Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 6.djvu/204

IQO HISTORY OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE counties, however, shows that there were 13,609 more names listed as voting, as shown by the poll books, than there were suffrage ballots. Add to this the 2,289 votes where certain precincts show more votes on the amendment than names recorded in the poll books and altogether 1 5,898 more names are found on the poll books than there were ballots cast on woman suffrage. If this proportion is main- tained in the other fifty-five counties, there would be approximately 30,000 more voters listed than there were votes on the amendment. The question the investigator raises is : "Did 60,000 men go to the polls and fail to vote a primary ballot, and did 30,000 of these fail to vote on the amendment? Did 30,000 go to the polls and fail td vote for anybody or anything ?" The W. C. T. U. can draw but one conclusion from this condition, namely, that they were defrauded out of their right to the ballot. The investigators found that in the 44 counties . . . 4,743 ballots, shown to have been cast by the list of voters, are absolutely unac- counted for. ... In 15 counties it was found that in certain pre- cincts 2,239 more ballots were certified than there were names on the list of voters. ... In 15 counties there were 8,067 more ballots on the amendment than there were voters checked as having voted. In 30 counties where the combination poll books were used no voter was checked as having voted, but the certificates show that 55,107 votes were cast on the amendment. In 27 cities canvassed, a total disregard or ignorance of the registration laws in nearly all precints appears and in many of these the violations are most flagrant. The law requires that the judges and clerks of election shall make out a certificate showing the total number of votes cast, the number voting "yes" or "no" or "rejected." A total of 9,320 votes in these counties are not properly certified to and the "true return" is not signed in many instances by any of the clerks or judges and in others not by all. In this class 27,362 votes were affected. In six counties certificates properly signed by the clerks and judges had been changed by a different hand and in some cases several different precincts had been changed by the same hand. . . . Many other instances were given of incompetence and dis- honesty beyond question, but, notwithstanding this positive evi- dence, the legal requirements and restrictions were such as made any effort for a recount or another election of no avail. 1 A conference of the suffrage leaders was held in Des Moines the next month after the election. Every one was sad but no one was resigned and those who had worked the hardest and sacrificed the most were the first to renew their pledges for fur- ther effort. It was decided that while their forces were well 1 Space is given to this report because it is a fair illustration of the conditions under which woman suffrage amendments were defeated again and again in different States.