838.00Electoral Law/5
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in Haiti (Merrell)
Sir: Reference is made to the Department’s telegram No. 22 [27] of July 8, 1925, and to your replies by cable and by despatch of July 10 and July 18, respectively, regarding the proposed reform of existing electoral laws in Haiti.
The Department has carefully considered the draft of a new communal electoral law submitted by the High Commissioner during his recent visit to Washington, as well as the observations and recommendations on the subject contained in Judge Strong’s memorandum of July 13, 1925, which, together with copies of the law of August 4, 1919, accompanied your despatch. It has also noted the expression of your opinion that it would not be advisable to send to Haiti a person familiar with electoral legislation and procedure, for the purpose of making an investigation on the ground and elaborating a project or projects to meet the needs of the situation in that country.
The Department was unable to give its entire approval to the draft of the new electoral law submitted by the High Commissioner and, inasmuch as it is now too late for this law to be enacted and go into effect in time for it to be used in the communal elections next January, it is thought best that these elections be held under the existing law, that of August 4, 1919.
However, as this law contains certain serious defects, it would seem to be best that it should be modified and amended before the [Page 303] next elections and the following alterations and additions are suggested as desirable:
- 1.
- A provision penalizing the multiple registration of voters on the same list.
- 2.
- Provisions setting forth the penalties applicable to violations of the law.
- 3.
- Modification of Article 36 to permit an illiterate voter to select a literate person of his own choosing to accompany him to the polls and to fill in his ballot. (In its present form this Article provides that the duties of amanuensis shall devolve upon members of the electoral boards.)
- 4.
- Increase in the number of registration boards. (Article 13 of the present law provides that registration of voters shall take place only in the “Hôtel Communal” of each commune.)
- 5.
- Modification of Article 45 to permit the presence at the polls of representatives of each candidate for office to witness the conduct of the voting; and to give to each candidate the right of appeal to the district verification boards from the decisions of the communal boards.
The foregoing list of suggested modifications should not be regarded as exclusive. Others will probably occur to you as desirable and you will of course incorporate them in such recommendations as you may feel called upon to make in response to this instruction.
It is thought that a new electoral law along the lines of that recently submitted by the High Commissioner, but with certain modifications and amendments, can be worked out and enacted in the course of the coming year, thus allowing plenty of time for the people of Haiti to become acquainted with its provisions and prepared to use it in the elections of 1928.
You are instructed to call the attention of President Borno to the advisability of amending the electoral law of August 4, 1919, in time for it to be used in amended form in the communal elections of January 1926, and discuss with him the changes suggested above. It is desired that you then report to the Department in detail the President’s views as well as your own.
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