Editorial: The Republicans miss a bet
In some Republican circles, the idea got around, earlier in the year, that it would be a smart thing to divide up the ballot for the November election.
No definite plan was made public, but it was indicated the proposal would be submitted to the special legislative session which Governor Martin plans to call to enact soldier vote legislation.
There were varying notions of how the ballot ought to be divided. Some favored putting only candidates for President and Vice President on a separate ballot; others preferring to include the offices of U.S. Senator and Congressman on the presidential ballot. The other ballot would be for state and local offices.
The idea is not new. Governor Bricker induced the Ohio Legislature to enact such a law before the 1940 election and he, a Republican, was safely reelected although President Roosevelt carried the state by a substantial majority.
The plan has been proposed at several sessions of the Pennsylvania Legislature but always rejected by leaders of both parties.
Now the Republican Executive Committee, under the chairmanship of Senator M. Harvey Taylor of Harrisburg, one of the leaders who has helped scuttle the plan in previous sessions, has decided to oppose a split ballot.
This action is not based on any idealistic reason. Senator Taylor explained it himself when he said:
We are confident that Pennsylvania will go overwhelmingly Republican.
Political leaders, both Republican and Democratic, are against this plan because straight ballot voting enables them to load up an election ticket with run-of-mine candidates, easily bossed, who can ride into office on the coattails of the head of the ticket.
But such politicians are short-sighted, especially the Republicans. If the ballot had been split in the 1936 and 1940 elections, Republicans might have fared better. And if it had been split in the 1938 election, when the electorate voted against Governor Earle, the Democrats might not have lost so many Congressmen.
But aside from the practical political issue, which is relatively insignificant, the split ballot is in the public interest. Election laws would be even more in the public interest if straight-ticket voting were eliminated altogether.
By encouraging votes for candidates, each on his individual merit, instead of parties, voter discretion would be greatly enhanced, a better class of candidates would be developed and public officials would become more responsive to the wishes of the electorate.
The Republicans, in scotching this idea, have missed a practical political bet and have rejected a plan which ultimately would lead to more satisfactory political organizations.