with misleading emblems, or with certain names omitted, or with a
mixture of candidates from various parties--tricks that were
later forbidden by law but were none the less common.

Rather suddenly a great change came over election day. In 1888
Kentucky adopted the Australian ballot for the city of
Louisville, and Massachusetts adopted it for all state and local
elections. The Massachusetts statute provided that before an
election each political party should certify its nominees to the
Secretary of the Commonwealth. The State then printed the
ballots. All the nominees of all the parties were printed on one
sheet. Each office was placed in a separate column, the
candidates in alphabetical order, with the names of the parties
following. Blank spaces were left for those who wished to vote
for others than the regular nominees. This form of ballot
prevented "voting straight" with a single mark. The voter, in the
seclusion of a booth at the polling-place, had to pick his
party's candidates from the numerous columns.

Indiana, in 1889, adopted a similar statute but the ballot had
certain modifications to suit the needs of party orthodoxy. Here
the columns represented parties, not offices. Each party had a
column. Each column was headed by the party name and its device,
so that those who could not read could vote for the Rooster or
the Eagle or the Fountain. There was a circle placed under the
device, and by making his mark in this circle the voter voted
straight.

Within eight years thirty-eight States and two Territories had
adopted the Australian or blanket ballot in some modified form.