Still, many Americans gravitated toward the idea that the voting system must be cleaned up. Few were principled advocates of pure elections, though. Most wanted to purge elections of voters who supported the other party. In discussions of ballot reform, members of both parties criticized the corruption of the ballot, but each pointed to the transgressions of the other side. By 1890, with Democrats increasingly comfortable that they enjoyed the support of the majority of Americans, cries for ballot reform came primarily from Republicans, and they were increasingly shrill.
