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 For McKinzie and Claudia.

—TS

Copyright © 2021 by Todd Sturgell

Cover and internal design © 2021 by Sourcebooks

Cover and internal design by Allison Sundstrom/Sourcebooks

Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks.

All rights reser ved.

The artwork was created using pen and ink,and colored in Photoshop.

Published by Sourcebooks eXplore,an imprint of S ourcebooks Kids

P.O.Box 4410,Naper ville,I llinois 60567-

4410

(630) 961-3900

sourcebookskids.com

Librar y of Congress Cataloging-

in-
Publication Data is on file with the publisher.

Source of Production: L eo Paper,Heshan Cit y,G uangdong Province, China

Date of Production: March 2021

Run Number: 5021014

Printed and bound in China.

LEO 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Turtles are found on every continent…

To Sturge
This is a turtle.

Um. Hello there.

Turtles are found on ever y continent except Antarctica.

Hmph! We’ll see

about that!

They are cold-blooded and cannot sur vive in a cold, harsh...

Hey, where are you going?

Antarctica.
 You can’t go to Antarctica.

Get back to your page, this instant!

Let’s forget the turtle and move on.

Oh, look. Here’s an owl.

Owls are found on ever y continent

except Antarctica.
Hello there, owl.

This is a book of

animal facts.
 Owls rarely pay any attention to turtles!

Why, yes.

Since I’m already

awake, I’ll join you.

 Those two will never make it

On to the next animal fact

Dung beetles are found on ever y contine

except Antarctica.

Hey, wait. Where’s the dung beetle

Why would a dung beetle travel to Antarctica

with a turtle and an owl?

Two words: penguin poop.

This book is not going as planned.
 Here we have a snake, a mouse, and a bee.

Guess what? They ’re found on ever y continent except

Antarctica—and it will stay that way!

Snakes are We mice

You can’t
known to break are natural
stop me!
the rules. explorers.
Oh, you’ve got to be kiddin
 Frogs are found on ever y continent except Antarctica.

This one won’t be distracted by a wandering group of rogue animals.

IGNORE THEM, FRO

A turtle, owl, dung beetle, snake, mouse, bee, and

would NEVER travel together on an expedit

to the frozen continent. And they certai

couldn’t cross an ocean to get ther

No boat. No Antarctica

Now, can we please get back to norm

I’ve got this.

 !
cul ous
r idi
s is
T hi
Pay no attention to these scoundrels! Turtles, owls, dung beetles, snakes, mice, bees,

and frogs are still found on ever y continent EXCEPT ANTARCTICA.

We made it!
 Look at

those strange

penguins.
The coldest temperature ever recorded on

Earth was in Antarctica.

(-128.6° Fahrenheit or -89.2° Celsius to be exact.)

It is a bit c-c-colder

than I expected.
Animals not accustomed to the howling wind and bitter cold air

will find Antarctica unbearable.

The birds swim here.

I can’t swim.
Let’s go home.
Emperor penguins are found

only in Antarctica.

Oh really?
 Oh no.

Not again.

Wait for

me!
T U RT LE
iable by
• Turtles are identif

shell.
their distinctive

than 356
• There are more

turtle species!

n around
• Turtles have bee

the
since the time of

dinosaurs.

tle in the
• The oldest tur

-year-old
world was a 255

Adwaita.
tortoise named

OWL

• Owls
fly sil
ently
to sne
ak
up on
their
prey.

• Owls
don’t
poop!
They
eat th
eir pre
y who
le
and b
arf up
the

undig
ested
p arts.

• Burr
owing
owls lo
ve to
eat du
ng be
etles.
Uh-oh
!
• Owls
can tu
rn the
ir hea
ds
almost
all the
way a
round
.
 E
SNA K
y
eat pre
es can
• Snak
.
heads
their
r than
bigge

h their
ell wit
es sm
• Snak

es.
tongu

ve
not ha
es do
• Snak
for
a l ears
extern

g.
hearin

r
stricto
re con
ons a
• Pyth
eighty
s with
snake

fangs.
but no
teeth

B EE

• Bee
s harv
est ne
c tar fro
m
flowers
to ma
ke hon
ey.
• Bee
s dan
ce to
show
the
hive w
here to
find fo
od.
• Bee
have
a favo
rite co
lor:
blue.

• Bee
s crea
te the
ir own
air
condit
ioning
by fan
n ing
the hiv
e with
their
wings
.
MORE ANIMAL FACTS

There are many kinds of animals that are found all over the

world. Bats take to the night skies around the globe. You’ll

find hawks soaring through the skies above many countries.

Spiders spin from north to south. Lizards crawl from east to

west. And pigeons peck crumbs from Australia to Alaska.

But th

these

and lu

spider

EXC
 ROR
EMPE
UIN
PENG
eror
d emp
on’t fin
• You w
t
ntinen
any co
ins on
pengu

ca.
A ntarcti
except

are the
nguins
ror pe
• Empe
s.
enguin
of all p
largest

nguins
eror pe
le emp
• Fema
er year,
e egg p
lay on
s
le keep
the ma
which
its
top of
ed on
balanc

warm.
keep it
feet to
BRRR! THE FROZEN CONTINENT

Antarctica is very cold. In fact, it’s freezing! That’s why maps of Antarctica are mostly

white—the land is almost completely covered in ice and snow. Antarctica is home to

massive ice shelves, towering mountains, and a vast, flat plateau. It covers the south pole

and is surrounded by stormy oceans. And even though it is extremely cold, Antarctica is

also the world’s largest desert because it gets the smallest amount of precipitation (rain

or snow) every year!

A CONTINENT FOR SCIENCE

People have been visiting and studying Antarctica for many years, but no

country can claim part of Antarctica as its own, though many countries have

scientific bases there. The Antarctic Treaty Agreement set aside the entire

continent as a scientific preserve. The treaty bans military activity and

establishes freedom of scientific investigation. The treaty was signed in 1959

and entered into force on June 23, 1961.

CLIMATE CHANGE YOU CA

When weather changes over a very long period of time, it’s People just like you

called climate change. Scientists study climate change to the world a better p

figure out what causes it, and whether or not we should do that live and grow w

something about it. vegetable garden ca

Antarctica is still cold, but it’s not as cold as it used to be. Recycling reduces w

In fact, parts of Antarctica where a lot of the animals live is leave a room saves e

starting to melt a little bit at a time. Right now, scientists have you find even more

observed that the world is getting warmer due to climate reduce, reuse, and re

change and have discovered that some of the ways people

There are so many p

create energy has caused the problem. This is called global

change that I’m sure

warming.
Turtle did, you’ll find

WHO TURNED UP THE HEAT?

When the world gets warmer, animals that are used to living

in the cold have to work harder to find food and raise their

young. When the ice melts, it goes into the oceans and the

oceans can rise. People who live near the water don’t want the

water to rise up to their homes.

This may seem scary, but there’s good news!

Scientists and leaders all over the world are working to fix the

problem and they’ve come up with solutions that will help.

They are creating energy that doesn’t make the world hotter.

We call this clean energy.

 GLOSSARY

Antarctica—Earth’ssouthernmostcontinent.Itisacold,ice-coveredland Continent — Any of the wo

mass and includes the south pole.

Global warming — Clim

Clean energy — Energy produced without making pollutants and gasses makes the world warmer.

that can contribute to climate change.

Ice shelf — A floating piece

Climate — Average weather conditions for a particular area or time.

Plateau — An area of level,

Climate change — A change in weather conditions over a long period

South pole — The souther

of time.
Temperature — How hot

Cold-blooded animals — Animals with body temperatures that change

measured on a scale.

depending on the environment. Also called poikilotherms. (That's fun

to say.)
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 Suffrage
How the Voters Control the Government.— Direct and indirect
A democratic government is one in which the popular control.
people, acting directly or through their representatives, control the
course of public affairs. This control may be exercised, as has been
pointed out, in either one of two ways. It may be exercised directly,
that is, by the use of the initiative and referendum. The proposal for a
law comes from a designated number of voters, and the adoption or
rejection of the proposal is decided by a majority of the voters at the
polls.
It is easy to see, however, that the people cannot perform the
entire work of government in this direct way. There are too many
laws to be made, too many details of administration to be handled,
and too many disputes to be adjusted. So most of the work of
government is carried on by persons who are chosen by the voters
for this purpose or who are appointed to office by the representatives
of the people. Elective officials, as a rule, have authority to determine
matters of general policy in nation, state, or municipality, while
appointive officials, for the most part, carry out the policy thus
determined upon.
 GOVERNMENT. By Elihu Vedder

From a Copley Print, copyright by Curtis & Cameron, Boston.

Reproduced by permission.

GOVERNMENT

By Elihu Vedder
From a mural decoration in the Library of Congress.
Mr. Vedder portrays Government as a mature
woman in the fullness of her strength. She is seated
upon a bench of hewn marble, which is supported by
the figures of two lions—all emblematic of strength and
power. Behind is an oak tree, which typifies slow,
deep-rooted growth. In symbolic pictures the ballot box
is usually represented as an urn. Here the marble
bench rests upon urn-shaped vases. In the lions’
mouths are mooring-rings to remind us that the ship of
state must not drift aimlessly but should be moored to
strength.
In her left hand Government grasps a golden sceptre
(the Golden Rule) to signify that all her actions are
 based upon respect for the rights of others; her right
hand holds a tablet upon which is graven a notable
epigram from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. On either
side of Government are two genii or mythical figures.
One holds a bridle which typifies restraint, discipline,
and order—the bulwark of effective government. The
other supports an unsheathed sword, emblematic of
defence and justice.
In this picture, therefore, the author prefigures the
outstanding marks of a successful free government—
strength; fairness, democracy, restraint, security, and
justice.

The Citizen and the Voter.—Government by the people does not,

of course, mean government by all the people. Not all citizens are
In every country there are many persons who voters.
are not competent to exercise a share in the government. Very
young persons, for example, do not have maturity of judgment,
which a share in government requires. Insane persons, prisoners in
jails, aliens, and others are also, for obvious reasons, usually
debarred from the privilege of voting. It is not to be assumed that
everyone who is a citizen is also a voter. All persons born or
naturalized in the United States and subject to American jurisdiction
are citizens no matter what their ages or mental capacity may be, but
not all are voters. The voters are those upon whom the privilege of
voting has been conferred by law. In the United States they comprise
a large proportion of the adults but they do not form a majority of the
entire population. Out of a national population of about one hundred
and five millions the voters of the United States number about thirty-
five millions. This number is quite large enough to ensure an
adequately representative government.
Development of the Suffrage.—Voting is a The gradual
privilege and duty rather than a right. In the widening of the
earlier states of American history the privilege of suffrage
voting was restricted to property-owners and taxpayers. This
condition of affairs, moreover, continued for a considerable period
after the Revolutionary War. One by one, however, the various states
began to abolish their restrictions and by the middle of the
nineteenth century the principle of manhood suffrage had become
firmly established so far as the white population was concerned. The
struggle for the extension of the suffrage to men who did not own
property was a prolonged and bitter contest in which the opponents
of manhood suffrage vainly argued that the extension would put all
political leadership into the hands of noisy agitators and would end in
the ruin of orderly government. But manhood suffrage ultimately
triumphed because the country came to the conclusion that the
structure of democratic government could be made more secure by
broadening the base upon which it rests.
Negro Suffrage.—In the Southern states prior The rights of the
to the Civil War colored men were excluded from negro.
voting at all elections. But with the emancipation of the slaves the
question of guaranteeing the suffrage to colored men had to be
faced. By the terms of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to
the national constitution no state is permitted to withhold voting rights
from any man on account of his color; if it does so, the constitution
provides that such state shall have its number of representatives in
Congress reduced. As a matter of fact, however, there has always
been a very strong sentiment among the white population of the
Southern states in opposition to political equality on the part of the
colored element, and this has prevented the enforcement of the
guarantees contained in the constitution.
By various devices the Southern states have How negroes are
for the most part excluded negroes from excluded from
suffrage. One of these is the requirement that all voting.
voters shall be able to read and write. If this provision were
impartially applied to the white and the colored population alike; if all
illiterate persons irrespective of color were excluded, this action
would be entirely justified. But the aim of the South is to eliminate the
negro as a voter whether he is illiterate or not.[34] The attitude of the
white population in the South is not difficult to understand. In the
days immediately following the Civil War the colored men were given
the ballot in all the Southern states, and the results were disastrous.
Unfit men were elected to office, public money was spent wastefully,
and government was badly conducted in all these states under the
domination of the colored voters. As a result the white population
took the control once more into its own hands and has kept it there.
But this can scarcely be regarded as a final solution of the problem.
No political problem can be solved in this country in defiance of the
constitution. Many Southerners realize this and are endeavoring to
find some solution which will be for the best interests of the negro
while protecting the white man’s political supremacy. The negro
question is particularly the Southerner’s problem; he knows the
colored race as no Northerner can; and if he cannot settle it justly
and wisely, no man can.
The Nineteenth Amendment.—It is now The extension of
more than fifty years since women first began to the suffrage to
claim, in this country, the right to equal political women.
privileges with men. Those who supported this claim argued that
women were quite competent to assume an active share in
government and that in some branches of public administration
(such as the management of schools and the enforcement of the
laws regulating child labor) women have an even greater interest
than men. Women were required to pay taxes and it was urged that
on this account they were entitled to representation. On the other
hand the extension of the suffrage to women was opposed on the
ground that it would tend to weaken the interest of women in the
home, thus impairing the strength of the family as a social unit, and
also that women would not use the ballot wisely. They would be
influenced by their sympathies and emotions rather than by their
judgment, it was predicted, and would bring an element of instability
into public policy. Another objection commonly raised was that with
twice as many voters the cost of holding elections would be doubled.
But despite these objections the movement for woman suffrage
made gradual headway in one state after another and finally, in
1920, it was made compulsory upon the entire country by the
provisions of the Nineteenth Amendment.[35]
Present Qualifications for Voting.—Each Citizenship, age,
state decides who shall not vote. Each state has and residence.
entire freedom to do as it thinks best in this matter subject only to the
provisions of the national constitution, which stipulate that the
privilege of voting shall not be denied to any citizen by reason of sex,
or because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. There is
no reason, therefore, why the qualifications for voting should be the
same in all parts of the country, and as a matter of fact they differ a
little from state to state. At present the restrictions relate mainly to
age, citizenship, and residence, but sometimes also to literacy and
taxpaying. In every state the privilege of voting is restricted to
persons who are twenty-one years of age or over. As for the
residence requirement it varies considerably in different states,
running usually from six months to a year. It is imposed in order to
make sure that those who vote in any community shall be somewhat
acquainted with its affairs. In most of the states none but citizens are
permitted to vote, but in two or three states the privilege is extended
to those aliens who have declared their intention of becoming
citizens.
Educational Tests for Voters.—Educational qualifications for
voting, in one form or another, exist in nearly one-third of the states.
[36]
In some the requirement is that anyone who desires to be
enrolled as a voter shall be able to write his name and also to read
aloud any clause taken at random from the state constitution.
Exemptions from this test are always granted to persons who by
mere reason of physical disability are unable to read or write.
Several of the Southern states have provided additional
exemptions which result in excusing from the test all white persons
who are unable to read and write while strictly applying the
requirement to all colored applicants. Various How educational
methods are employed to this end. In one case tests are applied.
the provision is that no one may be registered as a voter unless he
can read any clause in the state constitution or “give a reasonable
interpretation thereof”. The white officials in charge of the registration
then decide, in their own discretion, whether the interpretation is
reasonable or not. In some other states the attempt has been made
by what is commonly known as the “grandfather clause” to excuse
from the literacy test all persons who had the right to vote before
1867, and all descendants of such persons. As there were no
colored voters in any of the Southern states prior to this date the
“grandfather clause” virtually establishes a racial discrimination
which the Supreme Court, a few years ago, declared to be
unconstitutional.
Is an Educational Test Desirable?—In the majority of the states
men and women are permitted to vote even though unable to read or
write. The question is often asked whether this practice is wise.
Would it be better to insist on an elementary educational qualification
everywhere, or is it desirable that in a democracy no distinction be
made between those who can read and those who cannot?
On the one hand it is argued that men and The arguments for
women who have never had the advantages of a and against
grammar school education may nevertheless be educational tests.
good, patriotic citizens, and indeed may be better informed upon
questions of government and politics than some who have had far
greater educational advantages. People are not required to read and
write before they are permitted to own property or compelled to pay
taxes. Men who could neither read nor write were drafted to serve in
the army during the war. If, then, we compel illiterate persons to
perform the duties of citizenship, ought we not to grant its privileges
to them as well? But there is something to be said on the other side
of this question. Bear in mind that we provide free public elementary
education for everyone in the United States. The privilege of learning
to read and write is not the privilege of a single class; it is within the
reach of everyone. We no longer allow aliens to enter the United
States unless they can read and write, nor can any illiterate person
become naturalized. Under these circumstances is it unreasonable
to require an elementary educational test for voting? It may be true
that persons who are unable to read are able to mark a certain type
of ballot without spoiling it, but they can hardly hope to exercise an
intelligent choice as among individual candidates on the ballot; they
are unable to use any ballot which does not arrange the names of
candidates in straight party columns and they cannot vote upon
referendum questions except by mere guess-work. If we are
regularly going to submit questions to the voters at the polls for their
decision, should not the voting lists be confined to those who are at
least able to read the questions?
Tax-Paying Qualifications for Voting.—In a few states the male
suffrage is restricted to persons who have been assessed for a poll
tax. Massachusetts has such a provision and enforces it strictly.
Some Southern states also impose this qualification, partly, no
doubt, because it is effective in debarring large numbers of colored
men who are remiss in paying their annual poll taxes. There is a
difference, of course, between a taxpaying qualification and a
property qualification. Many people pay taxes, income and poll
taxes, for example, without owning any property. Nowhere in the
United States is the ownership of property a requirement for voting at
national elections.
These, then, are the general and special The requirements
qualifications. It will be observed that since each vary from state to
state prescribes its own requirements, no two of state.
them establish the same qualifications, or, if they do, it is merely by
accident. It is not strictly true that every adult citizen of the United
States has the privilege of voting; but it is approximately true. Those
who are excluded by the residence, educational, or tax paying
qualifications (apart from colored citizens in the Southern states)
form a relatively small fraction of the total adult citizenship, probably
less than ten per cent.[37]
How Voters are Registered.—In order to The registrars of
obtain a ballot on election day it is necessary voters.
that one’s name shall be on the voters’ list. This list is prepared by
officials designated for this purpose in every community or district.
These officials are commonly known as registrars of voters.
Whoever desires to be enrolled must appear before these registrars
and usually must make a sworn statement as to age, citizenship,
residence, and other qualifications. If there is an educational test, it
is applied by the registrars. The printed lists of enrolled voters are
then posted for public inspection.[38] In some states a new voters’ list
is compiled every year, and it thus becomes necessary for everyone
to register annually. In others it is the practice to keep a voter’s name
on the list so long as he continues to pay poll taxes.[39] But in any
case the only way a voter can be sure of having his name on the list
at every election is to give this matter his personal attention. In the
eyes of the law voting is a privilege, not a right, and the voter is
responsible for seeing that he obtains his privilege.
 Nominations
Why Nominations are Essential.—The The chief purpose
choice of elective public officials usually involves of nominations.
two steps—the nomination and the election. Nominations may be
made, and they are sometimes made, by a caucus or by a
convention of delegates. More often, however, they are made by the
voters at a preliminary election or primary. But the question may
fairly be asked: Why have nominations at all? Why not give the
voters blank ballots and let them write in whatever names they
please? Apart from the fact that many voters (in states which impose
no educational test) would not be able to write, there is the objection
that so many different persons would be voted for that no one would
have anything like a majority. In order to ensure that those who are
elected will represent the choice of a substantial body of the voters
and if possible an actual majority, it is desirable that there be some
way of eliminating all but the stronger candidates. That is why we
provide for formal nominations.
History of Nominating Methods.—During the past hundred
years or more we have tried a variety of nominating methods. First
came the caucus, sometimes a gathering of legislators and
sometimes of voters, brought together to select a candidate. The
caucus gave place, in time, to the convention, The convention
which is a body of delegates chosen by the method.
voters of each locality. To this day the convention remains the
mechanism by which nominations are in some cases made. But the
convention method, for a variety of reasons, did not prove
satisfactory and it has been replaced, throughout the greater portion
of the United States, by the system of nomination at a primary
election.
The Primary.—The primary, in our electoral Different forms of
system corresponds to the “qualifying trials” in primary.
athletic contests. Its purpose is to see that the race is confined to the
swift. It eliminates those who have no chance to win. Those who
desire to be candidates for any public office present their names on
nomination papers, each of which must bear the signatures of so
many qualified voters—say twenty-five or fifty. The names of the
candidates are placed on a ballot, and a primary election is held
some time before the regular election. But the details of primary
elections differ somewhat from state to state. An open primary is one
at which voters are not restricted to the ballot or column of their own
party, but may exercise entire freedom of choice among all the
names on the primary ballot. In some states there are party
primaries or closed primaries. This means that none may vote at the
primary except those who are members of a political party.[40] Each
party may hold its primary on a different date, in which case it is
called a separate primary; or both parties may hold their primaries
together, in which case we call it a joint primary. At a joint primary
there may be a separate ballot for the voters of each party or there
may be a single ballot which contains the names of different party
candidates in parallel columns. In some cities and towns another
form, the non-partisan primary, is provided, in which case the ballot
bears no party designations at all. The procedure at a primary
election is like that of a regular election, with printed ballots, ballot
boxes, and regular officials in charge of the polls.
Merits and Defects of the Primary.—As a Advantages of the
method of making nominations the primary, primary.
whether closed, open, or non-partisan, has both merits and defects.
It is better than the convention in that it places nominations directly in
the hands of the voters, thus making it more difficult for party bosses
to dictate who the candidates shall be. Conventions consisting of a
relatively small number of delegates, many of them officeholders,
can be manipulated by wire-pulling politicians. Nominations made by
conventions have frequently been, for that reason, very
unsatisfactory to the rank and file of the voters. The primary gives an
opportunity to the man or woman who is popular with the voters
although not popular with the politicians. It tends to break down
some of the worst abuses of the party system.
On the other hand there are some practical Objections to it.
objections to the primary as a method of making
nominations and a vigorous fight is now being waged to abolish it. A
primary means an additional election with all the attendant
campaigning and expense. The total vote cast at a primary is often
small; hence the candidate who gains the nomination may or may
not be the real choice of his party.[41] The primary puts a burden upon
those who seek to gain elective public office, for they must virtually
fight and win two successive battles at the polls. To do this takes so
much time that men and women who have business of their own to
attend to are often deterred from becoming candidates. The field of
political activity thus tends to become monopolized by professional
politicians who have nothing else to do. The primary contests are so
bitter at times that they create dissensions in the party ranks and
weaken the party at the ensuing election. The use of the primary has
not enabled us to get rid of political bosses; it has merely made them
work a great deal harder to retain control.
In some states the political parties have A new
adopted the practice of holding an “informal” development.
convention some few weeks before the date of the primary. This
convention, which is composed of unofficial delegates, makes
recommendations as to the candidates who ought to be voted for by
members of the party at the primary. Members of the party are free,
of course, to do as they please at the primary, but the
recommendations made by an “informal” convention, in view of the
fact that they are largely the work of acknowledged party leaders,
carry a good deal of weight.
One result of the primary system has been, This means a
therefore, to complicate our electoral machinery. further
If the practice of holding informal conventions complication.
becomes general, there will be four steps which a party will have to
take in order to put its candidates in office, first the informal
convention, then the primary, then the official convention which
drafts the platform, and finally the election. Surely it should be
possible to elect our public officials under some less complicated
arrangement than this.[42]
 Elections
How an Election is Held.—The date on The election day.
which an election is held is fixed by law. National
elections always take place on the Tuesday following the first
Monday in November.[43] State elections are usually, although not
always, held on the same date. Local elections take place on such
dates as the state laws or city charters provide. It is usually thought
best that local elections shall not be held on the same day as the
state or national elections because of a desire to keep national and
state politics out of local affairs. When national, state, and local
elections are held on the same day the tendency is for the voters to
focus their whole attention on national and state issues, giving very
little attention to the problems of their own communities. The names
of candidates for the local offices are away down near the bottom of
the ballot where they appear relatively unimportant. Separate
elections involve additional expense, however, and increase the
number of times a voter has to come to the polls.[44]
The voting is done at polling places, one or Polling places and
more of which are located in each precinct. The poll officers.
precinct is a small division of the county, town, or city; as a rule it
does not contain more than four or five hundred voters. The polling
place is in charge of officials, commonly known as poll-wardens or
inspectors, who are appointed by the state or local authorities. They
are assisted by clerks. The duty of these various officials is to open
the poll, give ballots to persons who are registered and to no others,
count the votes after the poll is closed, and report the results to the
authorities who are in charge of the elections. They are responsible
for the lawful and honest conduct of the polling. Each party is also
allowed to have one or more “watchers” at the polling place and
these watchers have the right to challenge any person whom they
believe to be an impostor. When anyone is challenged he may take
oath that he is entitled to vote, in which case he will be given a ballot;
but such ballots are counted separately. When a voter receives a
ballot, his name is checked off the voters’ list. Various stalls or
booths are provided, into one of which the voter then goes and
marks his ballot privately. Having finished marking it he folds the
ballot and hands it to one of the polling officials who, in the presence
of the voter, deposits it in the ballot box. Polls are kept open during
designated hours, usually from six or seven o’clock in the morning
until five or six o’clock in the afternoon.
The Ballot.—The history of the ballot in the History of balloting.
United States is interesting. 1. Oral voting.
Originally all votes were
given orally. The voter came to the polling place, stated his choice
aloud and the poll officials wrote it down. The objection to this plan
was that it precluded secrecy and left the voters open to intimidation.
Then paper ballots came into use, each party providing ballots for its
own members. Outside the polling place, at 2. The party ballot.
each election, stood a group of party workers
each armed with a handful of ballots, which were distributed to the
voters as they came. This method also was objectionable. It
encouraged the voting of a “straight party ticket”, Objections to the
in other words it took for granted that everyone party ballot.
wished to vote for the entire slate of party candidates without
exception. If the voter desired to do otherwise, it was necessary for
him to scratch out the unacceptable names and write others in. Most
voters would not go to this trouble. This method of balloting was not
secret, because a voter could be watched from the time he received
his ballot outside the polling place until he deposited it in the box.
This was an encouragement to bribery and intimidation. It also
facilitated fraud at elections since there was no limit upon the
number of ballots printed by the parties and it was not difficult for
dishonest voters or corrupt officials to slip extra ballots into the box.
This abuse, known as “stuffing” the ballot box could only be
prevented by having all the ballots officially printed. When a definite
number of official ballots is given to each polling place every ballot
must be accounted for.
In nearly all the states, therefore, an official 3. The Australian
ballot is now used. This is commonly known as ballot.
the Australian ballot. Usually the names of all the candidates are
printed in parallel columns, each party having a column of its own,
with the name and insignia of the party at the top. Immediately below
the insignia is a circle in which the voter, by marking a cross, may
record his vote for every one of the candidates in the entire column.
The voter who does this is said to vote a “straight ticket”. But if he
desires to vote for some of the candidates in the column of one party
and for some in the column of another party, he leaves the circle
unmarked and places a cross after such individual names as he may
choose. This is called voting a “split ticket”. In some states there are
no party columns; the names of the candidates are printed on the
ballot in alphabetical order, each name followed by a party
designation. In a few large cities, such as Boston and Cleveland, the
party designation is omitted. Here the voter must pick and choose
individually. The party-column arrangement encourages the voting of
straight tickets; the alphabetical plan does not.[45]
The Short Ballot.—Throughout the United Evils of the long
States the number of elective offices steadily ballot.
increased during the nineteenth century. The result was that ballots
gradually became longer until in some cases the voters found
themselves confronted with sheets of paper containing a hundred
names or even more. It proved exceedingly difficult to use proper
discrimination among so many names and hence there arose an
agitation for simplifying the ballot by reducing the number of
positions to be filled by election. In a democratic government all
officials who have authority to decide questions of general policy—
the President, senators, representatives, governors, assemblymen,
mayors, councilors, and the like—ought to be chosen by popular
vote. But there are many other officials, such as state auditors,
county clerks, and superintendents of schools, whose duties are
chiefly administrative. These officials carry out a policy which is laid
down for them by law, and it is contended that they should not be
elected but appointed. If all such officials were made appointive, the
size of the ballot would be considerably reduced, and the voters
could concentrate their attention upon a smaller number of names.
A ballot is not an effective instrument of popular government
unless it is simple enough for the average voter to use intelligently.
When a ballot is so long, so complicated, and so unwieldy that the
voter is tempted by sheer exhaustion into voting a straight party
ticket, then the party leaders, and not the people, are really choosing
the officers of government. The movement for a “short ballot” aims to
make government more truly democratic, not less so.
The Preferential Ballot.—Another defect of Defects of the
the ordinary ballot is that it allows the voter to ordinary ballot.
indicate only a single choice for each office. If there are five
candidates for the office of mayor, let us say, the voter may mark his
ballot for one of them only. He is not permitted to indicate who would
be his second choice, or his third choice among the five. Whichever
candidate gets the largest number of first choices among the voters
is the winner, although he may be the choice of a small minority. To
prevent this likelihood of election by a minority when there are
several candidates in the field for a single office a system of
“preferential voting” is sometimes used.
Where the preferential ballot is in use, as it is How the preferential
in several American cities, the voters are asked system works.
to indicate, in columns provided for this purpose, not only their first
but their second and third choices and even their further choices
among the various candidates. The names of those candidates
whom the voter does not want to support are left unmarked. When
preferential ballots are counted, any candidate who has a clear
majority of first choices is declared elected. But if no candidate
obtains a majority of first choices, the second choices are added to
the first choices and if the two totals combined give what would be a
majority of first-choice votes, the candidate who received them is
declared elected. In like manner the third choices are resorted to if
necessary.[46] The candidate elected by the preferential system is
practically always the choice of a majority among the voters, not the
first choice of a majority always, but one whom a majority have
indicated their willingness to support. The chief practical objection to
the preferential ballot is that many voters do not take the trouble to
mark their second and third choices.
Proportional Representation.[47]— The problem of
Preferential voting should be distinguished from minority
proportional representation, which is a plan of representation.
choosing legislative bodies in such a way that all considerable
groups of voters will be represented in proportion to their own
numbers. Whenever several representatives are elected on the
same ballot it usually happens that one political party secures them
all. So many voters adhere to the “straight ticket” that the entire party
slate wins. The minority party, even though it may comprise nearly
half the voters, in such cases obtains no representation at all. This,
of course, does not give us a true system of representative
government; hence various plans have been put forward for securing
to “each considerable party or group of opinion” a representation
corresponding to its numerical strength among the voters. The best
known among these is the Hare Plan, which has been used in
several foreign countries and, during recent years, in a few American
cities.[48]
This system of proportional representation is The Hare plan
somewhat complicated but may be concisely explained.
described as follows: First, the names of all candidates are printed
alphabetically on the ballot and the voter indicates his choices by
marking the figure 1 after the name of his first choice, the figure 2
after the name of his second choice, and so on. Then, when the polls
are closed, the election officers compute the number of votes
needed to elect a candidate and this is called “the quota”. This they
do by dividing into the total number of votes cast the number of
places to be filled, plus one, and then adding one to the quotient. For
example, let us suppose that 10,000 votes have been cast and that
there are seven candidates to be elected. Ten thousand divided by
eight (seven plus one) is 1250 and any candidate who receives 1251
first-choice votes is declared elected. If such candidate, however,
has more votes than enough to fill his quota, the surplus votes are
distributed in accordance with the indicated second-choices among
candidates whose quotas have not been filled. If enough candidates
are not elected by this process, the candidate with the smallest
number of first choices is then dropped and his votes are distributed
in the same way. This process of elimination and distribution goes on
until enough candidates have filled their quotas or until the
successive eliminations have left no more than enough to fill the
vacant positions. This plan is not a model of simplicity, of course, but
it is not so difficult to understand as one might at first glance
imagine, nor in its actual workings does it present any serious
complications. What the voter has to do is simple enough. In so far
as there are any difficulties they arise in connection with counting the
ballots, not in marking them. The plan is workable and the attainment
of proportional representation in all our legislative bodies would be a
great gain.
Counting the Votes.—When the polls are Majorities and
closed the ballots are counted by the officials of pluralities.
the polling place in accordance with whatever plan is used. With
ordinary ballots the counting does not take very long; if preferential
ballots are used, or if a system of proportional representation is in
vogue, the counting takes a good deal longer. When a candidate
receives more than one-half of all the polled votes, he is declared to
have a majority; when he merely obtains more votes than the next
highest candidate he is said to have a plurality. In the United States,
at nearly all elections, a plurality is sufficient. When the counting is
finished the result is certified to the proper higher officials. A recount
can usually be had at the demand of any candidate, and recounts
often take place when the result is close.
Corrupt Practices at Elections.—All Types of corruption.
elections afford some opportunity for corrupt
practices and various safeguards are provided against their
occurrence. Personation is the offence of voting under a name which
is not your own. Voters who have died since the lists were compiled,
or who are absent, are sometimes impersonated by men who have
no right to vote at all. Vigilance on the part of the election officers
helps to prevent personation although the officials can hardly be
expected to know everyone who comes to the polls. Repeating is the
offence of voting twice at the same election. To do this a voter must
first, by fraudulent means, become enrolled as a voter in two or more
precincts or districts. Ballot-box stuffing is the practice of putting in
the box ballots which have no right to be there. With the Australian
ballot the practice is very infrequent. Ballot-switching is the placing of
marks on the ballots, surreptitiously, while the ballots are being
counted. A dishonest official, with a small piece of lead under his
fingernail, has sometimes been able to spoil or to “switch” ballots by
marking additional crosses on them during the process of counting.
Intimidation is the offence of influencing a voter’s action by threats or
wrongful pressure. Bribery, of course, is self-explanatory. All these
practices involve moral turpitude and are forbidden under severe
penalties. They have now become relatively uncommon at American
elections.[49]
Absent Voting.—It frequently happens, in the nature of things,
that many voters cannot conveniently be in their home districts on
election day. Soldiers and sailors, commercial travelers, railway
conductors, engineers and trainmen, fishermen, students in
universities are obvious examples. It has been estimated that in
Massachusetts the number of voters who are necessarily absent
from their homes on election day averages about thirty thousand.
Many others, in order to cast their ballots, are put to considerable
expense and inconvenience. Now it has seemed desirable, in many
of the states, to make some provision whereby those voters may
cast their ballots without being actually at the polls on election day.
The usual arrangement is that a voter who expects to be absent on
election day must apply, some time before the election date, to a
designated official for a ballot. This ballot is then marked by the voter
and sealed in an envelope. The envelope is attested before a notary
public and deposited with an election official who sees that it is
counted when other ballots are counted. In some states the blank
ballot is sent by mail to absent voters who request it, and after being
marked the ballot is returned by mail before the election day. The
chief objection to absent voting is that it gives an opportunity for
fraud, but in practice this has not proved to be a serious objection.
Compulsory Voting.—Compulsory voting does not exist
anywhere in the United States at the present time although it has
been frequently proposed. Voting has been made compulsory,
however, with legal penalties for failure to vote, in several foreign
countries, notably in Belgium, in Spain, and in New Zealand. The
usual procedure is to impose a fine upon every voter who, without
good excuse, stays away from the polls on election day, or, for
repeated absences, to strike his name off the voters’ list altogether.
Compulsory voting rests upon the argument The arguments for
that, in a democracy, the right to vote imposes a compulsory voting.
duty to vote. The citizen must serve on a jury in time of peace and in
the army during war whether he likes these forms of public service or
not. Why, then, should he be allowed to shirk his duty to vote, a duty
which must be performed if democratic government is to survive? If
one voter has the right to stay away from the polls, every other voter
has the same right. And if all followed this policy, we could not
maintain a “representative” form of government. But there is another
side to the question. The voter who goes to the polls because he will
be fined if he stays away will not cast his ballot with much
discrimination, intelligence, or patriotism. Would Are they valid?
the votes of such men be worth counting?
Would they contribute anything to the cause of good government?
Moreover, it has been demonstrated by foreign experience that while
you can compel a voter to go to the polls and drop a ballot in the box
you cannot compel him to mark his ballot properly, for he marks it in
secret. In one of the Swiss cities some years ago it was found that
the chief result of compulsory voting was to induce many hundreds
of reluctant voters to drop blank ballots in the box. It can well be
argued that voting is a duty, but it is a duty which ought to be
performed from motives of patriotism and not from dread of the
penalties. Most citizens do not require compulsion and it is
questionable whether forcing others to vote would, in the long run,
serve any useful purpose.
Voting by Machine.—In some cities of the The merits and
United States the experiment of permitting the defects of voting
voter to record his choice by means of a voting machines.
machine has been tried with varying degrees of success. A voting
machine is constructed upon much the same principles as a cash
register. The keys bear the names of the various candidates and the
voter merely steps behind a curtain where he presses one key after
another just as he would mark crosses on a printed ballot. The
mechanism is so arranged that a voter cannot press two keys which
register for the same office. The voting machine plan has some
distinct advantages in that it does away entirely with the trouble and
expense of printing ballots; it eliminates spoiled ballots, it precludes
all chance of tampering with the votes, and it ensures an accurate
count. On the other hand the machines are expensive both to install
and to maintain, particularly when several machines are needed for
each polling place. Moreover, like all other complicated mechanisms,
they get out of order, and when they do this on election day it makes
a bad mess of things. It is doubtful whether they will ever supplant
the printed ballot plan of voting.
Summary.—In order that any systems of popular voting shall be
permanently successful it is necessary that the ballot shall be simple,
intelligible, and secret. It must not be so long as to bewilder the voter
of average intelligence, and it ought to give the voter a reasonable
chance to “split” his ballot without running a serious risk of spoiling it.
A short ballot is a far more effective instrument of democracy than a
long ballot. Another essential is that the polling place shall be
adequately safeguarded against fraudulent practices of any sort and
that the counting of votes shall be conducted with absolute honesty.
Any corrupt practice in connection with elections is a blow at the very
heart of democracy. We hear a good deal, from time to time, about
unfairness, fraud, and corruption at elections in the United States,
particularly at elections in the larger cities. While these things occur
now and then they are much less frequent than they used to be.
American elections, taking them as a whole, are conducted with as
much fairness and honesty as the elections which are held in any
other country. Rival parties and candidates try hard to win; they seize
every opportunity to gain political advantages over their opponents,
and in so doing often travel very close to the line which separates
right from wrong; but on the whole they try to keep within the letter of
the election laws. Transgressions of the law may bring some
temporary success but in the long run they do not pay, and the
politicians know it.
General References
F. A. Cleveland, Organized Democracy, pp. 130-191;
P. O. Ray, Political Parties and Practical Politics, pp. 109-164; 298-321;
W. B. Munro, The Government of American Cities, pp. 102-152;
C. L. Jones, Readings on Parties and Elections, pp. 212-250;
A. N. Holcombe, State Government in the United States, pp. 143-164;
K. H. Porter, A History of Suffrage in the United States, pp. 20-46 and passim;
W. W. Willoughby and Lindsay Rogers, Introduction to the Problem of
Government, pp. 107-126 (Popular Government).
Group Problems