4
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
- JULY 2, 1903.
THE EFFECTIVE BALLOT
Th Scad Iottslinaat of Mr. Wilwfltld'i
Editor Independent: The effective
ballot was devised by Sir John Hare,
ft noted publicist of England, in 184C.
It was later improved in details by
Sir John Lubbocir, the eminent sci
entist, and yet later perfected by Hon.
Alfred Cridge of San Francisco, hence
is often called the Hare-Cridge meth
od of voting. The Misses Harriet and
Helen Spence, of Adelaide, South Aus
tralia, have added a few finishing
touches and have been mainly instru
mental in securing its adoption and
practical test as the legal system in
Tasmania, New Zealand and South
. Australia, where it has fully justified
the high claims of its advocates. It
has also been used In some of the
Swiss cantons and municipalities so
successfully as to clearly demonstrate
its great superiority over the older
and cruder forms of proportional rep
resentation and is coming into use in
Denmark, Belgium and some English
and Scotch municipalities and in cor
porations. ,
The effective ballot Is not only the
most perfect form of proportional rep
resentation, but represents the will
of the Individual voter as no other sys
tem does. It is' also the most secret
of all ballots and renders bribery, In
timidation, etc., of voters Impossible.
A false count is -scarcely possible un
der It, as will be readily seen when
It Is carefully studied. Experience
shows the counting to be very rapid
and free from errors.
. NO SINGLE DISTltlCTS. v
Being a form of proportional repre
sentation, the effective ballot is not
adapted to single districts, but re
quires, as all forms of proportional
representation must do, elections at
large, or in districts from -which five
or more candidates are to be e'ected.
Congressmen could be elected at Targe
in the states having ten or less and in
two or three districts from the mor
populous states. Representatives In
the legislature and district judges
should be chosen from districts of six
to -ten and state senators the same,
while county commissioners, aldsrmen
of cities, etc., should be at large.
Where but one candidate can be elect
ed, as for president, vice president,
governor, etc., there is no proportional
representation to require such dis
tricts, yet this method of voting works
effectively in giving all parties a
voice in securing a majority.
THE METHOD OP. VOTING.
The effective ballot contains the
names of all candidates to be voted
for, like the .present Australian bal
lot, confined of course to the district
or state, etc., and these names may be
either in party columns as now, or
preferably, in alphabetical order re
gardless of party, as under the Mary
land law. The latter method might at
first puzzle a few illiterate voters, but
would be a great incentive to indepen
dent and intelligent voting.
The voter in the booth marks his
ticket, not with an X cross mark, but
with the Arabic numeral figures, plac
irg the figure one (1) opposite his
first choice, or name of candidate he
ir.oct desires elected, the figure 2 op
posite his second choice, 3 to his third
choice, and so on to as many candi
dates as are being voted for. or as
lie cares to mark. Of course he will
make first choice, or No. 1, of the
candidate most nearly representing his
own political views, No. 2, or second
choice, of the one who comes next
nearest and so on, nrt marking for
those squarely opposed to his ideas,
or taking the best of the ones he con
siders inimical to the public welfare
bo as to defeat the mot objectionable
candidates of that party. A man's
political prejudice may induce him to
vote for an incompetent or corrupt
candidate in his own party, but in his
f.cond, etc., choices from other par
ties he will always select the least
objectionable candidates. Ten years
experience in Tasmania shows that
other than first choice ballots invar
iably defeat the most objectionable
candidates and has compelled all par
ties to select only good and competent
candidates to stand any show of elec
tion. . -
COUNTING THE BALLOTS.
When the polls have closed th
whole number of ballots cast is di
vided by the number of candidates to
be elected, rejecting any remainder,
which gives the electoral quoia, or
number of ballots required to elect
one candidate. A spindle or other
file, as a needle and strong thread, an
envelope or a box, is provided for each
candidate and labeled with his name.
As the ballots are drawn from the
box for counting the judge calls out
the name of the candidate marked No.
1' or first choice and the ballot Is
placed to that file by another judge.
As soon as any candidate reaches an
electoral quota of first choice ballots
I Eager Shoppers Crowded ' f
e v m
m
our large store every day this week to take advantage of the great
25 per cent discount sale. Were you one of them? If not you'll
be glad to know that 'there will be
Many Bargains Next Week
Odds and Ends and Remnants
left from the rapid selling this week will be placed on special sale at
prices even lower than at present. It is safe to predict there will
be no other such values in Lincoln.
h is declared elected and his -quota
of ballots sealed up and removed from
the count. This is continued until all
the ballots have been distributed ta
their first choice files, each ballot be
ing numbered on its back by a judge
as It is placed face downward on the
spindle and by the clerks on the poll
books opposite the name of its first
choice candidate. It Is found by ex
perience that few candidates have an
electoral quota of first choice bal
lots where there are more than two
parties beins voted for.
When all the ballots have been dis
tributed the surplus ballots first
choice ones above an electoral quota
of candidates declared elected are
distributed to the files of their second
choice so long i.s needed to form a
ouota, but if second choice is already
elected or cannot be elected, to their
third choice if effective there, and so
on until they become effective in help
ing to elect a candidate.
When all the surplus ballots of
elected candidates have been distri
buted the files of the yet unelected
candidates are examined and second
choices transferred to ones having
largest number of first choices until
another receives an electoral quota,
which is sealed and removed from the
count When no more can be given
a quota by second choices, then third
etc., choices are used so long as a
quota can be secured, but when a
quota cannot be given, the candidates
having fewest first choice ballots are
declared beaten and the others to the
number to be elected are declared
elected. W. H. T. WAKEFIELD.
Mound City, Kas.
i$ i$ 8
J COMING CONVENTIONS S
Republican, Lincoln, Aug. 18. s
& Populist, Grand Island, Aug. 25. &
& Democratic, Columbus, Aug. 25. j
& ' &
& & & S j v & dt s&s&s&ji
Populist State Convantion -
Pursuant to action taken at a meet
ing of the state committee held in
Lincoln, Nebraska, June 23, 1903, the
electors of the people's independent
party of Nebraska are hereby notified
that on Tuesday, the 25th day of Aug
ust, A. D., 19o, at 7:30 o'clock p. m.,
of said day, a state nominating con
vention of said party will be held in
the city of Grand Island, Nebraska,
for the purpose of nominating candi
dates for the following offices to be
voted for at the general election of
1903:
One candidate fo.' judge of the su
preme court
Two candidates for regents of the
state university.
Said convention is also called for
the purpose of selecting a state cen
tral committee of said party , and for
the transaction of such other busi
ness as may properly come before it.
The basis of representation is fixed
at one delegate for each county and
one delegate for each 100 votes or ma
jor fraction cast for Hon. John H.
Powers for secretary of state at the
general election of 02. The repre
sentation of the various counties is as
follows:
Adams ........ '..i,. 17
Antelope 11
Banner - 2
Blaine 2
Boone 12
Box Butte 4
Boyd 7
Brown 4
Buffalo 15
Burt '. 9
Butler 17
Cass 19
Cedar . 13
Chase X
Cherry : 5
Cheyenne 5
Clay 14
Colfax 11
Cuming 15
Custer 17
Dakota .'. o
Dawes 5
Dawson 12
Deuel 3
Dixon 9
Dodge Z0
Douglas ..100
Dundy 3
Fillmore 16
Franklin 10
Frontier . 7
Furnas 11
Gage 20
Garfield 3
Gosper (5
Grant 2
Greeley 8
Hall .. 15
Hamilton 14
Harlan 9
Hayes :)
Hitchcock 5
Holt 1C
Hooker 1
Howard il
Jefferson 12
Johnson 10
Kearney 9
Keith 3
Keya Paha 4
Kimball 2
Knox 14
Lancaster 34
Lincoln 9
Logan . 2
Loup 2
McPherson 1
Madison .. 14
Merrick 9
Nance . . , , 7
Nemaha , 14
Nuckolls 12
Otoe .....13
Pawnee 9
Perkins ,, 3
Phelps 9
Pierce ... j
Platte . 17
Polk u
Red Willow ............ .. s
Richardson .. r. ....... 20
Rock rj
Saline ia
Sarpy 0
Saunders . 21
Scotts Bluff s
Seward It".
Sheridan
Sherman ....... 6
Sioux ............................. '
Stanton 7
Thayer ...... 1 J
Thomas . , 2
Thurston q
Valley S
Washington r. 12
Wayne 3
Webster . 11
W heeler 2
York 17
Total 951
It is recommended that th various
county conventions elect an equal .
number of alternates to the state con
vention and that steps be taken to se
cure, if possible, a full delegation to
the state convention. - .
The state committee will have head
quarters at the Koehler hotel.
By order of the state central com
mittee of the people's independent par
ty of Nebraska. B. R. B. WEBFR
J. R. FARRIS, Chairman,
Secretary.
Missouri Pacific Excursions
San Francisco, Los Angeles and re
turn, $50, on July 1-10.
Detroit, Mich., and return, $22.40.
on July 14-15.
Atlanta, Ga., and return, $3160, on
July 5-7.
Baltimore, Md., and return, $33.G5,
on July 17-18.
San Francisco, Ca!., and return. $45,
on August 1-14. - .
These are a few of the very cheap
excursions via the I.iissouri Pacific
during the summer, and if you are con
templating a vacation and are not
suited by any of the above points, send
us your name with the point you wish
to reach and we will be glad to quote
lowest round trip rates for you. The
Missouri Pacific takes youTia St. Loni3
the Wrorld's Fair City where you will
have an opportunity "to visit the
World's Fair grounds and other points
of interest.
City Ticket'Office, S. W. Cor. 12th
and 0 sts. F. D. CORNELL,
P. & T A.
Do you need groceries? Write for
one of Branch & Miller Co.'s com
bination orders advertised in this is
sue. It's a money saver. The Inde
pendent guarantees satisfaction. Hun
dreds of our readers have found them
so. '
