THE SHORT BALLOT. I. SUMMARY. The Ballot in Illinois. Under the first state constitution there were only eight officers to be voted for by each voter. Some additional local officers were made elective by statute. The constitution of 1848 provided for about twenty officers to be voted for by each voter; and the constitution of 1870 further increased the number to about twentyfive. There are also numerous additional local elective officers established by statute, mostly elected at numerous elections in the spring. Primary elections have increased the number of elections and also the length of the ballot. At the quadrennial November elections from twenty-five to thirty state and local officers are voted for throughout the state; in Cook county there are over forty such officers elected; and in addition the twenty-nine presidential electors. The ballots in Cook county at such elections often contain about four hundred names, and have had as may as 433 names. A typical ballot for a down state district in 1916 had 222 candidates for 49 offices. The Ballot in other states and countries. Most American states have also a numerous list of elective officers and a long ballot; and in some instances the size of the ballot and the number of candidates are about as large as in Illinois. In a few states, however, there is a smaller number of elective offices and a shorter ballot. Ohio and Pennsylvania have only five and six elective State officers; and Massachusetts and Vermont have a smaller number of elective county officers than most states. In Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Tennessee the governor is the only state executive officer elected at large; while Rhode Island has no elective county officers. Recent city charters and laws on municipal government have in most cases reduced the number of elective officials, and provided a short ballot for city elections. In the national government a short ballot system is provided. In other countries, executive and judicial officers are appointive. The only elective officials are the members of representative bodies, and the ballot is much shorter and simpler than in this country. In Great Britain the ballot usually has only two or three names, and seldom more than five or six. Criticism of the long ballot. Some criticism of the multiplicity of elective officers is to be found from comparatively early times, as in the Illinois constitutional convention of 1870. More recently the long ballot has been more actively opposed, on the ground that it imposes an impossible task on the voter, and in effect disfranchises the voter and prevents popular control of the government. The short ballot movement. Since 1900 there has been an increasing demand for a "short ballot", based on the principles of (1) electing only to the important offices which attract public attention, and (2) electing only a few officers at one time. These principles have been indorsed and supported by some of the most prominent men in public life, in different political parties, including all of the three latest Presidents of the United States (Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson), also by Governor Hughes and Senator Elihu Root of New York. The governors of more than three-fourths of the states have openly advocated the short ballot in their messages to the legislatures and in their annual conferences. Among these may be noted Governors. Dunne and Lowden of Illinois. More formal proposals for applying short ballot principles have been presented in a number of states. These include the proposals first brought forward in Oregon in 1909, the reports of economy and efficiency commissions on the reorganization of state governmentnotably in Iowa and Delaware-and the proposed revised constitution for the state of New York prepared by the constitutional convention of 1915. In Illinois the short ballot has received popular indorsement on a public policy vote in 1912, with 508,780 votes in favor to 165,270 against. Specific problems. Some of the specific problems to be met in the application of short ballot principles may be briefly noted. In connection with the state executive officers, the governor may be made the only elective state officer; but special questions have been raised as to the need for a lieutenant governor, the independence of the auditor, and the position of the attorney-general. Elective judges may be reconciled with the short ballot by separate judicial elections, except in a metropolitan community like Chicago, where the large number of judges calls for special treatment. For county and other local officers, if constitutional requirements for elective officers are eliminated, changes in organization may be made by legislation, subject to local option, or under provisions for local home rule. II. THE BALLOT IN ILLINOIS. Early conditions-Constitution of 1818. Before Illinois was admitted to the Union as a state there was no general system of popular elections. During the territorial period county and township officers were appointed. Members of the territorial legislature, established in 1812, were elected apparently by oral or viva voce voting without the use of ballots. Under the first state constitution (1818) only a few elective offices were provided,-two state officers, members of the legislature, and some county officers. Including the state's representative in Congress the list of elective officers was as follows: Governor Lieutenant Governor Representative in Congress. State Senators State Representatives County Commissioners. Sheriff Coroner By another clause of the constitution viva voce voting was continued until changed by the General Assembly. Section 22 of Article III of the Constitution of 1818 gave the governor what appears in itself to be a general power (by and with the advice and consent of the senate) to "appoint all officers whose offices are established by the constitution, or shall be established by law, and whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for". But this power was in fact so limited by other provisions of the constitution and by later acts of the general assembly that the governor was without any real appointing power. The section providing for the governor's power of appointment also provided that inferior officers should be appointed in such manner as the general assembly may prescribe. The article on the Judiciary. gave to the general assembly the appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and all inferior courts. Section 10 of the Schedule provided that: "An auditor of public accounts, an attorney general, and such other officers for the state as may be necessary, may be appointed by the general assembly, whose duties may be regulated by law." The actual operation of these provisions has been described as follows: "The governors were for a time allowed to appoint state's attorneys, recorders, state commissioners, bank directors, etc., but the legis lature afterwards vested by law the appointment of all these and many more in themselves. Occasionally, when in full political accord, the governor would be allowed the appointing power pretty freely, to perhaps be shorn of it by a succeeding legislature. In the administration of Duncan, who had forsaken Jackson and incurred the displeasure of the dominant party, the governor was finally stripped of all patronage, except the appointment of notaries public and public administrators. It was a bad feature of the constitution; it not only deprived the people of their just right to elect the various officers as at present, but led hordes of place hunters to repair to the seat of government at every session of the legislature to besiege and torment members for office. Indeed this was the chief occupation of many an honorable member. Innumerable intrigues and corruptions for place and power were indulged." In the case of Field v. People (1839), it was stated that "the practical construction which this section has received takes from the governor all appointments except such as are expressly given him." Even in the case of the Secretary of State, the Governor's power was limited by the concurrence of the Senate, and he could not remove that officer. During the period of the first state constitution, some additional local officers were made elective by statute, including justices of the peace (1827), county clerks and treasurers (1837), county recorders and surveyors (1845), and also municipal officers in incorporated towns and cities. Constitution of 1848-the long ballot introduced. When the second constitutional convention met in 1847, there was a strong demand to abolish the method of legislative appointments, and this was done by extending the system of popular elections. This was in accordance with a general tendency throughout the country, as indicated in the new constitutions and constitutional amendments in other states. But it may be noted that the elective system was expanded on account of dissatisfaction with legislative control, and did not deprive the executive of any important power. In the new constitution the use of the ballot was definitely established, in place of the former system of viva voce voting; and at the same time the number of elective offices was notably increased. It was a ballot of considerable length which came into use at this time. The constitution provided for the following elective officers: Elected at large: Governor Lieutenant Governor Secretary of State Auditor of Public Accounts State Treasurer 1 Davidson and Stuve: History of Illinois, p. 297. Field v. People, 3 Ill. 79 (1839). |