Benjamnin F. Butler, Butler's Book: Autobiography and Personal Reminiscences of Major-General Benjamin Butler

[114] so severely criticised my Fast-Day proclamation as governor — preached sectarian discourses against the bill of relief, and it failed in the Senate, never to my knowledge to be since revived. I think I am doing right in recalling these transactions, because it illustrates an unhappy condition of mind which has ever led me to be with the under dog in the fight when I thought he had been wronged; and therefore I have been so often unsuccessful in my action.

The Coalition party obtained ascendancy in the legislature elected in 1851, because in 1850 we had passed an act “For the Conduct of elections,” always known by the name of the “Secret ballot law.” I bring it to attention now because I desire that if anybody reads this book who is interested in the question how an election can be best conducted, he will turn to the provisions of that law. All but one section of it remained on the statute book up to the time when Massachusetts was instructed in voting by the English penal convict colony, Australia. I think our citizens must have known all that people did about elections by ballot, for they have used it for more than three hundred years in their elections. Prior to that a kernel of corn meant yea, and a bean nay, so that we have a saying still in general use that applies to a man who doesn't exactly know his opponents, in the phrase, “He doesn't know [his] beans.”

Our secret ballot of forty years ago was an economical, certain, accurate, and perfectly practicable system of voting, by which all frauds could be detected, and all undue influence upon the voters avoided. The system was this:--The State supplied for use of the voters envelopes capable of being readily sealed, of uniform size and texture, stamped with the State arms, and no ballot could be deposited by the voter except one enclosed in such sealed envelope. If more than one vote for the same officer, or no vote, was found therein, there was no vote to be counted; but the envelopes were kept as a tally with the check list. His ballot might be prepared by the voter anywhere, even in the family circle.

The elections of 1851 and 1852, upon the question of a ten-hour law, were carried by means of this ballot against the combined influence of all the corporations in the State. No accusation of fraud was ever made because of the use of it. The only objection ever stated against it was that the employer might take his workman to the polls, give him a sealed envelope containing his ballot, and see