States, there are two essential features of the ballot-reform system which are everywhere observed:

_First_, An arrangement of polling, by which compulsory secrecy of voting is secured, and intimidation or corruption of voters is prevented.

_Second_, One or more official ballots, printed and distributed under authority, on which the names of all candidates are found.

REQUIREMENTS.--The following are the requirements of the system: Ballots must be provided by public expense, and none but these ballots may be used. On these ballots should be printed the names of all candidates who have been nominated previously to the election, with the names of the offices for which they have been nominated and of the parties they represent.

There are two forms of ballots: the _blanket ballot_ and the _individual ballot_. The former is arranged in some States so as to group candidates by parties, and in other States by the offices for which they are nominated. In many cases the names of candidates are alphabetically arranged, so that there can be no accusation of giving one party or candidate precedence as to position on the ticket. In a few cases, the name of the party to which the candidate belongs does not appear on the ballot at all, but only the name of the office for which he has been nominated; but in most cases the name of each party is printed either at the head of the ticket or opposite the name of each candidate, or in both places.

Where _individual ballots_ are used, a separate ballot is printed for each party or independent ticket.

VOTING.--Special sworn clerks are engaged to distribute these ballots to voters at the polls.

The voter is allowed a limited time--say five or ten minutes--to retire into an election booth erected for the purpose, to make his choice of candidates or ballots. If the blanket ballot is in use, he does this by placing a cross opposite the name of the desired candidate or list of candidates; or by crossing out all others; or by means of pasters for the subst.i.tution of names. If individual ballots are provided, he selects the one he prefers, or corrects it to his liking by pasting upon it a single name or an entire ticket. If he prefers, he may write the names of candidates of his own nomination in place of those already printed. He, then, without communicating with any one, deposits his ballot as his vote. Only one man is allowed to enter a booth at a time, and none but the ballot clerks and the man about to deposit his ballot are allowed within the enclosure erected for the purpose.

In some States the booths are separated one from the other merely by part.i.tions, as indicated in the cut, page 181; but in other States each booth is a separate compartment with a door, which is closed to prevent even a suspicion of any external observation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: (Page 181) Arrangement of polling place as required by Ma.s.sachusetts law.]

In many States, a.s.sistance is rendered to the illiterate or the blind.

In some cases, in order to aid those who can not read, each party adopts a device, as an eagle or a flag, which is printed on the ballot.

In most States a voter who declares that he can not read, or that by some physical disability he is unable to mark his ballot, may receive the a.s.sistance of one or two of the election officers in marking it.

Every ballot must be strictly accounted for. If any person in preparing a ballot should spoil it, he may obtain others, one at a time, not exceeding three in all, provided he returns each spoiled one.

All ballots thus returned are either immediately burned or else cancelled and preserved by the clerk.