Ballot reform.
The agitation in favor of a system of election laws which should prevent corruption, bribery, and intimidation at the polls began in the
United States in 1887. Four years thereafter twenty-eight out of the forty-eight State and Territorial legislatures had enacted laws providing for ballot reform.
The method of voting prescribed by most of these enactments was essentially that known as the Australian system, from the fact of its having originated in
South Australia some thirty-five years previously.
It was adopted in
England in 1872.
Its primary object is to secure absolute secrecy in voting.
Its peculiar and essential features are, first, an official ballot, and, second, privacy in voting.
By an official ballot is meant a ticket which has been printed and furnished by State or local authorities, and is given to the voter by a special official.
Privacy in voting is secured by different means, such as voting booths, enclosed stalls.
and other devices for concealing the voter from view.
The good effects of this system were immediately apparent in the States where it was adopted.
promoting good order and decency at the polls, and greatly diminishing the opportunities for fraud and intimidation.
In the system in vogue in most States the names of all candidates are on a single ticket, and the voter indicates his choice by a cross ( X ). This system in the Presidential election of 1896 was used in thirty-six States, and seems likely to be universally adopted.
Various voting machines have been tried since 1890, but none have as yet proven sufficiently satisfactory to warrant their general use.
