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ELBING 486 ELECTION ELBING, a trading and manufactur- ing town of West Prussia; 48 miles by rail E. S. E. of Danzig; on the navigable river of the same name. The town, founded in the 13th century by colonists from Liibeck and Bremen, has a church of the 14th century. It is connected by a canal with the Dreventz, a tributary of the Vistula, and in 1877-1884 a mole was constructed in the harbor, 3,500 yai'ds long and 5V2 wide. Steamships and torpedo-boats are built here; and there are large iron and brass rolling- mills, and tinware, machine, and cigar factories. The linen industry and the export of lampreys are also of impor- tance. Pop. about 58,000. EL CENTRO, a city of California in Imperial co. It is on the Southern Pa- cific, the Holton Interurban, and the San Diego and Arizona railroads. It is the center of an important agricultural and fruit-growing region which has been greatly developed in recent years. Its industries include a cottonseed oil mill, cotton gins, warehouses, and an ice plant. It has excellent schools, hotels, churches, and four banks. Pop. (1910) 1,610; (1920) 5,464. ELDORADO, a city of Illinois, in Saline co. It is on the Cleveland, Cin- cinnati, Chicago and St. Louis, the Illi- nois Central, and the Louisville and Nashville railroads. In the neighborhood are important coal mines. Its industries include machine shops, flour mills, lum- ber yards, etc. Pop. (1910) 3,366; (1920) 5,004. ELDORADO, a city of Kansas, the county-seat of Butler co. It is on the Missouri Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe', and the Kansas City, Mexico, and Orient railroads. Its indus- tries include machine shops, carriage works, flour-mills, and limestone quar- ries. It has an extensive trade in agri- cultural products and live stock. There is a public library. Pop. (1910) 3,129; (1920) 10,995. ELEAZAR (help of God), the third son of Aaron, and high priest after him (Ex. vi : 23; Num. xx : 25-28). The high priesthood continued in his family through seven generations, till the time of Eli, when we find it transferred to the line of Ithamar. In the reigns of Saul and David it was restored to the line of Eleazar, and so continued till after the captivity. ELECTION, in politics, the selection by voting of a person or persons to oc- cupy some post or office. The most im- portant elections are those of the mem- bers of the supreme legislative assem- blies of the different countries, and as to the manner in which these are carried out strict laws are in force. In such elections voting by ballot is now gen- eral. The chief forms of election in Great Britain are parliamentary and municipal elections, in both of which the basis of the suffrage (or right of vot- ing) is the payment of poor-rates. Mem- bers of Parliament formerly required a property qualification in England and Ireland; but this restriction, which never existed in Scotland, has been abolished. In both parliamentary and municipal elections the ballot has been in opera- tion since 1872. For the prevention of bribery and corrupt practices many acts have been passed, of which that now in operation came into force in October, 1883, and has been annually renewed since 1884. Jurisdiction of election laws of the United States extends to such officers of Federal Government as are elective, viz., the President, Vice-President and mem- bers of the House of Representatives. The election of officers of the State governments is regulated by the sev- eral State codes. The President and Vice-President are elected by a col- lege of electors, which college is com- posed of as many electors as there are Senators and Representatives in Con- gress at the time of the election of such electors. The people vote directly for these electors. Members of Congress are elected as follows: Each State is en- titled to two Senators in Congress, who are elected by the Legislatures of the sev- eral States; members of the House of Representatives are elected directly by the people. In general, it may be said that all citizens of the United States are entitled to vote except those residing in the District of Columbia. In 1870 persons of African descent were given the right to participate in elections. The several States have enacted laws for the regulation and management of their local elections, embracing the choice of the officers of the State, city and county. The constitutions of the several States secure to citizens the right of suf- frage. The laws of each State provide the means of effecting the ends of the constitution, and prescribe the qualifica- tions of voters, which vary somewhat in the different States. In all the States the following qualifications may be classed as universal: That the elector shall be over 21 years of age, neither a lunatic nor a pauper, and prepared to take, if necessary, an oath of allegiance to the Federal Government. The length of residence in the State previous to an election is fixed by the State law and varies in the different States. Some