KANSAN
UDK Election special
The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas Wednesday, November 6, 1968
Nixon is elected
Late Illinois returns do it
CHICAGO (UPI)—Richard M. Nixon apparently collected Illinois' 26 electoral votes late this morning to boost him over the 270 electoral vote mark needed for the presidency.
His victory depended on a narrow lead in one of the last big undecided states. Television networks declared Nixon the winner in Illinois and the nation shortly before 10 a.m. (CST) after a suspenseful wait for the outcome of the voting here.
Nixon's total number of electoral votes was 287 at 10 a.m. compared to Humphrey's 166, and Wallace's 45.
Texas, Missouri and Alaska still remained undetermined when the Republican candidate was declared to have won the nation's highest office.
Nixon finally clinched his native state of California shortly after 8 a.m. EST, giving him 261 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win
He was leading in Illinois with 26 electoral votes and Alaska with 3.
If Hubert H. Humphrey had come from behind in the close Illinois race, George C. Wallace could have tipped the election to either Nixon or Humphrey in the
formal vote of the Electoral College on Dec. 16.
Wallace ran third with about 14 per cent of the vote and carried five southern states with 45 electoral votes.
Nixon, who lost the presidency in 1960 in another photo finish election that also hinged on Illinois, maintained a slim plurality in the big Midwestern state during the early morning hours.
The lead in nationwide popular votes changed back and forth during the long night of ballot counting. First Nixon held the lead, then Humphrey was in front
(Continued on page 20)
Docking, Dole post victories
KANSAS CITY (UPI)—Incumbent Governor Robert B. Docking pulled into a commanding 22,000 vote lead over Republican Rick Harman early this morning—after the two waged a close race—but it was the GOP, as expected, sweeping most other Kansas state races.
Docking, seeking a second straight term, appeared headed for victory but 39 per cent of the votes were still to be counted.
Nixon surged ahead early in Kansas to win the state's seven electoral votes and chalk up another GOP victory in this Republican stronghold. Late Tuesday night the former vice president was pulling 55 per cent of the state's votes, Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey 35 per cent and independent George Wallace 10 per cent.
Late totals showed Nixon with a 50-thousand-vote lead over his challengers, but the Republican glitter was not brightening the scramble for the Kansas governorship.
Congressman Bob Dole was an early winner as he took the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by 75-year-old Frank Carlson in January. Incumbent Republican congressmen Chester Mize and Joe Skubitz had won another term in Congress by mid-evening.
Congressman Larry Winn Jr., seeking a second straight term in the 3rd District, was also headed back to the U.S. House, as was Congressman Garner E. Shriver in the 4th.
Late yesterday the 1st congressional District race in western Kansas was still a question mark, although State Sen. Keith Sebelius was expanding his lead over State Rep. George Meeker, a Garden City Democrat. With 51 per cent of the district's precincts reported, the Norton Republican had a 5,000-vote lead over ex-Republican Meeker, who switched party affiliations earlier this year.
(Continued on page 10)
Photo by Steve Haynes
Voters kill wheel tax
The proposed city ordinance calling for a $10 tax on all vehicles garaged in Lawrence was apparently defeated yesterday for the second time.
With four precincts containing an expected 4,000 votes still to report, totals on the measure
Students stage death march
Photo by Greg Sorber
stood at 3,873 for and 6,798 against. Election officials at Douglas County Courthouse expected the unreported precincts to follow the pattern set by the 18 already counted.
A double file of nearly 100 persons marched in a "Funeral for the Democratic Process" yesterday afternoon from Strong Hall to the Douglas County Courthouse.
They demonstrated to protest what they called, "disdain for the non-choice forced upon us in this election."
At the head of the procession, which was jointly sponsored by Student Voice (Voice) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), marchers lugged a black-draped coffin. The procession was the first of two "Vietnam Days" protests. The second is sched-
tuled for Nov. 11 when Gen. Lewis Walt, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, will speak in the Kansas Union.
Marchers carried protest placards covered with plastic bags in the intermittent rain. One sign asked, "Why rob America of its mediocracy?" and another carried the message, "A vote in '68 is a voter for hate."
At the courthouse, activist leaders told the "mourners" the three major Presidential candidates offered the voters no reasonable alternatives in the Vietnam situation.
(Continued on page 20)
The tax would have levied a $10 charge on cars, trucks and motorcycles owned by students living in Lawrence, as well as townspeople.
The alternative to the tax is increased property taxes, said a bulletin issued before the election by Citizens for Fair Share Streets, a committee formed in October to inform voters on the issue.
Lawrence residents apparently can expect an increase in property taxes, resulting from the measure's defeat.
Members of the citizen's committee said the vehicle tax plan was an attempt to place the cost of street maintenance on those who use the streets-vehicle operators.
Before the election, the citizen's committee felt chances for passage of the measure were "good." They attributed their
Winners and losers
National-page 3
State-page 10
Local-page 11