“ayoras eo REDD, “DIREOTOR ee ro. : at eis 8” THE LIBRARY GF THE SEP pve ds ¢ THE USE OF VOTING MACHINES IN MICHIGAN JAMES K, POLLOCK, PH. D. The) Bureau, of Government is carried on in © _the Department, of Political Science for the pur- ..) oy pose of assisting public authorities and students ee | oe obtaining information concerning municipal moo ow bi Brteers..) Tt collects ‘and arranges, material, pubs: — . «xLishes reports on special topics and furnishes | ery tae format ion upon request. TAs uN: Mit r<, Nn La Oe UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ANN ARBOR BUREAU OF GOVERNMENT February 27, 193 y2f, 1939 Re) wis? Exchange Division University of Illinois Library Urbana, Illinois Dear Sirs: I have your letter of February 22 acknowledg~ ing receipt of Michigan Governmental Studies No. l, The State Administrative Board in Michigan. This series takes the place of of our former New Series bulletins. are: ead We are requesting the University of Michigan abc to send you a copy of the supplement to New Series Bulletin No. 5, Sen Pee ene ve Reorgani z- a eee ation, 1936-1937, in accordance with your request. Very truly yours, Meastt. Cy, mr MTC/c Marie -T. Crist “ Batu 26 Yard A ea) | THE LIGRARY OF THE sal SEP 26 1933 THE USE OF VOTING MACHINES IN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Michigan was one of the first states in the Union to authorize the use of voting machines, As early as 1993 bre legislature passed an act permitting the use of machines, and from that time to the present they have been used in various parts of the state. In a number of cases during these thirty- three years, counties have returned to the use of paper ballots. On the other hand in the last few years several counties have introduced voting machines for the first time or restored them after having discarded them. Such recent changes indicate that the question of the use of voting machines in the state of Mich- igen is’not yet settled. Inasmuch as the question of the desirability of the use of voting machines is now under discussion in a number of the counties of the state, it has been thought useful to collect information which would show the extent to which machines are now being used. The information collected incidentally throws considerable light upon the state's experience with mechanical voting, Without stating the merits or demerits of machine voting, this survey only attempts to present the facts with reference to te the use of voting machines existing in the state at the present time, The cata was secured both by means of questionnaires and interviews, from the proper officials in the eighty-three coun- (1) ties of the state. (1) Mr. J. O. Peterson of Lansing High School gave me indispens able assistance in collecting the data from the counties. I eratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to him. I am also grateful to the county and citv officials throughout the state for their cooperation in making this survey possible. : aoa! “oe oH r ae oer * ¥ a? oe tet ay tan ‘ et sens vas aba “th epatid doa eniser te a ny sit 4 So. peso kieede te: oer see gxtt saeclateh te. aa seomec Sun fal a A 4 oe Rae oe, Se OL eeY ad Leper rood evan ya? ¥nseseq bat og ptt fer i. 69 PU RTE wes aoe 4a B BP age to vote 4 ane: ovata ek tOlLieS “eee So ste get of Samtitod gait anne "araw | Sn Sums ab perish! Patetes. vty vor vest bea rs : begat’ sees a i ; ; : % ‘ a. we hort tan Sees. Fatt ess. 29g na biter ™ wey brs’: ifs $6. ailsl a. tar aD Bens Somer gctiov Jo sar I. gol 068% a pbs lttas days : ahs ett Stlidatéend. as ‘to raeriavrg acd es toomaeet.- a 4 VG, ewes ST Li Robaanocll setae wer: et aoyt [osm gp iter * om yowtthisns 1.5 valpeitgrode gead esc +t blade Rac aed: | ern 7 3 aes | cam getae oF totes -ect4 Oke Oe ow ves a eee Py.) |. Seog. fete abi ons pag: ‘eLiob tl Parxdtal ai? a or ie eavicge, Sektiee: 5 ef fx eh go oe rete ent ili sno, 5 3 Fai ¥ By : \ 4 Oe et Yai op on 2 a ee are | stain Fas a oF) 4 Ae ? itesagaeh cats Qa ale ee grea oo wie Sam Ve The following table shows the counties in which voting machines are now being used together with the number of machines in operation in each county in both cities and rural communities: County Number of machines Number of machines used in cities used in rural me | ee | communities Bay | 0 ! 40 | 40 Kent : 90 | 0 | 90 Muskegon | 24 | 0 | 24 Saginaw | 50 | 0 | 50 Washtenaw | 8 2 | 10 I IAL 00 | | Na Total 172 42 214 In the other 73 counties of the state machines are not now used, Some voting machines are used in the city of Detroit at the present time, but only for experimental purposes, From the replies received from the counties and cities of the state, with the exception of the city of Detroit, the voting machines used are giving satisfaction. The county clerk of Bay County writes: "The voting machine is successful in every way and I do not think our people would give it up., The machines are so easy to work and twenty minutes after the closing of the polls, a machine may be read and the result of that precinct known, If there is any question as to the result, the machine may be re- read in five minutes. They save the expense of lengthy recounts end there are many other reasons why they are a good thing for honest elections". There seems to be a thorough satisfaction with a, ie if gee ey i , “tothe mt ic : ay i pKa f ae toda sett ate souteyet ess Brae, ace ‘seitte stor aa stance ' 88 ce be t i 7 ' : ; iF #i ‘ | ae “ Vm os ae ee 1% crags & ee at a siedant a “seashell wait one" Eovss ay “pk peay.. | poiste sitet mar (Bk RAO ii ane iene — pte a 4 t ae ae Pre eck Tae * o® ’ she ae BE ' [Ss Y r = Ge s 2 a ee EO SM oe ‘ - ‘eine oe ie me oe ; ~~ “ 2 - 1 Qa , H ‘ { J : ‘ 4 : x 4 ‘ 4 , ' : ‘ ! . < : : s 2 f Tien . | | ‘ : qa 3 : re a » 4 : : ens see Sere ae = ee ae a 4 ~R ro a mc 9 tos i, ea "iol . >. ae ; ay + Bs A Cis > 4: “ ‘ Na ‘ea om hil eH ie ie R fae : at . P at. cen : Pou? ee ee kage ae? pes +o O02 fat 02 re ‘ae te tg i e hy f : ¥ : . “i _ , oP Ba Mete ctt auth ed bee sen becubs oats waltov net. | h ‘ a ae eases sary fiat antome8 Wks mF vine. tod (ORES nt ie ae : i = Bier ct ssid ee sohiuune with) aw pov iene woiliges aay L agins | Dee ae ty 7 ae “git ‘ebtestos % ti 6 omit +0 iw igri ona seen: Bs Bh Ke pout 9 ig oa age toate: end masvh: 2, one ae 8 pam e nis ot es ie ae : - M 9805: a a onl raityhto Sal r tees ei ovan Date odcowd) ame wanes pny (rion b “a eine a2 + seh ae \ voting machines in the city of Grand Rapids, In Iuskegon County the machines are proving popular. "They do not speed up the voting,” according to one official, "but they make the returns muci cuicker than the Australian ballot system. They are ex- hensive so they really do not save the county any money, but they are accurave™, In Washtenaw County, although there is some dis- satisfaction with the type of machine used, they are being used ae, U With success, The Clerk of Saginaw county writes: "The voting machines are very satisfactory. The returns from the city are usualiy in ard complete before word is received from the first rural district. I believe they will be used more extensively in the county in the future on account of the speed in receiving returns and:also on account of accuracy". The attitude of the City Election Commission in Detroit can best be shown by quoting Tm ailevper Peceived Trom 0.) BE. Distin, ‘the Chief Superviser of the 7 Commission. lr. Distin savs: ‘In the first place, we do not and’have not used voting machines in Detroit, except experimentally. With our long non- partisan ballot and so many camMidates elected from the city at Lerse, there have been no voting machines devised that would sat- sfactorily handle our primaries, and the shift from an Aus- tralian ballot at Primaries to the machine voting at election would be both expensive and confusing." "he only voting machine we have discovered that seems realiv adaptable to the requirements is the horizontal type of machine manufactured by the Automatic Register Company, of James- town, Y.Y. In our original tests with this machine, there were many savanagihake found wanting, but in their latest type, they have overcome many of these objections, and I believe for a moderate sizea city this type of machine would vork out all right, but you will find that none of the really large cities are voting mech- anrically si cubven in NEw York, where a legislative act requires the use of voting machines, New York City still uses the paper ballot, and we have been vk OE ea by three of our mid-west and western cities, where voting ma chines were at one time in use, to take the Peciiiaes off their hands, as they had discontinued using them." i oe ne Meee ee ote Ws ok ig Pica s aa ‘ ' oe A xy ti ‘ : i : z ‘< 7 i} ry >": ve mine whe ens - ii ak Pete Bee La on Cet : \“ re ce f (i: eur *% * > v7 ‘ ‘ae y : i 4 J = A’ ‘ 7% a} ‘ a Leen oe t ey es ‘ : . 5 . ‘ , : “a0 ‘ ¥ i" * it ; i ae J m DESH sds taper es eats aoascteici ity ROSEN SNE e ct ge sone itis ob. nme | erie See asi li, avid: tee Lie tho ‘wate ost pet hee | i oe i 1) =e one xed “amets sre Po diand ‘sah Last aus ont: att a yore sen peony ca: 0 eri? “ern or of Aphisos ‘coat gene : oa ath aca ad “etait giveth bid nD eared aa wt ae te He | if ' ; ay, ri) a \ 4 sya nth a b tad rte i; 4 ‘lige ie ‘wea? naan $w. ee: ane r ane eek Sorell “ | ae get LOW. 9 49%: eae vio ‘wart Res te atte 20 ont ths nsaua. 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Siw etiktoy Bah elbe-h “pas. c: fh i aig Seapets wien, ws a3 bod oh Brest rust fhe civy of Lansing used voting machines in the Spring elecsion of 1926, but the proposition of purchasing fifty ‘machines when submitted to the voters was defeated, even though the ex- perience of the city with machines. appears to have been satis- The early voting machines used in Iiichigan did not seem to be Very Successitul. The city of B Amse'in the Upper Peninsula used the voting machine in 1898 for; only one year. ‘Twelve years azo in Alpena county machines were used but they were not satis- factory and after two elections were discarded. In Baraga county tiey were used’ in Loos for a short. time. .The clerk of ‘Barry county gives the information that although there are "no voting machines in this county, we have several political machines". The Citv of Battle Creek has not used machines for eighteen years. About twenty years ago the city of Paw Paw discontinued using them and later Hillsdale, Monroe, Flint, Kalamazoo and more recent- ly Owosso, gave them up. In Flint, voting machines were used for five years prior to 1916, but no machines are now in use in that city. In Washtenaw county machines have been in use since 1907 anc in Bay county sinee 1908. The improved voting machines which are proving successful in some of the counties have been installed rather recently: in Grand Rapids, in 1922; in Muskegon in 1923; and in Saginaw in 1924, In the rural counties of Michigan there is little or no agitation for the purchase of voting machines, In these counties the vote is so small that it would hardly be practical for them to ete. ; Wi ain Aor Re nck tae “a t r J. Vaanh oe oe i ne oa ie ¥ “ey i Zz y 5 * "’ , ' ’ + atsege¢s baltane atiw eer i re by » ‘s vA : 3 « ~ tc a 7 > . al = / ? 4 Z : P j : ~ 7 a - - . . 4 = z % 2 2 cert ¥ ; vee 2¢6 Bi) xsabtot?t “at bee. ansitem@t 2btov yieemes,) | i i H 7 ‘va My ; : ap PMR SG Och alo eethese fo yin a Peet eeapewe a ‘ 7 2 7 ~ bt] a 2 > " 5 ‘ = is ? ay yf P i¢ co) ae are ka} La * r C Tee eG “or “asd « q Ne rez Arce: ete vas vz oe os) (uses Pian see | Ser) Ieee 2k nt , Peer rs ) emep 2hoite ode oy 2erse ° 2 Ve] as i TI is eat rg ; 4of mt Beer . 3 ert - ¢ ; 1 ~<" S ¢ yall 3 y , ‘2 2 2 - 3 5 { i > rT S . eae t Ts 5 . 4 >? 2 : , P “ rs 3418 + 7 4 ; °F « al "ie * ll saat + SERRE 6% iO Yo? Onas Hook Jee it Gert. .se tt aie : ees | f aeih wart ) uf Ct,” 38% ae 7 “"; } ' or “* of. 5 eee > ft Defies? SI O18 ch Ranake Me Ts » so « BL BORi 53 ey zi . e he — = 4. 5 ‘ g E * we * ms c = re iat = TOT: Some oeic y Soin gee ARES OY ,7Ais. El. ya ake, See . =p dat)! sents “i Hs od sigh ihe bi ho ee Ibzyt,) 2 oe ition wiInee Ye ; nay at shy incur the expense necessary to install machines, The repiies from several counties, particularly from Clare, Kalkaska and Otseso, make this clear, ¢ Robes yi Poilor ki gi. Department of Political Science. * pi it visegnen a Sa te ‘ Fa a * " feos stl— pBeri coe nse ’ ‘ ‘ 4 r ; ; " J ‘ sage “¢ ; vee BOS LBS bar 6°. af gore ¥, po. ae » 2 P: > . { ™, *E . rn pre By 7 ari ‘i S- r a, \ee = é 7 oh i i X - ak: ¢ ¥ * s" Hos . - =, e - . at + . 40a ao) & —" 7 b . * * A : ~ - P 5 - : “ : - i J] * 4 ; 1 : Py . r f : , ; 4 ; y cts vy i 4 . é ‘ f - ; es, | fa.* ; * ay an reel oS he i i] PUBLICATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF GOVERDEMENT Hoyt, Josephine, (Bulletin No. 1) Per Capita General Property Taxation. in MichipanyCities of ‘over BP sOOO MODULA tTLOn, VLase < Riedout, Lyda, (Bulletin No.2) Municipal News in betroit Newspaners, July, 192d. cugsestions for the Preparation of Term Reports on rroblems of Municipal Government. (Bulletin Hours) Upson, L. D., :A Syllabus of Municipal Administration. Gabriel, Lewis M., Zoning Ordinanees in ifichigan Cities: Use Regulation. (Bulletin No. 4)