CHAPTER 175 - BRIDGEVILLE
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 158, VOLUME 43, LAWS OF DELAWARE, 1941, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO REINCORPORATE THE TOWN OF BRIDGEVILLE."
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met (two-thirds of all the members elected to each branch thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. That Section 3 of Chapter 158, Volume 43, Laws of Delaware, 1941, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing all of said Section 3 as it appears in said Act and by inserting in lieu thereof a new Section 3, as follows:
"Section 3. The elective Town officers shall be a Board of Commissioners to consist of five members. The appointive Town officers, except as herein provided, shall be such as said Commissioners of said Town shall, by ordinance, provide for."
Section 2. That Section 6 of Chapter 158, Volume 43, Laws of Delaware, 1941, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing all of said Section 6 as it appears in said Act and by inserting in lieu thereof a new Section 6, as follows:
"Section 6. An election shall be held in said town for elective officers on the first Monday of February in each year from one to four o'clock in the afternoon, and at such place as shall be determined and fixed by the Town Commissioners. At least ten days previous thereto, due notice thereof shall be given by said Town Commissioners. At such election the votes shall be received by the State's Justice of the Peace residing in said Town, or by such other person as said Town Commissioners may select, and the result of the balloting for said officers shall be ascertained by him and two competent citizens, qualified as voters of said Town, selected by said Town Commissioners to assist in holding such election. At such election every citizen of the said Town of the age of twenty-one years, or upwards, who has within twelve months of said election paid a Town Tax which has been assessed within twelve months, shall have a right to vote, and persons arriving at the age of twenty-one years since the last town Assessment shall have the right to vote. The persons who shall conduct such election as in this Act provided, shall be the Judges thereof and shall decide on the legality of the votes offered. Immediately after the election is closed, the votes shall be read and counted. The two candidates for Commissioners for the two year term who have the highest and next highest number of votes for such office and term shall be declared elected for the two year term and the candidate for Commissioner for the one year term shall be declared elected for such term. Immediately after such election, said persons under whose superintendence the election is held shall enter in a book to be provided for that purpose, a minute of such election containing the names of all persons who were candidates for office, designating the office for which they were candidates and showing the number of votes received by each and shall subscribe to the same and deliver said book to said Commissioners at their organization meeting. They shall also give to the persons so elected a certificate of their election. The book containing such minutes shall be preserved by the Commissioners and shall be evidence in all Courts in this State or elsewhere. No person shall be voted upon as a candidate for any of such offices unless at least one week before the date set for said election, he or she shall have filed with the Secretary or President of said Town Commissioners a letter or other certificate setting forth that he will be candidate for a certain designated office for a like designated term. Immediately after the expiration of the time for filing names of candidates, said Town Commissioners shall cause the election ballots to be printed. Upon such ballots the names of the candidates for the offices to be filled, arranged alphabetically under each office, shall be placed, and immediately below each group of names, instructions as to how many to vote for; for instance, "vote for one" or "vote for two", or as many as the voter shall be entitled to vote for in any particular case. The voters shall designate their choice of candidates to be voted for, for each particular office, at such elections, by drawing a line through the names of all persons who are candidates for each particular office except those candidates in each group desired to be voted for; provided, however, that no Elector at any such elections shall be allowed to vote for more candidates (but may vote for less) than the number to be elected at said election. Defective designation of a voter's choice under the head of one or more of such groups of candidates shall not invalidate such ballot so far as there shall appear to be a proper designation of choice in any other of said groups of candidates. The form of ballot shall be substantially as follows:
OFFICIAL BALLOT
CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION TO ELECTIVE OFFICES
IN THE TOWN OF BRIDGEVILLE
For Town Commissioner for the Term of One Year
_________________
_________________
_________________
(vote for _____)
For Town Commissioner for the Term of Two Years
_________________
_________________
_________________
(vote for two)
The method of voting shall be by striking out the names of those not voted for so that the eligible number of candidates for any particular office shall remain on the ballot.
Section 3. That Section 7 of Chapter 158, Volume 43, Laws of Delaware, 1941, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and' repealing all of said Section 7 as it appears in said Act and by inserting in lieu thereof a new Section 7, as follows:
"Section 7. At the first meeting of said Town Commissioners after their election, and annually thereafter, they shall choose an alderman who shall be a qualified elector of the Town and above the age of twenty-five years. The alderman shall hold office for the term of one year commencing on Monday next following the date of his appointment. The present incumbent of the office of alderman shall continue to hold office until his successor be duly appointed and qualified hereunder."
Section 4. That Section 10 of Chapter 158, Volume 43, Laws of Delaware, 1941, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing all of said Section 10 as it appears in said Act and by inserting in lieu thereof a new Section 10, as follows:
"Section 10. If the office of any elective officer of said Town shall become vacant by reason of death, removal from the Town or resignation of any such officer, the Town Commissioners shall make appointments to supply such vacancy and the person so appointed shall hold office for the unexpired term. In case of a tie vote the President shall have a right to vote. Should the office of President become vacant and a tie vote result, as aforesaid, the Town Treasurer shall have a right to vote, The provisions of this Section shall apply to any elective office to which a person who has been elected, shall be ineligible or shall fail to qualify or give bond as in this Act provided."
Section 5. That Section 13 of Chapter 158, Volume 43, Laws of Delaware, 1941, be, and the same hereby is, amended by adding a new paragraph which reads as follows:
"In the event no qualified candidate shall file for a given elective office at a given annual election, as aforesaid, then in such event no annual election shall be held in respect of said office and the incumbent whose term would otherwise expire on the election and qualification of his successor shall hold over for the full term as though he had been re-elected to such office. In the event but one qualified candidate shall file for a given elective office at a given annual election, as aforesaid, then in such event no annual election shall be held in respect of said office, rather the Election Board shall enroll and certify the election to office of such candidate for want of a contest of his candidacy."
Section 6. That Section 31 of Chapter 158, Volume 43, Laws of Delaware, 1941, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out and repealing all of Section 31 as it appears in said Act and by inserting in lieu thereof a new Section 31, as follows:
"Section 31. At the first meeting of said Town Commissioners after their election and annually thereafter, they shall choose and appoint an Assessor who shall be a qualified voter of and a substantial freeholder in said Town. The Assessors shall hold office for the term of one year commencing on the Monday next following the date of his appointment. The present incumbent of the office of Assessor shall continue in office until his successor be duly appointed and qualified hereunder.
The Town Commissioners shall exercise a general and supervisory power over the Assessor and like power over the Town Treasurer, and shall cause such Assessor to make a faithful, full, fair and complete assessment of all the property in said Town liable for taxation. Said Town Commissioners may adopt such rules and regulations as they shall deem expedient to produce fairness, equality and completeness of assessment and shall have full power at any time to examine the assessments while the Assessor is making them and cause them to be conformed to such rules and regulations as such Town Commissioners may have adopted."
Section 7. That Section 32 of Chapter 158, Volume 43, Laws of Delaware, 1941, be and the same hereby is amended by striking out the word "February" as the same appears in the third line of said Section and substituting in lieu thereof the word "March".
Section 8. Excepting as otherwise may be provided expressly to the contrary herein, every and all Sections or parts of Sections of this Act shall become effective immediately upon its approval.
Section 9. All Acts or parts of 'Acts inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.
Section 10. If any part of this Act shall be held invalid or unconstitutional such holdings shall not be deemed to invalidate the remaining provisions hereof.
Section 11. This Act shall be taken and deemed to be a public Act of the State of Delaware.
Approved April 19, 1945.