State a grand jury has how many members?

CHAPTER XVIII.

SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS.

SUFFRAGE.--The most important political right is the right of suffrage;
that is, the right to vote. As the government exists for the benefit
of the governed, the purpose of suffrage is to place it under their
control. It gives each qualified voter a voice in public affairs, and
places the country under the rule of the people.

As the interests of the voters and their families are the same, and as
the voters represent these interests, the whole people, including women
and children, have an influence in the government. The whole machinery
of the State and of the United States is in the hands of those who do
the voting.

IMPORTANCE.--The importance of this right can scarcely be
overestimated. It constitutes the difference between a free country
and a despotism. There can be no freedom unless the right to vote
resides in the people; nor can there be good government unless this
right is exercised with an intelligent regard for the public welfare.
Yet vast numbers of voters never realize the power they wield or the
great responsibility it entails upon them.

ELECTIONS.--The right of suffrage is exercised by means of elections.
An election is the direct method of ascertaining the will of the people
upon public affairs. They are held for the purpose of giving the
people opportunity to express their choice in the selection of
officers, and thus to make known their will upon questions of public
concern.

METHODS OF VOTING.--There are three methods of voting--_viva voce_, by
ballot, and by machine. A man votes _viva voce_ by announcing to the
election officers the name of the candidate of his choice, and having
it recorded upon the polling-list. A man votes by _ballot_ by handing
to the officers a slip of paper containing the name of the candidate
voted for. The officers deposit the ballots in a box called the
_ballot-box_. A voting machine has a knob or lever for each candidate,
and is so arranged that the voter can record one vote.

The _viva voce_ method was once considered the best; but voting by
ballot or by machine has supplanted it generally in the United States.

The Australian system provides at each polling-place a private
apartment, called a booth, where each voter in private prepares his
ballot from a printed list of all the candidates, and then hands it to
the officers, who deposit it in the ballot-box.[1]