Page:A History of the Australian Ballot System in the United States.djvu/40

, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island require two sets of ballots to be prepared, and one set is held in reserve for an emergency.

In the north central states, with the exception of Indiana and Minnesota, the ballots are prepared and distributed by county and municipal officers. Minnesota and Indiana require all ballots for officers to be voted on by all the electors of the state to be furnished by central state officers. The provisions of the law as to the number of ballots to be furnished each precinct, their distribution, and the procedure in case of their loss is the same as in the eastern states.

Of the southern states, Louisiana places the duty of furnishing ballots on the secretary of state, but elsewhere it is imposed on county and municipal officers. Oklahoma is the only western state to depart from this rule by providing that state and county election boards shall furnish all ballots.

The furnishing of the proper number of correct ballots is not only a ministerial act enforceable through mandamus, but severe penalties are imposed for the non-performance of such duty. This is a great advance over the old régime, where no person was obligated to supply correct ballots to the electors.

Since it is impossible to print the name of every possible candidate on the ballot, the law restricts the nomination of candidates whose names are to be printed on the ballot to the nominees of political parties of a certain size and to independent candidates petitioned for by a certain number of electors.

All the states depart from the original Australian ballot act, and recognize the right of political parties to make nominations to public office. What constitutes a political party legally competent to nominate varies from state to state. Eight states recognize as competent a party polling 1 per cent of the total vote cast in the state, electoral district or division thereof, or city for which the nomination is made. Colorado places the number at 10 per cent of the total vote in the state or division thereof. Massachusetts requires the political party to poll, at the