VOTING MACHINES FOR A FAIRER AND WIDER SUFFRAGE

Votometro per elezioni e referendum. Pavia, Bruni, 1909.

Large 8vo (162 x 230 mm), pp. 8; marginal light foxing to first and last page, otherwise a very good copy, in the original illustrated wrapper, front cover printed in red, green and gold, rear cover and title with halftone photographic illustrations of the voting machine; with a loose printed slip (with manuscript correction) advertising the imminent publication of a full catalogue of machines and relative pricelist. [Offered with:]

Idem. L’arma del voto? Riforme ed invenzioni a favore del popolo.

Pavia, Bruni, 1909.

8vo (114 x 205 mm), pp. [4], 16, [4]; with two halftone photographic illustrations of the voting machine on the last two leaves; a very good copy, in the original illustrated wrapper, front cover printed in pink within floral frame.

£250

Approximately:
US $315€291

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Votometro per elezioni e referendum. Pavia, Bruni, 1909.

Large 8vo (162 x 230 mm), pp. 8; marginal light foxing to first and last page, otherwise a very good copy, in the original illustrated wrapper, front cover printed in red, green and gold, rear cover and title with halftone photographic illustrations of the voting machine; with a loose printed slip (with manuscript correction) advertising the imminent publication of a full catalogue of machines and relative pricelist. [Offered with:]

Idem. L’arma del voto? Riforme ed invenzioni a favore del popolo.

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Two unrecorded pieces of ephemera, witnesses to one of the earliest attempts to mechanize the voting system in Italy at the turn of the twentieth century.

The main aim of Ferrari’s invention was to simplify the way the vote was cast, by introducing balls or dice in the voting machine, and therefore granting suffrage to the illiterate population. The machine would also counteract fraud, bringing to an end to the corruption and trade of votes; guarantee secrecy; allow a faster and error-proof counting of the votes; remove the danger of disputes over the correct marking of the ballot papers; and allow people with disabilities or those unable to leave their homes to vote at their own domicile (although the machine would have to be physically taken on site).

Apart from a few public demonstrations, including those at the 1906 Milan and 1908 Rome exhibitions, in which Ferrari's voting machine earned wide praise, the Votometro appears to have been used only once, for a popular vote organised by the town of Lodi (near Milan) to choose the best work of art to be included in the local museum collection. A parliamentary commission was set up in 1912 to study the viability of voting machines with a view to using them in the upcoming general election, but, despite a positive reception and the support of the Socialist party, all the candidates (including Ferrari’s machine) were ruled inefficient, de facto sanctioning the end to the production of the Votometro.

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