Various schemes have been adopted to ensure to every voter a free expression of his choice for representatives, and to the majority their right to govern.  One of these is the secret ballot.  At the polls each voter enters a booth by himself to mark his ballot, or to operate the voting machine, and need have no fear that a possible “watcher” may cause him to lose his job or otherwise suffer for voting as he thinks best.  The secret ballot also reduces the likelihood that votes will be bought, for there is no way of telling whether the man who sells his vote will vote as he has agreed; and the man who sells his vote is not to be trusted.  The only voters who are embarrassed by the secret ballot are those who cannot read their ballots.  These have to seek help, and are thus open to influence by agents of the “boss.”

THE DIRECT PRIMARY

Another device to ensure to the voter a voice in his government is the direct primary for the nomination of candidates for office.  By the older method candidates were nominated by party conventions; but under “boss rule” they were in reality determined upon in advance by the “boss,” the nomination by the convention being largely a matter of form, the delegates voting according to instructions.  The ordinary voter had nothing to say about it.  Under the direct primary plan any voter possessing the necessary qualifications for holding office may become a candidate by merely securing the signatures of a specified number of voters to a petition.  Then a primary election is held at which the voters of each party go to the polls to express their choice for one among the several candidates who have been announced for each office to be filled.  The candidates receiving the highest number of votes become the nominees of their party.  The direct primary is now used quite widely throughout the United States and is believed to be a great improvement over the old method, though it does not always work as well as was expected of it.  The truth is that any organization is open to abuse by clever people who wish to abuse it, and no political organization will work effectively unless the voters are intelligent and eternally vigilant.

PREFERENTIAL PRIMARIES

The President and Vice President of the United States are still nominated by national party conventions.  But in some states there are presidential preferential primaries.  These are direct primaries at which the voters ex press their preference for the presidential candidates.  This is intended to be a guide to the nominating convention, but there is nothing to compel the convention to follow the guidance.

THE RIGHTS OF MINORITIES

Democratic government demands certain rights for minorities.  We have seen how a minority party may exercise a wholesome check upon the party in power by constant opposition.  We never have a Congress or a state legislature in which the members are all of one party.  This is a good thing, for it results in discussion and debate in the legislative body by which the people are kept informed.