It was but a step to the state control of the election machinery.
Some state officer, usually the Secretary of State, was
designated to see that the election laws were enforced. In New
York a State Commissioner of Elections was appointed. The
appointment of local inspectors and judges remained for a time in
the hands of the parties. But soon in several States even this
power was taken from them, and the trend now is towards
appointing all election officers by the central authority. These
officers also have complete charge of the registration of voters.
In some States, like New York, registration has become a rather
solemn procedure, requiring the answering of many questions and
the signing of the voter's name, all under the threat of perjury
if a wilful misrepresentation is made.

So passed out of the control of the party the preparation of the
ballot and the use of the ballot on election day. Innumerable
rules have been laid down by the State for the conduct of
elections. The distribution of the ballots, their custody before
election, the order of electional procedure, the counting of the
ballots, the making of returns, the custody of the ballot-boxes,
and all other necessary details, are regulated by law under
official state supervision. The parties are allowed watchers at
the polls, but these have no official standing.

If a Revolutionary Father could visit his old haunts on election
day, he would be astonished at the sober decorum. In his time
elections lasted three days, days filled with harangue, with
drinking, betting, raillery, and occasional encounters. Even
those whose memory goes back to the Civil War can contrast the
ballot peddling, the soliciting, the crowded noisy