Democratic Party Ballot, Maine, 1864-1865. Maine State Museum. Gift of Raymond Risser, 72.203k.
Democratic Party Ballot, Maine, 1864-1865. Maine State Museum. Gift of Raymond Risser, 72.203k.
On the earliest paper ballots, election officials expected voters to write the names of their candidates. This proved difficult for men who could not read or write. To address this problem, political parties printed ballots and gave them to voters. Sometimes employers forced their workers to cast a particular party's ballot.
This paper ballot lists Democratic candidates for state offices, from Governor (Joseph Howard) to County Treasurer; all printed except for the Representative to Legislature, whose name is handwritten at the bottom. The gubernatorial candidate did not win, he was defeated by Samuel Cony.