Australian Ballot System. In order to give every voter the opportunity to prepare and cast his ballot in secret, and to guard against any possible interference, intimidation or bribery, this state has adopted the Australian ballot system. The model voting place and sample ballot previously shown illustrate how much care has been taken to protect the voter in this his first and greatest duty to his government.

Election Officers and their Duties. The board of county commissioners shall appoint in every precinct three judges of election, one of whom shall act as distributing clerk. These officers shall as nearly as possible represent all parties taking part in the election. The three judges shall select two clerks of election, and in case there is no constable in the voting precinct, appoint some person to act as such during the election. Such officer shall have power to arrest for disturbance of the peace, shall allow no one inside the guard rail except those who go to vote, and only one elector in a compartment at one time. The judges shall conduct the election according to law, allowing only those to vote who are eligible. The clerks shall make a record of all who have voted. In case any judge, who has been appointed by the commissioners, is not present when the time comes for the opening of the polls, then those voters present may choose from their number to fill the vacancy.

How to Vote. The following complete instructions for voting are from the Revised Codes of Idaho, adopted January 12, 1909:

66

SEC. 423. An elector desiring to vote shall give his name and, if requested to do so, his residence, to one of the clerks of

the election, who shall thereupon announce the same in a loud and distinct tone of voice, clear and audible, and if such name is found on the check list by the election officer having charge thereof, he shall likewise repeat the said name, and the voter shall be allowed to enter the space enclosed by the guard rail as hereinbefore provided. The distributing clerk shall give him one, and only one, ticket, and his name shall be immediately checked on said list by placing a mark on the registry list to denote that he has received a ticket, and the ticket must be stamped on the back and near the top of the ticket with the official stamp by the distributing clerk, and thereupon delivered to the elector. Besides the election officers, not more than one voter, in excess of the voting shelves or compartments provided, shall be allowed in said enclosed space at one time."

"Manner of Voting.

66

SEC. 424. On receipt of his ticket the voter shall forthwith and without leaving the enclosed space retire alone to one of the voting shelves or compartments so provided and shall prepare his ticket by marking in the appropriate margin or placing a cross (X) opposite the name of the candidate of his choice for each office to be filled, or by filling in or writing the name of the person for whom he wishes to vote in the blank space provided therefor under each office to be filled and following the names of the regularly nominated candidates marking a cross (X) opposite such names. In voting for presidential electors he shall mark a cross (X) opposite the political designation of the candidates for President and Vice-President for whom he wishes to vote or by writing in the names of persons for Presidential electors in the blank spaces provided therefor and marking a cross (X) opposite such names. In case of a question submitted to the vote of the people and appearing on the regular ballot, he shall mark in the appropriate margin or square a cross (X) against the answer which he desires to give. In case of questions submitted to voters of particular localities at special elections, he shall vote by marking in the appropriate margin or circle a cross (X) against the answer which he desires to give. Before leaving the voting shelf or compartment the voter shall fold his ticket without displaying the marks thereon so as to expose the impression of the official stamp on the back and he shall keep the same so folded until he has voted. In case of the ballot voted at a regular general election, he shall fold the same in the same manner in which it is folded by the distributing clerk before being given to the voter. After marking his ballot the voter shall hand it to

one of the judges and announce his name. He shall mark his ticket or ballot without delay and shall quit said enclosed space as soon as he has voted."

Absentee Voting.-Any qualified voter who is absent or expects to be absent from his election precinct on election day may, by making application therefor not more than 15 days nor less than 1 day preceding the day of election, obtain a ballot and forward the same by mail to the election officers to be counted as other ballots.

Canvassing the Votes. At general elections the polls shall remain open from 8 o'clock in the morning to 7 in the evening. As soon as the polls close the judges shall canvass the votes publicly and make certified returns to the clerk of the board of county commissioners. If at the general election preceding there have been over one hundred votes cast for Governor, then there shall be two sets of election officers in such precinct, one set to receive and register the votes, and the other set to count the votes. Two ballot boxes shall in such case be used, one to receive the votes until five have been cast, then delivered to the counting judges, and the other box used for receiving ballots. As soon as the ballots in the first box are counted, it shall be returned to the judges who are receiving ballots, and the ballots in the second box shall be counted. So the two sets of officers shall continue to exchange ballot boxes, until the polls are closed, when the rest of the ballots shall be counted and all the judges shall join in signing the returns to the county commissioners. The county commissioners shall canvass the returns so sent in and determine who are chosen to the county offices. The state canvassing board receives a statement of the votes from each county for

state officers, judges and members of the Legislature, and determines who are chosen to the various offices.

The Primary Election. For the purpose of nominating party candidates, Idaho has adopted a Primary Election Law. This law enables every voter of each political party to cast his ballot for his choice of candidates, instead of having the party candidates nominated by delegate conventions, as was done in the past in Idaho, and is still done in many other states. "A political party, within the meaning of this act, is an affiliation of electors representing a political organization under a given name, which at the last preceding general election cast for any candidates on their ticket for office within the state at least ten per cent of the total vote cast for the candidates for the same office within the state and upon which ticket there were at least three nominees for state offices." (Session Laws, 1909, p. 197.) Any organization of voters which has not cast sufficient votes to be governed by the Direct Primary Election Law, must nominate their candidates by convention on the same day of the Direct Primary, the first Tuesday in September, 1914, and biennially thereafter.

How to Become Candidate. There are two ways in which a person may get his name upon the Direct Primary ballot to be voted upon. He may file, or have filed in his behalf, a nomination paper and pay the required fee, which amounts to $2 when the salary of the office is $300 or less, annually, and $1 fee for each additional $100 of salary; or he may present, or have presented, a petition signed by three per cent of the voters of his party in the state, including three per cent of such voters in at least four counties,

C