SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
1. Why does the State prosecute offenses, instead of leaving this duty to private persons?
2. What is meant by passing sentence upon an offender?
3. Do you believe in the jury system, or in the trial by several judges sitting together? Why?
4. Have you ever seen a court in session?
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 constitutes 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 knob 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 entitled 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 canvass, 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 canvassing board of the county. In such cases the canvassing board of the county canvasses the vote, and in State and national elections sends returns to the canvassing 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.