Discussion Questions: 1. Why did political parties play such a large role in the administration of elections in the nineteenth century? What were the main advantages and disadvantages of the voting/ballot system that emerged in the U. S. before the advent of the Australian ballot? 2. If you were advising Governor Henry Markham of California in 1891, would you have recommended that he sign or veto the ballot reform bill? What were the strongest arguments for and against the bill? Were there any better alternatives that you could have recommended? 3. Looking forward from 1891, what would you predict the long-term consequences of the Australian ballot might be if broadly adopted in the United States? What could go right, and what could go wrong?