Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 5.djvu/78

 64 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

in the other the executive officers of the state, are chosen, all uniformly for quadrennial terms. The tenure of the city council - men and the state legislators is biennial. New York's constitu- tion of 1895 has attracted attention for its divorcement of the municipal from the higher elections.

If b}- a state election the choice of the governor and most of the other state officers be understood, the laws show nine variations of the relative times for state and national elections, as follows. The state officers are elected :

1. Quinquennially — Utah.

2. Quadrennially and in the same year with the president — Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia; nine states.

3. Quadrennially and in the odd year next after the presi- dential election — Virginia.

4. Quadrennially and in the even j^ear midway between the presidential elections — California, Kentucky, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming ; six states.

5. Quadrennially and in the odd year next before the presidential election — Mississippi, Maryland, Louisiana; three states.

6. Triennially — New Jersey.

7. Biennially and in even years — Alabama, Arkansas, Colo- rado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Ver- mont, Wisconsin ; twenty states.

8. Biennially and in odd years — Ohio, Iowa. Q. Annually — -Massachusetts, Rhode Island.

Ten of the nineteen quadrennial states and two of the twenty- two biennial states avoid the presidential year in their state elections. With these may be counted Utah and New Jersey, in which presidential and state elections only occasionally coin- cide. The prevalent plan is the biennial election in even years. Twenty-five states choose governors on the presidential election dav.

In the light of all the foregoing facts, conditions, and