U.S. PRESIDENCY

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 30, 29 October 1932, Page 11

U.S. PRESIDENCY

Next Month’s Election COMPLICATED SYSTEM Method of Nomination The United States Presidential election, which takes place every, four years, is to be held on Tuesday, November 8. At the last election, on November 6, 1928, Mr. Herbert Hoover, the Republican candidate, defeated Mr. Al. E Smith, the Democrat nominee, by a majority of about 7,000,000 votes. The United States system of election differs in many respects from any followed In British countries, and its complexities present many difficulties to the observer abroad. Practically throughout its history the United States has been a country of but two parties. These originated as voluntary organisations, but soon came to control the election to local, state and national offices, for no one except a candidate of one of the two leading parties had the possibility of being elected. “In no country have political parties been so carefully and thoroughly organised; in no country does the spirit of party so completely pervade every department of political life,” wrote Lord Bryce. Distrust of Conventions. The system of primaries or preliminary party elections is fundamental in the United States electoral system. In the primaries delegates to conventions or candidates for office are nominated directly by the voters, instead of being chosen by political conventions as was formerly the custom. The primary election is by ballot and is fully as official as the final election. A widespread distrust of conventions at the beginning of this century led to their being discarded in favour of primaries, and by 1915 the direct primary for some purposes had been adopted by nearly every State in the Union. Methods by which aspirants for nomination have their names placed upon the primary ballot vary widely. The most commonly used is that by petition, wherein a fixed number of signatures, of signatures totalling a certain percentage of the voters, must be secured by the candidate. A second method is to allow anyone to have his name entered upon the payment of a fee. Primaries may be either open or closed. In the first case the voter has a choice of the ballot of any party regardless of his party affiliations. The open primary was used in only three States, Colorado,, Montana, and Wisconsin, in 1928. The most commonly used closed primary procedure Is that of enrolment in a political party at the time of registration previous to election. Choosing Candidates. The election pf President is In theory performed by a "college” of electors, who are elected by the States on a direct popular vote. As a matter of fact, the party system takes charge throughout. Some months before the election each party holds a national convention, at which Its Presidential candidate is selected. Every "elector” is returned under a pledge to vote for his party candidate, so the result is known as soon as all are chosen, and the meeting of the “college” is a mere formality. The contest within each party is determined In a large measure by the primaries, at which delegates to the national party convention are selected. All such .delegates are pledged to support a particular Presidential candidate as a first choice, but if that candidate falls out they have more or less discretion in the exercise of their votes in subsequent ballots. Hence national conventions are generally very lively gatherings. Once the candidates of the two great parties are chosen, the contest is decided by the respective voting strengths in the States. The so-called “general ticket” system is universal, and the party which polls a majority of votes in any State, even though the majority is small, returns all the “electors” for that State. The Party Conventions. The Republican National Convention held in Chicago on June 17 nominated Mr. Hoover as the party’s candidate for the Presidency and Mr. Charles Curtis for the Vice-Presidency. Mr. Hoover made almost a clean sweep at the first and only roll call, receiving 1126 J votes out of 1154. At the Democrat convention Held in Chicago on July 2, Mr. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Governor of New York State, was overwhelmingly chosen as Democrat nominee for the Presidency. On the fourth ballot he received 945 votes against 190 cast for Mr. Al. E. Smith, the only opponent who commanded any measure of support. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. John D. Garner, of Texas, was nominated for the Vice-Presidency. There are in fact five other candidates in the field—Thomas, Reynolds, Coxey, Upshaw and Foster—representing minor parties, but they are of slight significance, and are not expected to have anv serious bearing on the main conflict between the Republican and Democrat nominees.

Roosevelt Leads in Straw Vote (Rec. October 28, 9.15 p.m.). New York, Oct. 27. “The literary Digest’s” straw vote in connection with the Presidential election shows Mr. F. D. Roosevelt leading in forty-one States with 1,648,237 votes. President Hoover has 1,095,274 votes. The Socialist candidate, Mr. Norman Thomas, is receiving about 5 per cent, of the total.