Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 58, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1899 — Voting by Machinery. [ARTICLE]

Voting by Machinery.

People who have kept tab on the disreputable doings of this present month of March, say we have not had a single whole day of good weather, all in one chunk, so far this month. Today promises to break the record for being bright and fine all day, but it grew cloudy before one o’clock and the big snow fall which came so fast last night, and is going so fast again today, makes the under-foot climate very objectionable. The present month is not the worst March on record, by any means, although it is a pretty bad one. And that reminds us that our observing old friend, F. W. Bedford tells us to be of good cheer. He says that our bad weather will end when March does and that April will give us fine weather from the word go, and from start to finish. May the prediction be fully verified.

The act of the legislature in legalizing voting by machinery will probably result in this method being generally though gradually adopted. Boards of commissioners, common councils and town boards of trustees are authorized to purchase voting machines for one or more precincts within their respective counties or municipalities. Any machine must be thoroughly tested before it is purchased. It must have the capacity to contain the tickets of seven political parties, ann be such as to enable any voter to register his vote with absolute secrecy in not more than three minutes. It must be proof against fraudulent manipulation, and capable of being locked so that it can not be opened, except by the use of two keys. The result registered by the machine must be recorded by the clerks immediately after the polls close, and full opportunity given to compare the result so recorded with the machine record exposed to public view. Precincts using voting machines may contain not more than four hundred voters.