Page:A History of the Australian Ballot System in the United States.djvu/42

 distribution of the electors; six thousand petitioners are required to nominate, and of these fifty must be from each county. Twelve states select a percentage of the total number of voters as the basis in determining the number necessary to nominate for an office voted for by all the electors of the state. Pennsylvania is the most liberal of these, selecting one-half of 1 per cent as the basis, while Nevada is at the other extreme and requires 10 per cent. The usual percentage demanded is either 1 or 2 per cent. Some states, as Missouri, qualify the percentage selected by the provision that the number of signatures for any office shall not be less than a certain minimum nor more than a certain maximum. For offices filled by the voters of a district less than the state, the laws in general follow the same rule as for the entire state. Frequently a fixed number will be selected for the entire state and a percentage for a district, or vice versa.

There are a number of restrictions added to the privilege of nominating by petition. The most common of these are: (a) The elector shall add to his signature his residence and place of business, with street and number, if any, and also the nature of his occupation. (b) No certificate shall contain the names of more candidates for an office than there are persons to be elected to such office, and no person shall sign more than one certificate for each office. (c) There is the implied qualification in all the laws that only qualified voters shall join in making a nomination or in signing a certificate. (d) Several states require a citizen to swear that he knows the contents of such petition and signs the same of his own free will, and a few states require the voter to acknowledge his signature. In Kentucky and Indiana the petition must recite the fact that the candidate petitioned for is qualified to hold such office, and that the subscribers desire and are qualified to vote for such candidate. Texas disqualifies every person taking part in a primary from joining in the nomination by petition of a competing candidate. The names of the persons so nominated must be certified as follows: The certificate must be in writing and contain: (a) the name of each person nominated; (b) the title of the office to which he is nominated; (c) the name of the political party or principle such primary or convention