CHAPTER 111

GENERAL ELECTIONS

AN ACT to amend Chapter 60 of the Revised Code entitled "General Elections." Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:

Section 1. That Chapter 60 of the Revised Code be and the same is hereby amended by striking out 1772. Sec. 52, and substituting in lieu thereof a new section as follows:

1772. Sec. 52. VOTING; ENTRY OF NAMES OF VOTERS &C.; DEPOSITING BALLOT: Each qualified elector shall deliver a single ballot which shall conform to the requirements of the law of this State as to ballots for any general or special election, containing the names of persons voted for, to the Inspector or other officer authorized by law to hold the election, who shall audibly pronounce the name of the elector, which shall be entered in words at length upon a list of polls to be kept by each of the clerks whom the Judges shall direct to that duty, and one of the Judges shall write against it, on the alphabetical list as contained in one of the Books of Registered Voters delivered by the Registrar to the Inspector or other officer authorized by law to hold the election, the word "voted," and the other of said Judges shall make the like entry in the other Book of Registered Voters, delivered as aforesaid. The Inspector or other officer authorized by law to hold the election shall, immediately after pronouncing the elector's name, put the envelope containing the ballot into the box, in his presence, unless the vote shall be objected to.

Section 2. That Chapter 60 of the Revised Code be and the same is hereby amended by striking out 1773. Sec. 53, and substituting in lieu thereof a new section as follows:

1773. Sec. 53, BALLOTS NOT RECEIVED; REASONS FOR; CHALLENGES; DETERMINATION OF OBJECTION; BRIBERY; OATH; CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE; BOOK; DELIVERY OF BOOK: The Inspector or other officer authorized by law to hold the election shall not at any election receive or deposit in the ballot box the ballot of any person offering to vote until his name shall have been found in the list of registered voters as contained in the Books of Registered Voters delivered to him for the purposes of said election, and the Judges, or a majority of them, shall be satisfied that the person so offering to vote is the person named in said list; but no objection to the vote of any person whose name shall have been found on said list as contained in said Books of Registered Voters shall be entered or considered by the Judges of the Election except for the following reasons, to wit :

First: That he is not the person whose name appears in said Books of Registered Voters.

If a vote be objected to for the reason above mentioned, its admission or rejection shall be determined according to the opinion of a majority of the Judges; and

Second :No person who shall receive or accept or offer to receive or accept, or shall pay, transfer or deliver, or offer or promise to pay, transfer or deliver or shall contribute, or offer or promise to contribute to another to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing as a compensation, inducement or reward for the registering or abstaining from registering of any one qualified to register, or for the giving or withholding or in any manner influencing the giving or withholding a vote at any general election in this State, shall vote at such election unless such person being challenged for any of said causes, shall take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation, which shall be administered by the Inspector or other officer authorized by law to hold the election:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have not received or accepted, or offered to receive or accept, paid or transferred or delivered, or offered or promised to pay, transfer or deliver, or contributed or offered or promised to con- tribute to another to be paid or used any money or other valuable thing ;Is compensation, inducement or reward for the registering or abstaining from registering of any one qualified to register, or for the giving or withholding a vote at this election.

Signed ………………………………………………………………

Sworn and subscribed to before me this day of November, A D 19 Inspector." Such oath or affirmation shall be conclusive evidence to the election officers of the truth of such oath or affirmation, but if any such oath or affirmation shall be false, the person making the same shall be guilty of perjury, and no conviction thereof shall bar any prosecution under Section 8 of Article V of the Constitution of this State. In order to enable the election officers to carry into effect the provisions of this Section, the Sher- iff of each County shall cause to be prepared a book containing not less than five hundred blank forms of the oath or affirmation provided for in this Section, and shall cause one of said books to be delivered to the Inspector or other officer authorized by law to hold the election in each of the election districts of his County at the time provided in Section 22 of this Chapter. Such oath or affirmation, when signed and attested as herein provided, shall be competent evidence in any proceeding against the party making the same.

Section 3. That Chapter 60 of the Revised Code be and the same is hereby amended by striking out 1783. Sec. 63, and substituting in lieu thereof a new section as follows:

1783. Sec. 63. OATHS, POLL LISTS; DELIVERED BY INSPEC- TORS TO CLERK OF THE PEACE AFTER THE ELECTION:- Each Inspectors or other officer authorized by law to hold the election, shall, on the day next after the general election, deliver into the office of the Clerk of the Peace of his County, the oaths or affirmations that shall have been signed by the Inspector, or other officer authorized by law to hold the election, and Judges of the Election in his election district, and the certificate of said oaths or affirmations being administered, to be made and signed as directed in the thirty-first Section of this Chapter, and the two lists of the polls kept at the election as before directed, all of which shall be filed in the office of the said Clerk, and shall be public records, and as such, admissible as evidence.

Section 4. That Chapter 60 of the Revised Code be and the same is hereby amended by striking out 1850. Sec. 130, and substituting in lieu thereof a new section as follows:

1850. Sec. 130. COMPOSITE LISTS TO BE MADE UP AND DE- LIVERED BY THE CLERKS OF THE PEACE; COMPLETE LISTS OF REGISTRATIONS OF COUNTY TO BE FURNISHED ELECTION OF- FICERS BY CLERKS OF PEACE; COMPENSATION: The Clerk of the Peace of each County of this State shall, from the lists de- livered to him under the provisions of 1654. Section 36 of Chapter 56 of the Revised Code, make up composite lists of the names of all those citizens in the military and naval service of this State or of the United States who have been registered as qualified voters for the succeeding general election in the election districts of his County, in accordance with the provisions of the aforesaid 1654. Section 36 of Chapter 56 of the Revised Code. It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Peace forthwith to furnish the election officers, at the polls provided for in Section 118 of this Chapter, with composite lists so made up as aforesaid. The Clerk of the Peace shall also furnish said election officers with complete lists of registrations of the County, in order that the name of any soldier may be found who enlisted since having registered as a voter. The Clerk of the Peace shall be allowed reasonable compensation by the Levy Court of the County for his services under this Section.

Approved May 1, A. D. 1925.