On the night of the election, the ballot boxes that actually received the votes were burned with all their contents and the boxes and ballots from Richmond were substituted.

The judges of election took out the return sheet, already prepared, signed it and returned it to Richmond forthwith.

Thus it could always be known thirty days ahead just what the exact vote in detail was to be throughout the entire state.

In fact a tabulated statement was prepared and printed long before election day.
Leonard paid a clerk at headquarters five thousand dollars for one of these tabulated statements.

With this he hurried on to Washington and secretly placed it before the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, with the understanding that it was to be used after election day as a basis for possible contest.