Government in the United States, National, State and Local Part 10

[Ill.u.s.tration: OFFICE COLUMN BALLOT Part of Ma.s.sachusetts Ballot of November, 1908]

[Ill.u.s.tration: PARTY COLUMN BALLOT Part of Indiana Ballot of November, 1908]

_The "Party Column" Ballot_ arranges the candidates, not under the offices which they are seeking, but in parallel columns according to political parties, there being a column for each party. Opposite each candidate's name on the "party column" ballot is a blank s.p.a.ce, and at the head of each column is a circle and usually a device or emblem to indicate the party. By making a mark in this circle the voter may cast a ballot for all the candidates of the party. This is called "straight"

voting. He may if he wishes, however, vote a "split" ticket by putting a cross in the blank s.p.a.ces opposite the names of candidates of his choice in the different columns. The chief objection that has been urged against this type of ballot is that by making it so easy to vote a "straight" ticket, it encourages strict party voting, whereas independent voting, especially in city elections, should be encouraged by every possible means.

The "office column" ballot, on the other hand, encourages independent voting by making it just as difficult to vote a "straight" ticket as a "split" one. In Ma.s.sachusetts there has been a remarkable amount of independent voting, due partly to the form of ballot used. The "office column" type of ballot is now used for all elections in about one fourth of the states, and in a number of others for munic.i.p.al elections.

=Ballot Reform.=--In recent years there has been considerable discussion of the subject of ballot reform, and not a little experimenting with different schemes. Political reformers generally demand the abolition of the "party column" form, or at least the abolition of the party circle, as a means of discouraging straight party voting, but the professional politicians insist upon its retention. Whatever may be the form ultimately adopted, one reform is desirable, namely, greater simplification, to the end that the electoral franchise may be exercised more intelligently and easily. In some of our states the number of elective offices has increased to such proportions, and the ballot to such size, that it has become a real burden to vote it.

A ballot used in Chicago in 1906 contained the names of over 330 candidates and was over two feet in length and nearly two feet in width. From this bewildering array of names the voter was compelled to pick out his choice for the following offices: state treasurer, state superintendent of public education, trustees of the University of Illinois, representative in Congress, state senator, representative in the state a.s.sembly, sheriff, county treasurer, county clerk, clerk of the circuit court, county superintendent of schools, judge of the county court, judge of the probate court, members of the board of a.s.sessors, judges of the munic.i.p.al court for the two-year term (nine to be elected), members of the board of review, president of the board of county commissioners, county commissioners (ten to be elected on general ticket), trustees of the sanitary district of Chicago (three to be elected), clerk of the munic.i.p.al court, chief justice of the munic.i.p.al court, judges of the munic.i.p.al court (nine to be elected), judges of the munic.i.p.al court for the four-year term (nine to be elected). In Oregon in the election of 1912 the ballot contained the names of 177 candidates and 37 laws and amendments.

To vote ballots containing many names requires a good deal of care, if not experience, to avoid error which will result in having it thrown out, for the regulations governing the marking of the ballot are very strict and must be observed if the vote is to be counted. Accordingly, elaborate instructions covering large sheets are posted throughout the election district and at the polls for the guidance of the voters, and these have to be carefully studied by inexperienced voters who desire to avoid mistakes. Sample ballots also may be provided for practice. One result of the increasing complexity of the ballot is to give an undesirable advantage to the professional politicians who understand how to vote such ballots, and to discourage those who are not politicians.

_Voting Machines._--A few states have adopted voting machines, especially for their large cities. These are so arranged that the voter may, by going into a booth and pulling a number of k.n.o.bs, register his vote quickly and without the danger of spoiling his ballot. When the polls are closed the results are already recorded on a dial, and the long delay in counting the returns is eliminated. The chief objection to the voting machine, however, is the expense, and this has prevented its more general adoption.

=Formalities of Voting.=--When the voter presents himself at the polls[21] he must announce his name and address to the election officials. If his name is found on the registration list, he is given a ballot and his name entered on the poll book. He then enters a booth, where he marks his ballot, for which purpose he is allowed to remain therein not exceeding a certain length of time. He must not mark his ballot in such a way that it can be identified after it has been placed in the ballot box, and no erasures are allowed. If he spoils his ballot he will be given another, and if he is physically unable to mark it, or if, in some states, he is illiterate, he will be allowed the a.s.sistance of two persons representing different political parties. His right to vote may be challenged, in which case he will be required to identify himself or "swear in" his ballot, a record of which must be duly kept.

When he has marked his ballot he must fold it in such a manner as to conceal its face, and hand it to one of the election judges, who announces the name of the voter; the fact of his voting is recorded, and the ballot placed in the box.

[21] Most states have laws allowing voters to leave work for a certain length of time on election day without deduction of wages. A few states provide means for taking the votes of those who are necessarily absent on business on election day. Many states provide for taking the votes of men serving as soldiers in time of war.

At a certain hour prescribed by law the polls are closed, after which the votes are counted; and when this task is complete the returns are announced. Generally the ballots must be preserved for several months in order that an opportunity may be offered for a recount in case the election is contested. Usually the ballots cannot be reopened and recounted except by order of a court or of the committee on elections of the legislature.

=Legislation Against Fraudulent Voting; Corrupt Practices Acts.=--For a long time in this country there was little legislation designed to regulate the conduct of elections and to protect the exercise of the electoral privilege against fraud. The princ.i.p.al evils of the old system were: lack of secrecy in voting; the use of separate ballots printed by the candidates or their party organizations; the distribution of these ballots before election day; lack of means for identifying the voters; bribery, intimidation, treating, and the use of other objectionable means for influencing voters; "repeating"; ballot box "stuffing"; and the like. To eliminate or diminish these and other evils, practically all the states have pa.s.sed laws of one kind or another. They are generally known as corrupt practices acts and are, for the most part, based on the English law of 1883. Much of this legislation is detailed and complex, and some of it is still in the experimental stage.

The corrupt use of money in elections has come to be one of the greatest political evils of our time. The buying of votes is a very common practice in some communities, and unfortunately is not as strongly condemned by public opinion as it should be. Some 50 per cent of the voters in one county of Ohio were disfranchised by the court for selling their votes in the general election of 1910. The growth of great corporations, many of which desire legislation in their interest, or immunity from unfavorable laws, has introduced a more or less corrupting element in our political life. Some states have enacted laws forbidding corporations, under heavy penalties, from making contributions to the campaign funds of political parties. Others have forbidden the practice of political committees of a.s.sessing office holders for campaign purposes. Some have gone to the length of forbidding "treating" and other similar means of influencing voters.

Some limit the amount of money that may be spent by a candidate or his friends in the conduct of his campaign, usually specifying the purposes for which expenditures may be made. Thus the Connecticut and New York laws allow expenditures only for such matters as the rent of halls, compensation of speakers and musicians, fireworks, printing, lithographs, advertis.e.m.e.nts, traveling expenses, postage, telegrams, hiring of carriages to take voters to the polls, and the like. A few, however, prohibit the hiring of carriages, and some forbid the giving away of liquor at elections. Some states require candidates to make sworn itemized statements of the expenditures incurred by them on account of the election, and some fix the maximum amount that may be expended. Thus in New York a candidate for governor may expend only $10,000 on account of his candidacy; candidates for other state officers are permitted to spend $6,000. The need of limitations was ill.u.s.trated by the fact that the Democratic candidate for governor of New York in 1906 spent over $256,000 in the prosecution of his candidacy, and a candidate for state senator spent $30,000 to secure an election.[22] A recent candidate for the United States senate in a Western state admitted that his aggregate expenses were $107,000, and another testified that he spent $115,000 in the effort to secure an election.

[22] Fuller, "Government by the People," p. 150.

_State Contributions to Party Campaign Funds._--In the belief that the state ought to bear a part of the candidate's expenses, to the end that the poor office seeker may be more nearly on an equal footing with the candidate of means, Colorado recently pa.s.sed a law providing that the state should contribute to the campaign fund of each political party a sum of money equal in amount to twenty-five cents for every vote cast by the party for governor at the preceding election. The law allowed the candidates themselves to spend their own money to aid in their election, but prohibited other persons or corporations from making contributions.

In short, the expense was to be borne by the state and the candidate alone. This Colorado law, however, was declared unconst.i.tutional by the state courts.

_Other Restrictions._--In some states also the expenditures of party committees are limited, and such committees are required to make sworn statements of their expenditures and the purposes for which they were made. Several states prohibit the payment by other persons of a voter's poll tax where the payment of such a tax is a condition to the voting privilege.

Everywhere there are laws against bribery, intimidation, fraudulent voting, and most of the other election offenses. More and more, public sentiment demands that elections shall be free from the taint of corruption, to the end that the results shall represent the real choice of the people and thus popular government made to be what its founders intended that it should be.

=References.=--BEARD, American Government and Politics, pp.

453-457; also ch. xxiii. FULLER, Government by the People, chs.

ii-vi, viii-xi. GARNER, Introduction to Political Science, ch. xv.

HART, Actual Government, ch. iv.

=Doc.u.mentary and Ill.u.s.trative Material.=--1. Legislative manual or blue book of the state. 2. The election laws of the state. 3. Copy of instructions to voters. 4. Specimen ballots.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are the qualifications for voting in your state?

2. When were women first allowed to vote in your state?

3. Are there any offices in your state held by women?

4. How many voters are there in your state?

5. Is there a registration requirement?

6. Do you think the right to vote should be restricted to persons who are able to read and write?

7. Give the date on which state elections are held in your state; city elections; judicial elections. Why should national, state, and city elections be held on different dates?

8. Name some offices in your state now filled by popular election which in your opinion should be filled by appointment.

9. Who are the election officers in your county?

10. What is the usual location of the polling place in your ward or precinct?

11. Explain the difference between a "party column" and an "office column" ballot. Which type of ballot is used in your state? In case the former is used does it contain a party circle and a party symbol at the head of each column?

12. Procure a specimen ballot used at the last election and explain how to mark and cast it.

13. Are voting machines used in your state? If so, where?

14. Is there a law in your state against the improper use of money in elections? Does it specify the purposes for which campaign expenditures may be made? Are candidates required to make sworn statements of their election expenses? Are there any limitations on the amount a candidate is allowed to spend?

15. Do you think corporations should be prohibited from making contributions to the campaign funds of political parties?

CHAPTER VIII

POLITICAL PARTIES AND NOMINATING METHODS

=Nature and Functions of Political Parties.=--Political parties are organized by groups of voters for the purpose of promoting the success of the policies in which they believe, and in order to secure the nomination and election of public officials who are in sympathy with those policies. Men differ in their opinions on matters of government as they do on matters of religion, and hence they come to const.i.tute well differentiated groups. Whenever such a group becomes large enough to prosecute a concerted policy and organizes itself for the purpose of furthering its views in governmental matters, it becomes a political party. A political party is, therefore, composed of voters who hold substantially the same opinions in regard to certain public questions or certain principles of government. It is a purely voluntary organization, however, and any voter may decline to ally himself with any party, or, having done so, may change to another party whenever he wishes, or he may unite with others of a like mind and form a new party. While men can probably further the cause of good government best by means of organization and concert of action, no citizen should think more of his party than he does of his country, and whenever the purposes of a political party are prost.i.tuted for other ends than the public good no voter should feel morally bound to continue his support of such a party.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A NATIONAL NOMINATING CONVENTION]

_National Parties._--Under a system of popular government where public policies are determined by the people and public officials are chosen by popular election, political parties are inevitable if not essential.

Almost from the beginning, therefore, we have had political parties in this country, each believing in certain policies and each endeavoring to gain control of the government in order to carry out those policies. For the promotion of policies that are national in character, such as those relating to the tariff, the currency, or the foreign policy of the country, national parties have been formed with organizations extending throughout the entire country.

_Local Parties._--For the most part the organization of the national parties extends downward through the states and their local subdivisions, and are made use of in local as well as in national elections. As the issues which divide the people in national elections, however, are not always the same as those which divide them in state and local elections, we sometimes have a realignment of parties in local contests, and sometimes new parties of a local character are organized.

This, in fact, is to be desired for the reason that issues of a local character ought not to be determined with reference to the views of men on issues of a national character. It is wrong, for example, for Democrats and Republicans who agree upon the issues involved in a munic.i.p.al election to oppose each other in such a contest merely because they do not agree on the expediency of a protective tariff or of a gold standard in money matters. In purely local elections national party lines should cut no figure; local issues should be judged wholly on their merits without reference to national questions.

=Existing Political Parties in the United States.=--At the present time there are two great political parties in the United States, the Democratic party and the Republican party, each with an organization extending to every part of the country, and together including the great majority of the voters.

_The Democratic Party._--In a general way, we may say that the Democratic party is composed of men who believe that the sphere of the national government should not be extended beyond what a strict interpretation of the Federal Const.i.tution warrants; that the rights of the states should be interfered with as little as possible; and that the activities of government, whether national, state, or local, should be kept down to a minimum so that the individual shall be allowed the largest measure of freedom consistent with the maintenance of order, peace, and security. This party has uniformly opposed a protective tariff, ship subsidies, imperialism, and the extension of the powers of the national government through "constructions" of the Const.i.tution. On the money question the party has not always been united, though for the most part it has opposed the single gold standard and favored a bimetallic standard coupled with the free coinage of silver as well as of gold.