Nomination by Petition: Most candidates on the ballot are nominated by a party, but a man may also be nominated by a petition of independent voters. The petition must contain the title of the office to be filled, the name and address of the candidate, and be signed by a certain number of voters.
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ELECTIONS
Laws concerning the holding of elections have grown much more stringent in the last few years. Every detail of the casting of a ballot is now prescribed by law and every precaution taken to insure honesty of elections. The precautions apply more to cities than to rural communities, with the result that more corruption may sometimes be found to-day in country elections than in those in cities.
Registration of Voters: In large places or densely populated districts it is impossible for the election officials to know every voter, therefore the law requires that in cities and villages of over five thousand inhabitants every voter shall appear every year before the board of registration and have his name put on the registration list. He is required to answer certain questions as to his age, his exact residence, his business, and where his last vote was cast, and to sign his own name for purposes of identification and to prevent fraud.
In smaller places and in rural districts, the signature is not required, and after a man’s name is once registered it remains on the book as long as the voter remains in the district. In practice it remains on the book until some one takes it off; and the names of men who have died or moved away are frequently found in a rural registration book.
Time of Elections: The general elections take place in the fall, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. National elections for President and Vice-President take place every four years, in the year that ends with the figure four or its multiple. Elections for representatives to Congress and State elections are held the same day every two years, in the even-numbered years. City elections are held the same day in the odd-numbered years. City elections are held separate from State elections in order to keep National and State issues from intruding in the election of municipal officers. Local elections usually take place the same day, with the exception of the spring village election and town meeting.
The Election District: For convenience every county or city is divided into election districts, each with one polling-place. The average number of voters to an election district in New York State is from two hundred and fifty to four hundred. When a district grows to five hundred voters it is usually divided. In Chicago, since women were given the vote, an election district contains from five to six hundred voters. It has been found that the women vote at the hours when men are busy, and that the same election officials can handle many more votes than is customary in New York.
Election Officers: Boards of elections, appointed by the county board of supervisors, are in general charge of the elections in the county, and there is a State Superintendent of Elections appointed by the Governor. At each polling-place on Election Day there is an election board consisting of four election inspectors, two ballot clerks, and two poll clerks. The law provides that election boards and boards of registration shall consist of equal representatives from the two political parties that cast the highest number of votes at the last election. This does not apply to town and village elections. Each party also is allowed two watchers. A railing shuts in the voting-booths and tables, and no one but the election board and the official watchers is allowed under the law to be inside this railing.
The polls are open from six o’clock in the morning until five o’clock in the afternoon. Before voting begins the ballot-boxes are opened and inspected to see that they are empty. The official watchers have a right to see everything that is done. Electioneering is forbidden within one hundred feet of the polls. The voting-booths are constructed so as to insure privacy while the voter is marking his ballot, and the ballot is folded so that no one but the voter himself knows how he has voted.
The Election: When the voter appears to cast his ballot, he gives his name and address, and the registration book is consulted to see that he is registered, the number of the ballot given to him is called out by the ballot clerk, and his name and the number of his ballot are entered in the poll-book.