Show VOTERS WARY OF SPLIT TICKETS Salt S lt Lakers a ers Have Not o Had a Suf Sufficient Suf Instruction in m Using Voting Machines QUICK RETURNS EXPECTED I POLITICIANS POLITICIANS LOOK FOR HEAVY HEA Y VOTE TO BE POLLED t 11 I IOn On the eve of what will un estion ably bly be one of the closest elections Salt Lake City has ever experienced the t e city city is stirred to its political center over oy er the anticipated result of the use of of the t e voting machines which have been purchased and installed in the voting districts of the city It is generally predicted by those ac 4 with the use of the ballot ma machines machines machines chines that the election Tuesday will see one of the heaviest straight ticket elections Salt Lake has ever known Politicians look for it business men expect it and the representatives of the voting machine company declare that undoubtedly the use of the machines for the first time will cause a larger number of straight ticket votes to be cast than th n would be the case caso were the theold theold theold old paper ballots used Each district manager has figured out what appears to be a foregone con conclusion conclusion conclusion to his advantage What difference the straight ticket tendency tendency tendency cy of the machine cast ballots may make in the result of individual district dis district district elections and the general election only the official count Tuesday night will show Where voting machines have been Installed Iri in other cities and the result of the initial use of the devices re recorded recorded recorded corded there has been evidenced very strongly an increase In the number of pf straight ticket ballots cast Workingmen Best Voters If an unusual number of straight tickets are voted in Salt Lake Tues Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday day as there undoubtedly will be they will be cast by the more Intelligent class of voters declare the local representatives representatives representatives of the United States Stan Standard Standard Standard dard Voting Machine company who are superintending the Installation of the machines to go up In Salt Lake City and county This is explained e by the he voting ma machine machine machine chine men in this thio way The average business man reads r ds about the tho ballot machine and Immediately forms an opinion as to how it ought to look and work when he sees it He goes down downtown downtown downtown town and arid Immediately finds that he knows very verj little about the contrivance and when shown generally suggests several improvements Workingmen read very little about the ballot machines and hence form no opinion as to their working On elec election election election tion day they appear at the booths ready read wr instruction instruct on in the use of the new ballots and once told vote them Without difficulty or question 9 Curious flous Questions Provoked If anything has been invented that will cause more questions in less time than the standard voting machine it has yet to reach Salt Lake For the past two weeks about fifteen machines haye ha of been b en on public exhibition in t as asmar mar many Y districts of Salt Lake for the Pe pre preliminary instruction of voters in their use That they have been pretty thor thoroughly thoroughly thoroughly investigated by the voting pub lic Hc wherever set up can be little UttIe better Illustrated than by the record made on the machine that for the tho past three weeks has bas occupied space in the busi business business business ness office of The Herald Approximate Approximately ly votes have been cast on this s machine during the three weeks Why Wl y do you have to shut the cur c r tain tam that little screw there for Can women vote on this machine too It do if you pull down that And these are but a few of the more e questions that have been poured il forth In a seemingly never ending s stream from the lines of men and wo women women women men that have thronged The Herald 7 a office for days das Every con conceivable conceIvable conceivable question has been asked ask d and repeated Not content with under understanding understandIng understanding standing the simple manner of voting s on the machines Salt Lakers have seem n possessed with the idea of knowing just how the United States Standard Voting Machine company puts up their product Big crowds they were displaying a childlike curiosity about about the intricacies of a tion and every everyone one intent on fully un just what he or she must I do next Tuesday in spite of the laugh lau h ter and jests that little unusual f rea a tures of the curtained booths called forth Not Enough Instruction I Notwithstanding the fifteen machines I that have been used to give Salt Lake voters preliminary Instruction In their use representatives of the voting ma machine machIne machine chine and the leaders of all three ical parties in Salt Lake admit that the city as a whole has had a very inadequate inadequate inadequate equate instruction with the new style ballots Three weeks with a machine In every district of and In the more con congested congested congested districts two and three machines is considered the least l ast possible period of instruction a city of ot Salt Lakes size should have to place the voting ma machines machines machines chines on one an equal basis with the old paper ballot system as to the ultimate number of valid votes that will be cast and split spIlt tickets In several other American cities clUes where the United States Standard ma machine machine machine chine has been installed before election time more split tickets have been voted than were vere ever voted by the paper bal lot system In all of these cases however ma machines machines machines chines were used either for registering or for primary primar elections or were given givena a three weeks trial in all voting yoting dis districts districts di s of the city in question Voting machines were used in Mil Milwaukee Milwaukee waukee for the first time in 1904 in inthe Inthe Inthe the US liZ 11 voting districts of that city 60 votes were cast and of this total number but ninety spoiled ballots were found More split votes were cast on the machines at this election than at atthe atthe atthe the two previous cIty elections in 1902 and 1900 combined Here however the machines were set up a week before election time and used for registration purposes so that practically every vo voter voter voter ter in the city actually cast a vote in regular election style before he was called upon to cast a vote that counted Split Tickets in Buffalo In ii the city and county election at atM B Buffalo ff l N Y in iii November 1905 M when whenn I n I practically practically a straight Dem Democratic cratic tick ticket ticket ticket et was elected and a a Republican county overseer was elected over his Demo Democratic Democratic cratic opponent by a majority of 1114 votes the city assessor of ot Buffalo re received received received a majority of ot votes at that election and this with the 1114 votes given the Republican an county i overseer made m ade a a total of split votes cast Here too the voters had I been given an extended instruction In Inthe inthe inthe the use of the voting machine At the Rochester N Y city election j jon on November 5 1901 the mayor of the city was elected by a majority of 72 votes on the Republican ticket and the Republican city treasurer was elected by a majority of votes making a total of split votes cast A total of votes were cast In this elec election election tion and not one voter In voted a straight ticket l The e voters voters of Rochester had been given time to be become become become come thoroughly familiar with the vot voting voting voting ing machines before election day Rochester and Salt Lake can well be placed in the same class having ap approximately approximately proximately voters each The record of split spIlt votes voter cast in the former city may mean nothing when applied to the local situation or It may mean a good deal When the situation is thoroughly re reviewed reviewed reviewed viewed it will probably be taken to mean but little as Salt akers have un unquestionably unquestionably questionably qu had far too brief a time I in which to familiarize with the machines to an extent that will permit a prediction of anything like Uke split ticket votes being cast Tues Tuesday Tu Tuesday s day da Judges Will Help Voters Every preparation has been made to facilitate the casting of votes at the coming election Three election judges will be on hand in every district to instruct voters how to cast their bal ballots ballots ballots lots In every district the voting ma machine machine machine chine company has installed a minia miniature miniature miniature ture machine exactly like Uke the standard devise These will be at the disposal of the election judges ju in instructing voters It is evident that the polling of a large or small vote at the election Tuesday lies to a large extent in the hands of the election judges If they are careful in the performance of their duty showing voters the manner of manipulating the balloting machines fully and carefully there is no reason why the vote ote should not be one of the heaviest if not the heaviest ever eyer polled in Salt SaIt Lake The polls will close at 7 Tues Tuesday Tuesday Tuesday day evening By 8 the results of ot the election in each district of the city should be in the hands of the coun county county county ty clerk at the city and county build buildIng building building Ing With the polls polIs closed the election judges have haye only to copy off the vote cast on tally sheets that are an exact facsimile of the back of the voting machine These will be rushed to the city and county building with all pos possible possible possible sible speed and with two hours allowed for footing the returns from each dis district district district the result of the election should be bo known long before midnight Light Vote on State Questions Politicians expect a light vote on the two state Questions to be voted on Tuesday Tu First Shall the state school funds be used to assist in supporting high schools Second Shall mort mortgages mortgages mortgages gages on both real and personal prop property property property erty be exempt from taxation 1 These questions are indicated upon the voting machines In a a corner of or the ticket and it is generally believed that their po position position position will result in a light vote owing to the general newness of tho the entire balloting system this year The machines have been closed in all aU districts of the city and are being set for the election Party leaders may only speculate and hope now as to the fulfillment of their political boasts and expectations Tuesday tells the final tale of a hard campaign and of Salt Lakes initial experiment with an au automatically automatically counted election |