Direct Primaries LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU MONTPELIER, VT, 1 At the annual March election of 1914 the following questions will be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of the state: “Do you favor a preferential primary system whereby the voters may in¬ struct their delegates to political conventions as to their preference for can¬ didates for office?” “Do you favor a direct primary law whereby the voters are to vote directly for the candidates rather than the present system of nominating candidates for state, congressional and county officers?” In view of this fact and because of the general interest in the subject throughout the state this bulletin has been prepared for the purpose of making available to the general public the information contained in the files of the Legislative Reference Bureau. The bureau maintains an absolutely impartial attitude on this as on all other public questions and any statements appearing in this pamphlet must not be taken as expressing the opinion of any members of the bureau force. JOHN M. AVERY, Legislative Reference Librarian . January, 1914. A DIRECT PRIMARIES. C0‘ Definition. The direct primary is a system of nominating candidates for public office designed to substitute the choice of the candidates of the several parties directly by the people at an election held under state laws similar to those governing general elections for the present method of choice by a convention composed of delegates elected at caucuses. It does away with the convention as far as the choice of candidates is concerned though in some states the con¬ vention is retained for the purpose of framing the platform. Proceedure. Under the primary system the aspirant for office secures, a certain num¬ ber of days before the primary, either personally or through agents, a number of signatures to a petition asking that his name be placed on the primary ballot as a candidate for the nomination of the party of which he is a member. If he secures the number that is required, usually a percentage of the votes cast for the candidate of his party for the same office, at the last election his name, together with the names of all others who have similarly complied with the requirements, is placed on the primary ballot. Some states require the payment of a fee when the petition is filed, varying in amount with the office for which the person is a candidate. The primaries are held a fixed number of days before the general election, the primaries of all parties being held at the same time and place. If the system in force in the state is the open primary the voter receives the ballot of all parties represented at the election, voting any one he may desire and depositing the others in the blank ballot box.. If the closed primary is the one in use the voter receives the ballot only of that party with which he is affiliated. The candidate who receives the largest vote is declared the nom¬ inee of the party. However, this is not the case in some states when there are more than two candidates for a nomination, there being a provision for second choice voting. In this case each voter votes not only his first but his second choice and in case no candidate receives a majority or a large percentage of first choice votes the second choice votes are counted and the candidate receiving the largest number of first and second choice votes combined is declared the nominee. Preferential Primaries. The preferential primary as stated in the referendum is a method by which delegates are chosen by the people at primaries and instructed at the primaries as to whom that should vote for at the convention which nominates candidates. It is, in brief, an instructed delegate plan regulated by state law. Primaries in Other States. The direct primary is at present in force in some form or other in about forty states. In some states all officers are included whether congressional, state, or local, while in others a part only are included. In the accompanying digest onlv those states are shown where the primary is mandatory, regulated by the state, and includes the principal state officers. In certain of the south¬ ern states there have been held for many years direct primaries under party rules, though in some cases this primary has been later legalized. I nr the accompanying table the presidential preference primaries are not included nor are primaries for United States Senators in all cases. Usually 4 party committeemen and sometimes delegates to party conventions are elected at the primaries. Arguments. There has been much discussion of the direct primary and many ar¬ guments have been advanced pro and con. The following have been com¬ piled from various sources and are here arranged in opposing columns. This method of arrangement does not result in a continuous logical development of the argument on either side of the question, the aim having been rather to make a compilation of all or nearly all of the arguments then to make a con¬ sistent presentation of either side of the case. The preferential primary is not treated in these arguments because the results of experience under such a system are not available from which conclusions might properly be drawn. However many of the arguments given below regarding the direct primary might be applied one way or the other For Convention If it was thought that the convention did not represent the will of the people a very simple remedy is at hand. Unless a candidate receive a two-thirds vote at the convention a primary could be held. Thus the primary could be used as a safety valve, as a guarantee to the people that their wishes would not be disregarded. The argument for direct primaries is based upon the assumption that the voter is either corrupt or ignorant; corrupt in that he has used his vote in violation of his duty or ignorant in that he has unknowingly let himself be used by unscrupulous politic¬ ians. If this be the case it is a condition which a mere change in nominating machin¬ ery will not remedy. As the number of voters who participate in the caucus under the convention system is not a matter of record no accurate comparison can be made. But it is a matter of fact that at the last general election in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Oregon, typical primary states, the total vote for governor at the primary was 573,254 while the vote at the general election for governor was 1,020,533. The convention is in harmony with the representative system of government. If you abandon it in favor of the primary you are but taking the first step toward the pure democratic form of government, a form which history proves absolutely un¬ workable for any but the smallest political units. The curse of the evils of bossism is not in the machinery of politics. It is chiefly in the frequency of elections and the enor- to preferential primaries. For Primary. The convention has always been a tool easily handled by a clever boss. By trading off minor places and by sharp practices the boss has brought the convention into dis¬ repute as an instrument fitted to express the people’s will. Even when honestly and fairly conducted, a convention gives an undue advantage to aggressive, unscrupulous men, which they would not have in a direct primary. Direct primaries are based upon the as¬ sumption that the rank and file of the voters are honest and intelligent, and that they should each and all be allowed to express their views on all candidacies at their usual voting place instead of delegating that duty to a few delegates who, away from home and under pressure, may be led into mistakes, or worse. It is a matter of common knowledge that only a small per cent of the voters participate in th e caucus but there is a large vote at the primaries because the voters know that their vote amounts to something therefore they come out to the primary. By bringing all the candidacies before the voters at one time, state, congressional and county, the interest and vote will be larger and more representative than by*handling them in sections as at present. In this nation and in this state, the will of the people is and should be the supreme law; and that that will may be made effective you need public officers who owe their nomina¬ tion as well as their election directly to the vote of the people. We are using 19th century machinery to nominate officers under 20th century conditions. 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Ariz. Chap. 84 1912 Cal. Acts of 1913 Ch. 699 Colo. Ch. 4, 1910 Idaho p. 196, Laws, 1909, amended ch. 178-11 ch. 85-’13 Ill. Act 'of 1910 as amended by 1913 Act Iowa 32 G A. ch. 51 amended 33 G. A. ch. 69 Ivans. G. S. 1909 Sec. 3289- 3311 as a- mended by 1911, 1913 Ky. Act of 1912, Ch. 7 Me. Laws of 1913 Chap. 221 Mass. Acts of 1911 Ch. 550 Offices Covered All elective senatorial, congressional, state, coun¬ ty, and precinct offices. (1) All elective public offi¬ cers except certain local offices. U. S. Senators, con¬ gressmen,all elective, state district, city, county, ward, precinct officers. (1) All elective, state dis¬ trict, and county offi¬ cers. (1) All elective officers, ex¬ cept certain school and township officers. (1) U. S. Senators, con¬ gressmen,electors, all elect¬ ed officers except supreme, district, and superior judges. (1087-al) All elective officers ex¬ cept at special elections and at certain local elec¬ tions. (3290) All elective officers ex¬ cept certain local and school district officers, and presidential electors. All state and county offices, U. S. senators, members of congress. (1) All offices to be filled at a state election except presidential electors. (1) Mich. Governor, lieutenant- Laws of 1909 governor, U. S. senators. Ch. 281 congressmen, members of amended the legislature, county 279-T1 officers, certain city and lo¬ 118—’13 cal officers. (16) Minn. All elective officers ex¬ R. L. T3 cept certain local officers. sec. 335 etseq. Parties Covered A party casting 5% of total vote of state at last election a political party under the act. A new party qualifies on petition of voters equal to 2% of votes cast for governor at last election in at least each of 5 counties of the state. (7) Any party which at last preceding election cast 3% of entire vote of state for any of its candidates. Any party which shall at least 50 days before any primary election register at least 3% of total number of electors registered at last election. Any group of registered qualified electors number- !ng 3% of total registered vote at last Nov. election who shall file a petition with the Sec. of State declaring that they represent a political party. (1-9) A party polling 10% of the total vote cast at last preceding general election. (2) A party which cast at last election 10% of total vote and which had at least three nominees for state offices. (2) A political party which at last general election next preceding a primary polled more than 2% of entire vote cast in the state. ( 2 ) A party which at last election cast for its candidates for governor at least 2% of the total vote. (1087-3a) Any political organization filing nomina¬ tion papers for a majority of state and countv offices as provided in the act. Act requires a petition for different offices to be signed by varying percentages of total number of voters. (3293) An affiliation or organization of electors representing a political policy and having a constituted authority for its gov’t and regu¬ lation and which at last preceding election at which presidential electors were voted for cast 20% of total vote. (5) Such parties as at last preceding election polled at least 1% of entire vote in the state cast for governor. (1) Party which cast at least 3% of votes for its candidate for governor at last election, (ch. 398-1912) Parties represented on ballot at last election. To place a new party on primary ballot requires petition signed by 3.000 voters. (25, 28) A party which shall have maintained an organization and presented candidates at last election one or more /ft whom shall have been voted for in each, county and shall have received at least 5% of total vote in the state, or an organization whose members to a number equal to 5% of total votes cast, at last lection in the county petition for a place the ballot. (336) Mont. 1912 Initiated and passed by people Nebr. Comp. Statutes 1911 Ch. 26, Sec. 117 et seq. U. S. senators and all other elective state, dis¬ trict, and county officers. ( 2 ) / All elective officers ex¬ cept certain local and county officers. (117b) Parties represented on the ballot at last preceding general election. Any number of votes not thus represented equal to the number required of the party requiring the least number of signatures to the petition is a party for purposes of this act. (4) Party which polled 1% of entire vote in state, county, or subdivision entitled to a place on ballot of candidate for office in such political division. New party may have placed on primary ballot if a specified number of voters so petition. (118r, s) Method of Voting Voter shall receive only the bal¬ lot of party for which he asks. If challenged as to membership therein he must make oath de¬ claring affiliation therewith. (8a-4, 8b) Voter receives ballot of party with which he is registered as affiliated. (17) Party Conventions ./ Voter receives ballots of all parties but votes only the one he desires,depositing others in blank ballot box. If challenged, voter makes oath declaring that he is affiliated with one of the parties represented at the election. (11) by ballot Voter rece.ves ballot only of party for which he asks. If challenged as to membership therein he must make oath as to his affiliation therewith. (15) Voter receives only the ballot of the party with which he de¬ clares he is affiliated. (43, 44) Voter receives ballot of party with which he has registered as affiliated but may change his affiliation by making oath there¬ to. (1087a6, 1087a9) Voter receives the ballot of party for which he desires to vote. If challenged as to his affilia¬ tion therewith he must make oath thereto. (3300, 3302) Voter receives ballot only of party with which he is enrolled. 127) Voter receives ballot only of party with which he is registered as affiliated. (13) I 1 i 'll 11 : \ Voter receives the ballot only of party with which he is en¬ rolled. (14) Voter receives ballot contain¬ ing tickets of all parties repre¬ sented and votes the one he desires. (35) Voter receives the ballot of party for which he asks but when challenged he must de¬ clare that he has voted at last election and intends to vote at the next for the nominees of the party for whose ballot he asks. (347) Voter receive 0 iVr.Vor umV °>f 'fch rfffch he is affiliated. U o) Voter receives a ballot con¬ taining tickets of all parties and detaches and votes the ticket he desires placing the others in the blank ballot box. (20) Voter receives ballot only of party for which he asks. If challenged he must make oath regarding his party affiliation. (117t) Provides for a party council of nominees and committeemen who shall frame platform. (32-8) Convention of nominees and delegates provided for, which may promulgate platform and nominate presidential electors, and elect state committee. (24) A convention composed of candidates, siat~ chairmen, and hold-over senators plat¬ form. (22) Convention composed of dele¬ gates chosen by party commit¬ tees who in turn are chosen by nominees shall frame platform. (29) County convention is meeting of county committee which chooses delegates to congres¬ sional and state conventions which latter nominates presi¬ dential electors and adopts party platforms. (10) A state convention composed of delegates elected Gy a county convention the members . o' which are in turn eloped hy ine voters at the primary shall frame the platform. (10S7a25, a27) Platform framed by a party council composed of candidates nominated at primaries, hold¬ over senators of the party, and chairmen of the county com¬ mittees elected at the primaries. (3307) No provision for convention. State convention held under rules prescribed by state com¬ mittee of party frames platform, ( 2 ) Convention composed of can¬ didates nominated and delegates elected at primaries together with IT. S. senators who are members of the party frames the platform. (18) State convention composed of delegates elected at county con¬ vention the members of which are elected at primaries frame platform and nominates state officers not nominated at pri¬ mary. (43) Conventions may be held composed of delegates elected at primaries. (362) Not pr State convention composed of delegates elected at county convention frames platform. (118j) Nev. All elective public offi- Laws, 1913 cers except certain local Ch. 284 officers and presidental Ch. 3 electors. (2) Voter receives ballot of party with which he is registered. (18) Convention composed of can¬ didates nominated at primaries frames the party platform. (26) N. H. 1909 Ch. 153 N. J. Election Laws, 1913 At the date of this com¬ pilation the N. Y. Stat¬ ute of 1913 was not avail¬ able N. D. Laws of 1909 Ch.109 as amended Ohio Laws, Sec. 4949 pt seq. Ore. Lord Ore. Laws, Sec. 3349 et seq. Okla. Laws, 1909 Pa. Laws of 1913 Ch. 400 S. D. Laws of 1911, Ch.201. Wash. Rem.— Bal. Code, Sec. 4804 et seq. Wis. Statutes 11-1 et seq. Wyo. Laws of 1911 Ch. 23 All elective officers ex¬ cept certain local officers. (3) The principal elective officers. (396) Congressmen, state and county officers. (2) All elective officers ex¬ cept certain local officers. (4949, 4951) Anv^fWlitical organization which at pre- cedingelection polled at least 3% of the entire vote of the state for governor. (1) A partv which in last election of number of general assembly cast 5% of the total vote for its candidates in the district in which nominations are made. (258-1) Party casting 5% of votes for governor at last general election. (10) Parties which at last election polled 10% of entire vote cast for governor. (4949) All elective officers. (3350) All elective officers. (4-1) U. S. senators, congress¬ men, elective state, county, city, ward etc., officers. ( 1 ) All elective congression¬ al, state, county, legis¬ lative and district officers and U. S. senators. All elective officers ex¬ cept certain local officers. (4805) All elective officers ex¬ cept certain judicial, school, and local officers. ( 11 - 2 ) All officers elected by direct vote at general election, U. S. senators, and congressmen. (1) f A party which at last election polled 25% of total votes cast for its candidates for congressmen. (3359) A partv, one of whose candidates polled in each of at least 10 counties not less than 2% of the largest vote cast for any elected candidate and polled a total in the state of at least 2% of the largest vote cast for any elected candidate. (2) Party that has maintained a state organi¬ zation and has had candidates on official ballot at last election or which shall at any general election hereafter poll 10% of the total vote for governor for an independent candidate. (1) Anv partv represented on ballot at last election if any of its candidates received 10% of total votes cast. (4807) Any party anv of whose candidates received 1% of total vote cast at last election. (11-5) A party which at last election cast for its candidate for congressmen 10% of the total vote cast for office. (44) Voter receives the ballot only of party with which he is registered. May register at the primary. (9) Voter receives ballot only of party with which he is affiliated and whose ticket he voted at last primary election. (391) Voter receives ballot of party with which he is affiliated. (10) Voter receives ballot only of party with which he is affiliated. Convention composed of party nominees and delegates elected at primary frames plat¬ form. (19) Convention composed of dele¬ gates chosen at primaries frames platform. (271) Voter receives ballot of party with which he is registered. (3386) Voter to vote the ballot of only one party. (4—5) Voter receives ballot of party for which he asks. If challenged he must make oath that at last election he supported the major¬ ity of candidates of party for whose ballot he asks. (12) Voter receives the ballot of party of which he is a member. If challenged he must make oath as to party affiliation. (85,88) Voter receives ballot of party for which he asks but if chal¬ lenged he must, make oath as to his party affiliation. (4815) Voter receives ballot containing all tickets represented, votes the one he desires and deposits others in blank ballot box. ( 11 - 12 ) Voter receives ballot of partv with which he is affiliated. (23) Platform framed by state central committee members of which are elected by county committees. (40) Convention composed of dele¬ gates elected at primaries frames platform in years -when there is a presidental election. (4253) Other years the platform is framed by a convention com¬ posed of the party nominees and members of the party com¬ mittees. (4991) Publicity pamphlet compiled by party committees and pub¬ lished by state. Conventions abolished but state publicity pamphlet pro¬ vided for. (104, 136) Party, organization may have conventions but not to nominate candidates for offices which are voted upon at primaries. (4826) Candidates nominated at pri¬ maries and hold-over senators meet in convention and frame platform. (11-22) Convention made up of dele¬ gates chosen by county com¬ mittees frames platform. (40) For Convention. For Primary. 5 mous number and absurd variety ofj places to be filled by elections. Not more but less elections is what we want. It must be remembered that Vermont does not have the same convention system that many of the Western states where they now have direct primaries, formerly had. Where the voters in the town elected dele¬ gates to the county convention who in turn elected delegates to the state convention which nominated the state officers. In Vermont the town elects directly the dele¬ gates to the state nominating convention and holds those delegates directly responsible. Vermont laws should be framed not to meet the needs of some far off Western state but to meet the needs of Vermont. Where the direct primary concentrates the burden of the expense of making nomina¬ tions in a few candidates, the convention scatters it among a large number of delegates who were each able and willing to stand the small expense requisite to attend the con¬ vention. No law can be framed which will ade¬ quately limit the expenditures of candidates. Everyone knows that the active candidate begins work years before the actual campaign and if he has abundant money to spend in thus early advancing his candidacy he will spend it. Moreover there are many indirect ways of spending money which in states having the primary it has been found impossible to reach by publicity laws. Not only is the expense of candidacy increased but the expense to the state is doubled by virtue of the fact that a second election is held. In some of the states where direct primaries are in force the states pay for publicity pamphlet advertising the merits of the different candidates and in other of the direct primary states there is an agitation for this so-called reform. The party convention must be retained to frame the party platform. The platform should not be framed by the nominees of the party as thus they would be given all the power of the party and having been nominated the party can have no redress if the platform fails to express its principles. The people should instruct the candidates, not vica versa. than those of business must be in accord with the spirit of the times. Anything which will tend to increase interest in public officials and public affairs as does the direct primary is of inestimable benefit. The direct primary movement is one that is sweeping the country. Vermont is out of step with the march of progress and it is high time she got in line. Any indirect method of representation destroys responsibility. The management of caucuses and conventions has become so complicated that they are practically re¬ moved from popular control and fall into the hands of professional politicians. The delegates elected to attend upon the nominating convention are confronted with the expenditure of a considerable sum of money and a still further contribution of time to make a journey to the place of hold¬ ing the convention. They must undertake this expense either from a pure loyalty to party, devotion to the interest of some candidate or because they personally aspire to receive some political preferment, and regard the time and money spent in the light of a political investment. Under the convention system it is a matter of common report that large sums of money have been expended. A primary law properly guarded by requiring publicity and limitation of campaign expenses would make clear to everyone just how the money was spent, and that in itself would cure the extensive and improper use of money. It is quite proper that the state should bear the expense of candidacy in a measure and one of the principal evils of the con¬ vention system lies in the fact that the can¬ didate must pay his own expenses or allow them to be paid by some interests under obligation to whom he will thereby be placed. A convention composed of all of a party’s candidates would make a platform which would be more binding upon them than a platform made by a convention of which they were not members. 6 For Convention. There has been a strong tendency in states having the direct primary for the party managers to submit a complete slate at the primary and through the influence of their organization to nominate it in its entirety. This practice, common in certain states makes the nomination of a candidate object¬ ionable to the party organization a practical impossibility as he would have to build up an organization in every district throughout the state to stand a chance against the firmly intrenched party machine. The following important elements of party success can be considered in making a well balanced ticket at a convention but not at a direct primary; geographical distribution of the candidates; their nationality; their social standing; the class represented; the commercial, industrial and agricultural in¬ terests, etc., that they stand for; the shades of political idea entertained. The delegates to the convention being the prominent citizens of the comrq,unity are likely to have been members of the legislature and thus to have become acquainted with the candidates for the minor offices who in reality conduct most of the business of the state and regarding whom the ordinary voter would have no knowledge. The process of deliberation and debate in a convention secures an attention to all the circumstances that a primary cannot obtain. Under a primary system Seward, not Lin¬ coln, would have been nominated in 1860. Lincoln is a typical product of the conven¬ tion system. The well-known man regardless of what he is noted for has an advantage in the race for the nomination over one better qualified but less generally known. It is notoriety and not worth that counts under the direct primary. The people are compelled to depend al¬ most entirely on what the newspapers say about the candidates while under the con¬ vention system the peoples’ representatives at the convention meet the candidates and can form their own judgments of them. Willingness on the part of adequate men to serve the public in office is rare enough at best, and willingness on the part of adequate men to undergo one protracted and necessarily expensive campaign of personalities for the right to undergo another protracted and expensive campaign for the right to serve the public in office is more than For^Primary. Granted that the party managers do sub¬ mit a complete slate; under the primary system the people have the chance to reject it, while under the convention they do not. The one test we should apply to candidates for office is, can he do the work required ' honestly and efficiently? Whether he lives in one end of the state or the other is not a common sense, business like requirement. What the state needs is genuine service, not a lesson in geography, social standing or commercial interests. In Vermont the minor officers are town, village and city officials, and in these cases we have a fairly good primary system now. In this state the direct primary should apply to state, congressional and county officials only, and every voter should have the right to pass on every one of these nominations. The talk of the “calm and deliberate judgment” of the convention is pure farce. What more disorderly, more turbulent, and generally uproarious assembly can one imagine than the average political convention? To say that the people of Vermont would elect a man merely because he had some notoriety strongly questions their good sense, to say the least. And it is a fact that the men who are well known are those who in turn know the state well, its conditions and needs. The newspapers are one of the greatest powers in modern life and they will exercise their power regardless of what nominating system we have. It can be well argued that unless a man has interest enough in a governmental office to work to get it, he isn’t the man we want for that office. We want men in office who are interested in their work. There is no difference between the two systems in the length of campaign or in the expense. There was probably never a primary campaign in For Convention. For Primary. ran be expected normally except from those at once very rich and very patriotic. The primary makes possible the choice of a candidate by a small faction of the party decidedly in the minority. If there are six candidates and the vote is somewhat evenly divided it is possible that the highest candidate may receive not more than 17% of the total vote cast. There is not sufficient guarantee that the successful candidate really commands sufficient general support in the party to warrant his choice as a rep¬ resentative. Any second choice system is too complicated to receive the consideration of practical men. The direct primary increases the power of the large towns at the expense of the small towns. At a nomination by direct vote of the people the vote for Chittenden County would be practically dominated by Burl¬ ington and Winooski and Washington County by Barre and Montpelier and a similar domination by the large towns would be the result throughout the state. The vote in Essex county would be more than balanced by the vote of either Bennington, Brattle- boro, or St. Johnsbury, No plan is honest that permits a Demo¬ crat to participate in a Republican caucus, whose nominee he has no intention of support¬ ing, or the reverse. And if you do not have such a plan you must have one whereby the voter declares in advance his political allegiance, and having done this he has lost his independence as a voter. The direct primary, through doing away with the party convention and all the en- thusiam and sentiment created thereby, lessens party responsibility and interest and the loss of the efficiency of the party as an organization logically results. The primary calls for another complete election and preliminary election campaign with all the waste of time and money and political turmoil entailed thereby. There are so many candidates at the pri¬ mary that the voter cannot vote intelligently on any but the most important officers. It is a fact that in nearly every state the country so expensive in proportion to the area and population of the state as was the convention campaign of Vermont in 1902. Under the convention system it often happens that candidates are nominated who receive no votes whatever in the caucuses, but are put in through manipulation and trading, regardless of any expression at all on the part of the voters. The primary system gives the majority a much better chance of forcing their will than any other system ever introduced. The direct primary does not weaken the power of the small town. It strengthens the power of the individual voter, and aids the rank and file both in the small towns and in the large ones. The only power weakened is that, of the bosses, the political worker, and the selfish interest. Under the present convention system a small towns ends one, two or three delegates to a convention, held in a city or large town. On these delegates is massed all the pressure that the big town, the big interests and the big politicians can produce. Under a direct primary the voters go to their regular polling place and vote their preference without outside pres¬ sure, and manipulation. Our political life is largely dominated by parties and so a man must as a practical means of making his will felt, ally himself with one party or another. Any man who refuses such a simple requirement as that should not complain if he is no better off under the present nominating system. The argument that the primary destroys the party power is based on theory and not on experience. For it is a fact that in the states where direct primaries are in force parties are as strongly entrenched as ever. The primary system substitutes for the elaborate system of unregulated caucuses and conventions a simple method of nominating all officers at one election. Primaries enlarge the field of public service by increasing the range of men who can have hope of getting into office. And it is not a fact that the voters of Vermont are so unintelli¬ gent as to be unable to choose their officers. Direct primaries have called for no more 8 3 0112 061582919 For Convention. where direct primaries are in force there have been constant and continual demands for supplementary legislation to make primaries efficient. As one writer has expressed it “it is like using drags, the more they use the drugs the worse off they are”. For Primary. supplementary legislation than have caucu and convention systems. The only differenc is, that as the primary system is newer supplementary legislation is more recent am therefore more prominent in the public mind Then too, we must remember that the direc primary laws in some states were prepare by those who opposed them, driven to it by! public pressure. There is no serious trouble in states like Oregon, Washington, Wiscon-J sin and others where the primary laws have been written by friends of the system anc not mutilated by enemies in the course o: enactment.