The counters are inside of the machine and are concealed by a door in the back. After the election is over the machines must be locked against voting before this door can be opened. Then the total vote for each candidate is read off directly from his counter. These counters are easily reset for another election but they can only be unlocked for that purpose by the custodian's key. This key is not given to the election board, but is held by the officer charged with the duty of preparing the machine for the election. The keys and counters on a machine provide for voting for those candidates that have been regularly nominated and whose names would be printed on the paper ballot if used. It is the voters privilege to vote for candidates not nominated and the machine must provide facilities for voting for them. At the top of the machine is a horizontal paper roll that runs the whole length of the machine, on which can be written the names of these candidates. This roll is concealed by slides, one above each line of office keys. One of these slides must be lifted for each office line to expose the paper. The interlocking mechanism must control all the voting keys on the machine so that the voter cannot vote more than he is entitled to vote.
Machines have been built large enough to provide for nine parties of 7o candidates each and for 35 questions or amend ments. A machine of such size carries 700 counters besides the total vote and protective counters. The total vote counter shows the number of voters voting at each election and can be reset for each election. Another counter shows the total number of votes cast during the life of the machine. It is made so that it cannot be reset and acts as a seal on the machine. Each State that adopts voting machines enacts a law specifying the requirements that must be met by the machine. The laws of the various States are copied largely from the voting machine law of the State of New York. The laws, in general, require that the machine must give the voter all the facilities for making his choice which the Aus tralian ballot gives him, and further requires that the machine shall prevent those mistakes or frauds which if made on the Australian ballot would invalidate it. Many of the States have
special requirements to meet, the solution of which present other problems, but so far the voting machine has been able to meet all of them.
The use of the machines secures accuracy both in casting and counting the vote. It eliminates the interference of the election officer with the counting of the votes. The machine gives the re turns promptly and cuts down the cost of holding election. Where straight ticket voting is used the vote for each office usually runs 99% or more of the highest possible vote that could be registered. In the city of Buffalo with over 218,000 people voting, the complete vote on a large ticket for the whole city has been collected, tabulated and announced within 90 minutes of the closing of the polls. Although voting machines are used but one or two days of each year, election expenses are reduced to such an extent that the machines frequently pay for them selves in five or six elections. Where straight ticket voting is pro vided over i,000 voters have frequently voted on one machine in one election day. Where straight ticket voting is not permitted as many as 600 voters have voted in one day on one machine.
In the election of Nov. 1928, about 8o% of the vote of New York State was cast and counted on voting machines. Nearly 3,00o voting machines were used in the city of New York alone and all of the votes of the boroughs of Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn were counted on voting machines. Voting machines were also extensively used in Connecticut, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, California, Washington, Oregon, Montana and Maryland, and to a lesser extent in some of the other States. About one-sixth of all the votes of the presidential election of 1928 were cast on voting machines. (F. Km.)