CHAPTER 112
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS--NEW CASTLE COUNTY
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 57, REVISED CODE OF DELAWARE, 1935, RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF ELECTIONS FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. That Chapter 57 of the Revised Code of Delaware of 1935, as amended, be and the same is hereby further amended by striking out and repealing all of Paragraph 1759. Sec. 15, thereof and by enacting and inserting in lieu thereof a new paragraph to be styled 1759, Sec. 15, as follows
1759. Sec. 15. Places of Election Designated, Furnished, &c.; Places Excluded:--The said Department of Elections for New Castle County shall designate a polling place in each Election District in New Castle County, and all elections shall be held at the places so designated. The said Department shall hire all such places and cause the same to be fitted up, warmed, lighted and cleaned ; such place shall be in the most public, orderly and convenient portion of the district ; no building or part of a building shall be designated or used as a polling place in which, or in any part of which, spirituous or intoxicating liquor is or has been sold within sixty days next preceding the time of using the same as such a polling place. The said Department shall furnish for each of such places of election a white muslin flag, preferably staffed, of suitable size for the lettering therein in black letters, the following words :
REGISTRATION AND POLLING PLACE.
At every election, including a Primary Election, and during the time the aforesaid places are to be opened in accordance with the law, the said white flag hereinbefore provided for shall be displayed at or near the entrance to such place of election, so as to be readily seen.
Section 2. That Chapter 57 of the Revised Code of Delaware of 1935, as amended, be and the same is hereby further amended by striking out and repealing all of Paragraph 1760. Sec. 16 thereof and by enacting and inserting in lieu thereof a new paragraph to be styled 1760. Sec. 16. as follows :-
1760. Sec. 16. Necessary Conveniences, Supplies, &c.; Department to Have Custody of and Furnish:--Said Department of Elections shall prepare and furnish all necessary maps, forms, oaths, certificates, blanks and instructions for the use of election officers, and provide for the furnishing of such officers therewith and with all necessary supplies and also a copy of the registration and election laws. Said Department shall have and retain the custody of all books, maps, forms, oaths of office and of removal, blanks, instructions, and all other records and supplies of every kind or description pertaining to said Department.
Section 3. That Chapter 57 of the Revised Code of Delaware of 1935, as amended, be and the same is hereby further amended by striking out and repealing all of Paragraph 1765 B. Sec. 21 B. thereof and by enacting and inserting in lieu thereof the following new paragraph, to be styled 1765 B. Sec. 21 B., as follows:
1765 B. Sec. 21 B. Inspector; Judges of Election; Appointments; Terms; Refusal to Serve; Vacancy:--The Department of Elections for New Castle County shall immediately and within five days after receiving the list of persons selected and appointed by the Board of Registration for the First Registration Department District (New Castle County) as Registrars and Assistant Registrars for each Election District in New Castle County shall select and appoint the same three persons as the Election Officers for the same Election District in New Castle County, which Election Officers shall become Inspector and the Judges of Election, as hereinafter provided. Every person so selected to be such Election Officer shall, on receipt of notice thereof, appear within ten days thereafter, before said Department, for the purpose of examination, and if found qualified, shall, unless excused by said Department by reason of ill health or other good and sufficient cause, be bound to serve as such officer at every election for the term for which he is appointed. The failure on the part of any such person to present himself for examination within the time prescribed, or to comply with any of the requirements of this section preliminary to receiving his certificate of appointment, or to attend on the day of any election during his term, unless prevented by sickness or other sufficient cause, the burden of proof of which shall be upon the delinquent, shall be deemed a refusal to comply with the requirements of this section or to serve or to act as election officer within the meaning of this section. The Department of Elections shall deliver a certificate of appointment to whomsoever shall be selected, appointed and sworn into office, by it as such election officer, said certificate to be in such form as shall be prescribed by such Department of Elections, specifying the Election District in and for which the person to whom the same is issued is appointed to serve, and the date of the expiration of his term of office. The persons so appointed Election Officers under the provisions of this section shall, respectively, hold office for the term of two years unless sooner removed for want of requisite qualifications or for cause; in either of which cases such removal, unless made while such Election Officers are actually on duty on a day of election and for improper conduct as an Election Officer, shall only be made after notice in writing to the officers sought to be removed, which notice shall set forth clearly and distinctly the reasons for his removal. Any person appointed to fill any vacancy shall serve for the unexpired term of the person whose office he is appointed to fill. The neglect or refusal of any person so appointed Election Officer as aforesaid to appear and qualify as such Election Officer within the time herein prescribed shall be deemed to create a vacancy in said office, which fact shall be immediately reported by letter to the Board of Registration for the First Registration Department District (New Castle County).
If any such election officer, being appointed either for a full term or a vacancy, shall refuse to qualify as aforesaid, or having qualified, shall fail or refuse to perform any of the duties of his office, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction in the Court of General Sessions of the County where
such offense was committed, he shall forfeit and pay to the State a fine of one hundred dollars.
Said Department of Elections shall have power to dismiss any such election officer at any time and to make all necessary removals, and upon so doing the said Department of Elections shall immediately notify the Board of Registration for the First Registration Department District (New Castle County) of such fact, and the said Board of Registration shall select and appoint another person as a Registrar or Assistant Registrar for the same Election District and the said Department of Elections shall select and appoint that person as an Election Officer of said Election District.
Said Election Officers, when they have met on the day of holding any general or special election at the place designated for holding such election in their respective election districts, shall organize as a Board by selecting one of their number to act as Inspector, but in case of failure to so organize by the time fixed for the opening of the polls in such District, the Inspector shall be selected by lot. After such organization the Election Officer so selected shall be the Inspector of Election of said Election District, and the remaining two Election Officers shall respectively be the Judges of Election of said Election District.