Speech #630143060

President. the California case. which has been referred to simply by reference to the digest of the opinion. I think is so thoroughly in point that I might be pardoned for calling attention to it again. In the State of California they. had a provision in the constitution which read as follows: Every native male citizen of the United States. every male citizen who shall have acquired the rights of citizenship under or by virtue of the treaty of Queretaro. and every male naturalized citizen thereof. who shall have become such 00 days prior to any election. of the age of 21 years. who shall have been a resident of the State one year next preceding the election. and of the county in which he claims his vote 0 days and in the election precinct 30 days. shall be entitled to vote at all elections which are now or may hereafter be authorized by law. I call special attention to the language " at all elections which are now or may hereafter be authorized by law." The Legislature of California proceeded to pass a primary election law ana to provide that all candidates should be nominated at the primary election. but in prescribing the qualifications for the voters at tile primary election they placed in the statute different qualifications for the voters at the primary election than were specified in the constitution in this that the constitution provided that voters must reside within the State for one year prior to the election and that condition was left out of the primaryelection law. The question came before the supreme court of the State whether or not that primaryelection law was unconstitutional. because it had undertaken to prescribe the qualifications for voters and had prescribed a different qualification for a voter at a primary election than the constitution prescribed for voters at elections. which. of course. raised the question whether a primary election was embraced within the term " elections provided by law." The supreme court of the State held this: The primary election provided for In the present act is an election authorized by law " under the foregoing provision of the constitution.