RE: [DL] Votin'

[Eric Avedissian <eric@pro-usa.net>]

>It's October 1876 in my campaign at the moment, and what with the
general
 >elections being geared up to round my way in real life at the moment,
the
 >topic of the elections in Deadlands has come up.  So, how does that
work
 >in the West, then?

Well, you'd need candidates. In the Union, it's President Grant and his
opposition is Samuel Tilden. For the Confederacy, it's Jefferson Davis
and Robert E. Lee.

>Where are the polling stations?  Schools?  The marshal's office?  The
church?
> The saloon or theatre?

There are no set guidelines for this. Most likely a public building like
town hall or sheriff's office, but some towns might make use of saloons
or churches.

>Do you have to register beforehand?  What kind of I.D. do folks have?
Can
 >you vote in one place, then catch a train to another town and vote
there as
 >well?  What kind of controls are in place?  It'd be tough to do in the
West,
> but in a city Back East I can see people voting in one district, then
putting
 >on an amusing false moustache and voting again in another.

Remember, voting back then wasn't as tightly-regulated as it is today.
Voting fraud did occur frequently. Most voting was done at a ballot box,
with ballots printed by the political parties themselves. To vote for a
candidate, you'd just have to get a particular ballot and place it in
the ballot box. Many people did just that - frequently.
Officials did monitor the ballot boxes, and a deputy also adding a
second set of eyes in case someone tried to vote often can't hurt,
either.

>Anybody think of any interesting things that might transpire during
voting
>day?

Politics in the 19th century was a lavish affair with parades,
receptions and stump speeches. Free beer and food was a subtle way to
bribe voters. And don't forget the brass band.
Maybe a whistle-stop tour of a few western towns is in order? Voter
fraud by a political party?

>It may all be elementary, because my posse are mostly Northerners
currently in
 >the Confederacy (well, except one guy, who's not really real anyway),
but
 >I'm certainly interested to know how all this was handled in a... less

 >well-organised place and time.  :>)

Would your Northerners likely vote for Jefferson Davis? A Northerner
stumping for Grant in the Confederacy is someone who's asking for
trouble. :-)

Marshal Eric