CHAPTER 144 - REGISTRATION OF VOTERS CREATING A BUREAU OF REGISTRATION FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY
AN ACT TO CREATE A BUREAU OF REGISTRATION 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. Bureau of Registration for New Castle County; How Constituted:--For the objects and purposes hereinafter set forth, a Bureau of Registration for New Castle County is hereby established and constituted to consist of three members appointed in the manner and for the terms hereinafter stated and with the powers and duties prescribed in the sections following and by any law of this State now or hereafter enacted.
Section 2. Appointment of Members by the General Assembly; Power and Duty of Governor in Case of Vacancy:--The Bureau of Registration for New Castle County as herein established and constituted shall from and after the effective date of this Act consist and be composed of the three persons hereinafter named and appointed in this Act by the General Assembly for the terms herein specified, and the said three persons shall constitute and be the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County. When any vacancy occurs in the membership for the Bureau from any cause whatsoever, other than expiration of a full term, the Governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment for the residue of the term.
Section 3. That Thomas L. Brand is hereby appointed a member of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County for a term commencing on the effective date of this Act and ending on the fifteenth day of January, A. D., 1946.
That Leon H. Ryan is hereby appointed a member of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County for a term commencing with the effective date of this Act and ending on the fifteenth day of January, A. D., 1947.
That James L. Brown is hereby appointed a member of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County for a term commencing on the effective date of this Act and ending on the fifteenth day of January, A. D., 1948.
Within ten days after their appointment by the General Assembly, as herein provided, the members shall take and subscribe the oath or affirmation prescribed by the Constitution. They shall meet and organize by electing one of their members to be President. They shall also elect a Secretary. The President and Secretary so elected shall serve until their successors are duly elected.
Section 4. Members Appointed by Governor; When; Terms: --Commencing with the year 1946, in the month of January, and on or before the fifteenth day thereof, and every third year thereafter in the month of January and on or before the fifteenth day thereof, the Governor shall appoint one person to be a member of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County for a term of three years, and in the year 1947, in the month of January, and on or before the fifteenth day thereof, and every third year thereafter in the month of January and on or before the fifteenth day thereof, the Governor shall appoint one person to be a member of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County for a term of three years, and in the year 1948, in the month of January, and on or before the fifteenth day thereof, and every third year thereafter in the month of January and on or before the fifteenth day thereof, the Governor shall appoint one person to be a member of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County for a term of three years.
Section 5. Qualifications; Oaths; Organization; Terms of Officers; Compensation; How Paid:--No person shall be eligible to appointment as a member of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County who is not a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of New Castle County, and who has not resided in said County for a period of five years next preceding his appointment. Each of the two principal political parties shall at all times be represented by at least one member of the Bureau. No member of the Bureau shall hold a State or County elective office during his membership in the Bureau. Each person appointed by the Governor, as herein provided, shall, before entering upon his duties and within ten days after his appointment, take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation prescribed by the Constitution for State officers. Commencing with the fourth Tuesday in January, 1946, and biennially thereafter, the members of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County shall meet and organize said Bureau of Registration by electing one of their number to be President of the Bureau, and they shall at the same time elect a Secretary. The terms of office of the President and Secretary shall be two years from the date of such organization. Two members shall be sufficient for the purpose of organization and shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The said Bureau shall have power to make rules for its government not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of this State.
Each member of the said Bureau of Registration shall receive as compensation for his services a salary of Seven Hundred and Fifty Dollars per annum. The salary of the Secretary shall be fixed by the Bureau and, shall not exceed Three Thousand Dollars per annum. The salaries of the members of the Bureau of Registration and the Secretary thereof shall be paid by the Levy Court of New Castle County in the same manner as County officers are paid. The expenses of the Bureau shall be paid by the Levy Court of New Castle County on vouchers signed by the President and Secretary of the Department.
Section 6. Books, Records, Etc., Delivered to Bureau of Registration for New Castle County; Powers of Bureau:--It shall be the duty of the Board of Registration for Registration Department District Number One and every Officer, Clerk and every other person having possession of or control over any records, books, papers or other property of or relating to registrations in New Castle County, immediately after the organization of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County as provided by this Act, to surrender and deposit the same with the President of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County or with such other persons as the President shall order and direct. The Bureau of Registration for New Castle County established and constituted as aforesaid shall have full and complete jurisdiction over all and every the matters and things now vested by law in the Board of Registration for Registration Department District Number One as at present constituted and shall possess, enjoy and exercise all and every the rights, powers and privileges which are now held, possessed, enjoyed and exercised by the said Board of Registration for Registration Department District Number One as fully And completely as the said Board of Registration now by law is authorized so to do, and such other rights, powers and privileges as by this Act conferred and by any law of this State now or hereafter enacted.
Section 7. Office; Equipment and Supplies Furnished; How Paid; Assistants; Compensation of:--The Public Building Commission for the City of Wilmington and New Castle County shall provide suitable and convenient office space in the Public Building at Wilmington, Delaware, for the use and occupancy of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County. The Bureau shall secure all necessary furniture, equipment and supplies required for the said office and to properly carry out the provisions of this Act, the Levy Court of New Castle County shall pay for such furniture, supplies and equipment and other expenses of the Bureau upon proper vouchers signed by the President and Secretary of the said Bureau.
The Bureau may employ such assistants as in its judgment shall be necessary for the performance by the Bureau of the duties of this Chapter and laws of this State imposed. The duties of such assistants shall be prescribed and the compensation fixed by the Bureau. The expense for such assistants shall be paid by the Levy Court of New Castle County upon certification by the President and Secretary of the Bureau.
Section 8. Neglect of Duty; Corrupt or Fraudulent Conduct; Misdemeanors; Penalties:--If any member of the Bureau of Registration of whom any duty is required in this Chapter shall be guilty of any willful neglect of such duty, or of any corrupt or fraudulent conduct or practice in the execution of the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment in the County jail for not more than two years, or by a fine of not more than Two Hundred Dollars, or both.
Section 9. Notice to Attorney General of Violations of Chapter:--It is hereby made the special duty of the Bureau of Registration to notify the Attorney General of all violations under this Chapter.
Section 10. Election Districts Divided; When; Divided Election Districts to be Within Boundaries of One Representative District; New Registration Books; Transfer of Names; Registration Books Compared and Verified; Books Transcribed When Necessary; General Registration Provisions to Apply; Costs of Transcribing, How Paid; Notice of Boundary Changes:--The Bureau of Registration for New Castle County shall before the first day of May in every year in which a General Election is held, divide such of the Election Districts, and such only, in New Castle County, including the City of Wilmington, as by the election last preceding such division shall be found to contain a greater number of voters than can conveniently vote therein. Each of said Election Districts so divided shall be at all times wholly within boundaries of one Representative District. Each Election District shall be designated by an appropriate title that will distinguish it from each and every other Election District.
When the boundaries of any election district shall be changed in New Castle County, either as hereinbefore provided or by an Act of the General Assembly, the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, not later than the thirtieth day of June of the year in which such change shall be made, shall procure and prepare the two Registers and the two Books of Registered Voters, as provided by law, for each election district, and for every election district affected or created by such change of boundaries.
Any elector whose name appears as a registered voter in an election district affected by a change of boundary shall not be required to re-register because of the change in election districts arising from said change of boundaries, but it shall be the duty of the said Bureau of Registration to cause the names and particulars of every registered voter to be transferred to the proper Registration Books for such election district henceforth to be used for the election district of which the elector is then a resident, omitting therefrom all names which theretofore have been stricken from the lists of registered voters.
Upon said transfers being completed, each of said registration books shall be compared as to their correctness and shall be verified by oath or affirmation by the members of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, and an affidavit subscribed and signed by the members shall be appended to each book in which such transcription shall have been made as hereinbefore provided. The Bureau of Registration for New Castle County shall keep and preserve, until the last day of February next after the ensuing general election, all registration books from which said transfers have been made.
The said Bureau of Registration may at any time when it shall deem it necessary transcribe or cause to be transcribed any Registers or Books of Registered Voters. All the provisions relating to the registration of voters in general as provided by law shall apply as far as pertinent to this Section.
The cost of transcribing and other expenses connected therewith, (except registration books furnished by the State), shall be paid by the Levy Court of New Castle County upon proper vouchers signed by the President and Secretary of the said Bureau.
When the boundaries of any election district in New Castle County shall have been changed, as aforesaid, the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County shall, at least ten days prior to the first day set for the purpose of registration in the several election districts in New Castle County, give public notice by advertisements posted in ten or more of the most public places in each election district affected by any change in boundary, that a change in the boundary has been made in such election district.
Section 11. Appointment and Removal of Registration Officers:--The Bureau of Registration for New Castle County shall hereafter appoint all registration officers in New Castle County, and shall make all necessary removals of registration officers and fill all vacancies which occur from any cause.
Section 12. Registrars and Assistant Registrars Appointed; When; Qualifications; Division Between Two Principal Political Parties; Names Furnished by Political Committees; Action if Names Not Furnished; Terms of Office:--It shall, in the month of June in each year in which a general election is held, appoint for each election district in New Castle County three capable persons, who shall be voters and residents in the election district for which they shall be appointed, who shall be registration officers of the Election District for which they are appointed, one of whom shall be designated as "Registrar" and the other two as "Assistant Registrars", and not more than two of them shall be of the same political faith; provided, that the total number of registration officers in each Representative District shall be divided as equally as possible between the two principal parties, as the same shall be determined upon by the Bureau of Registration at the time of making the appointments. The County Executive Committee of each of the two principal parties shall furnish the Bureau of Registration, on or before the first day of May of the year in which said appointment is to be made, a list of five names of properly qualified persons from which the Bureau of Registration shall make its appointments. If the said lists of names are not furnished as aforesaid, then and in that event, the Bureau of Registration shall appoint some suitable person or persons of such political faith, having all the qualifications provided by this Section.
The terms of office of such registration officers shall begin on the first Tuesday in July next after their appointment and shall continue for two years thereafter, and until their successor shall be duly chosen and qualified, unless sooner removed as provided in this Chapter.
Section 13. Alternate Registrars; Qualifications; Term of Office; When to Act; Powers and Duties:--When from any cause whatsoever any person who has qualified as Registrar for a particular election district in New Castle County shall be temporarily incapable of performing the duties required of him by the laws of this State, it shall be the duty of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County to appoint in such election district a capable person who shall be a qualified voter and resident in the election district for which he shall be appointed, to be "Alternate Registrar" for the said election district. The Alternate Registrar, during the inability of the Registrar to act, shall act in his stead and while acting shall possess all the powers and do and perform all the duties of a Registrar. The Alternate Registrar shall be of the same political faith as the Registrar of the election district for which the appointment is made.
Section 14. Alternate; When Not to Act; Removal from Election Districts of Registration Officers; Office Vacant:--Nothing herein contained shall authorize or empower the Alternate Registrar to act at any time when there is a Registrar of the election district able, willing and present to act. If any Registration Officer or Alternate Registrar shall remove from the Election District for which he shall be appointed or shall cease to be a voter therein, his office shall thereupon become vacant.
Section 15. Vacancies in Registration Offices; How Filled; Term of Appointees; Qualifications; Powers; Oath of Registration Officers; Compensation for Qualifying:--If any vacancy or vacancies should occur in the office of Registrar, Assistant Registrar or Alternate Registrar, before the expiration of such term, from any cause whatsoever, the said Bureau of Registration shall appoint some suitable person or persons to fill such vacancy or vacancies who shall serve for the residue of such unexpired term or terms, who shall possess the same qualifications and be qualified in the same manner and who shall possess the same powers and perform the same duties as the original appointee or appointees. Each Registrar, Assistant Registrar and Alternate Registrar, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe before the said Bureau of Registration the following oath or affirmation:
"I ________ residing in _________ Election District of ______ Representative District in ________ County, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Delaware, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Registrar (Assistant Registrar or Alternate Registrar) for ______ Election District in _______ Representative District in ________ County, according to the best of my ability."
Any member or the Secretary of said Bureau of Registration is authorized and empowered to administer such oath or affirmation; provided that no fee shall be charged for administering such oaths or affirmations.
For appearing before the Bureau to qualify according to law, each registration officer shall be paid Five Dollars.
Section 16. Officers Becoming Candidates; Office Vacant; How Filled; Officers Ineligible to be Voted for:--Should the said Registrar, Assistant Registrar or either of them or Alternate Registrar, after taking said oath, and before entering upon the active duties of the said office, become a candidate for any office to be voted for by the electors of the election district for which he is appointed Registrar, Assistant Registrar or Alternate Registrar, the said office shall ipso facto become vacant and be filled by the appointment of another person to the same. After any Registrar, Assistant Registrar or Alternate Registrar shall have entered upon the active duties of his office, he shall thereby become ineligible to any office to be voted for at the next ensuing election.
Section 17. Time of Registration Officers to Take Oath; Oath of Appointees to Fill Vacancies; Refusal to Qualify or to Perform Services; Penalty:--Each and every person appointed as aforesaid to act as Registrar, Assistant Registrar or Alternate Registrar shall qualify as such Registrar, Assistant Registrar or Alternate Registrar by taking and subscribing the oath or affirmation prescribed in Section 15 of this Chapter, within ten days after being notified of his appointment, and shall perform the duties of the office for the time for which he was appointed, unless he shall become disqualified by sickness or otherwise. Every Registrar, Assistant Registrar or Alternate Registrar, who shall be appointed to fill a vacancy, shall qualify forthwith. If any Registrar, Assistant Registrar or Alternate Registrar, who being appointed either for a full term or to fill a vacancy, shall refuse to qualify as aforesaid, or having qualified, shall fail or refuse to perform any of the duties of said office, he shall forfeit and pay to the State a fine of one Hundred Dollars upon conviction thereof after indictment in the Court of General Sessions of the County where such offense was committed. The neglect or refusal of any person appointed, as aforesaid, to appear and qualify within the time specified, shall be deemed to create a vacancy in said office.
Section 18. Certificate of Appointment; Removal of Registration Officers; Notice; When; Term of Office of Appointee; Registration Officers Free from Military and Jury Duty; Persons Exempt from Jury Duty Not Required to Serve as Registration Officers:--The Bureau of Registration shall deliver a certificate of appointment to whomsoever it shall appoint and who shall be sworn into office as Registrar, Assistant Registrar or Alternate Registrar, said certificate to be in such form as shall be prescribed by said Bureau of Registration, 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 Bureau of Registration shall have full power and authority to remove any of the registration officers appointed by them as aforesaid for want of requisite qualifications or cause, but in either of such cases such removal, unless made while the Registrars are actually on duty on a day of registration and for improper conduct as a registration officer, shall only be made after notice in writing to the officer sought to be removed, which notice shall set forth clearly and distinctly the reason for 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 registration officers during the time they hold such office shall be exempt from the performance of military duty, and when in the actual discharge of the duties of their office, from jury duty, and no person who, by the laws of the State is exempt from jury duty, shall be required to serve as a registration officer.
Section 19. Powers and Duties of Registration Officers:--The several registration officers appointed under the provisions of this Chapter shall have the same powers that are vested in, and shall be required to perform the same duties that are imposed upon, registration officers generally by any law of this State, now or hereafter enacted.
Section 20. Delivery of Registration Books to Registrars; When:--It shall be the duty of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, prior to the second Wednesday in July and prior to the third Saturday next preceding the day of the election, in every year in which a general election is held in this State, to deliver the two Registers and the two Books of Registered Voters of each election district in New Castle County, including the City of Wilmington, to the Registrar of the proper election district. In any year in which a special election is held, the registration books aforesaid shall be delivered by the Bureau to the proper Registrars prior to the day set for the registration.
Section 21. Custody of Registration Books; Inspection of: --All Registers and Books of Registered Voters for New Castle County when not in the custody of the Registrars or Election Officers shall be and remain in the custody of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, except as otherwise provided, but the same shall at all proper times be open to the inspection of anyone desiring to examine the same without fee or reward, and anyone desiring to do so may be permitted to make copies or partial copies thereof.
Section 22. Department of Engineering to Furnish Maps:--It shall be the duty of the Department of Engineering and Surveying of the City of Wilmington to furnish the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, upon its request, a map or maps of the several wards of the City or of any and all portions thereof. The Department of Engineering for New Castle County shall furnish the said Bureau upon request, a map or maps of the several Hundreds of New Castle County or of any or all portions thereof.
Section 23. Necessary Conveniences, Supplies, Etc.; Bureau to Have Custody of and Furnish:--Said Bureau of Registration shall prepare and furnish all necessary maps, forms, oaths, certificates, blanks and instructions for the use of registration 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 Bureau 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 Bureau.
Section 24. Intimidation, Etc. of Registration and Election Officers; by Corporations, Etc.; Penalty:--If any person, firm, corporation or employer existing or doing business in this State shall hinder, coerce or intimidate or shall attempt to hinder, coerce or intimidate any person who has been appointed a Registration Officer, Election Officer or Clerk of Election under the laws of this State from qualifying and performing his duties as such by threats of depriving such person of employment or occupation, absolutely or contingently, directly or indirectly, he or they shall be liable to a penalty of Five Hundred Dollars, recoverable by the Attorney General by civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction in the name of "The State of Delaware", and for the use and benefit of the State of Delaware.
In any trial under the provisions of this Section, the act or acts of any officer of a corporation, so far as they affect an employee or servant of such corporation, shall be taken and held to be the act or acts of the corporation, whether special or general authority as to such act or acts from the corporation is shown or not. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to relieve any officer of a corporation from individual liability under the provisions of this Section.
Section 25. Places of Registry; Designated; Furnished, Etc.; Places Excluded:--The said Bureau of Registration shall designate and appoint a place of registry in each Election District in New Castle County. At the places so designated all the work of registration shall be performed. The said Bureau 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 place of registration in which, or in any part of which, spirituous or intoxicating liquor is being sold or has been sold within sixty days next preceding the time of using the same.
Section 26. Places, Days of Registration; Notice of:--It shall be the duty of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, at least ten days prior to each day set for the purpose of registration in the several election districts in New Castle County, to give public notice by advertisement, posted in ten or more of the most public places in each such election district, of the place where the registration officers shall sit for registration of electors, and the day or days when they will sit for such purpose.
Section 27. Flag Displayed at Registration Place; Where; Inscription:--The Bureau of Registration for New Castle County shall furnish for each place of registry a white muslin flag, preferably staffed, of suitable size for lettering thereon in black letters the following words: "REGISTRATION PLACE".
At every place of registry during the time the aforesaid places are opened in accordance with the law, the said white flag herein provided for shall be displayed at or near the entrance of such place of registry.
Section 28. Compensation of Registration Officers; Other Expenses; How Paid:--The compensation of Registration Officers shall be paid by the State. The costs and expense of all registration notices, posters, maps, advertisements, books, (except registration books), blanks, stationery, the rent and cost of fitting up, warming, lighting, cleaning of all registration places, of carting of all supplies of every kind and nature for registrations in New Castle County, shall be paid by the Levy Court of the said County upon proper vouchers signed by the President and Secretary of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, except as otherwise provided.
Section 29. To Certify Names of Registration Officers to Department of Elections:--Upon the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County appointing local registration officers for the several election districts as provided in this Chapter, immediately and within five days thereafter, it shall transmit and deliver in writing to the Department of Elections for New Castle County, a list of all persons so appointed by the said Bureau as the registration officers of the several election districts in New Castle County. Whenever said Bureau shall make any subsequent changes in said list of Registration Officers it shall give immediate notice in writing to the said Department of. Elections.
Section 30. Compensation of Registration Officers; Certified; Paid; When; by Whom:--It shall be the duty of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County in the month of November in each year in which a general or special election is held to ascertain the amount of compensation due the Registrars, Assistant Registrars and Alternate Registrars, in New Castle County, and when so ascertained, the President and Secretary of the said Bureau shall certify the same to the State Treasurer, who shall thereupon pay to the persons entitled the sums severally due them out of any money in the General Fund of the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
Section 31. Names of Deceased Persons Furnished; Striking Names from Registration; Causes; When; Entries Made; Notice of Intention to Strike Names; Restriction with Respect to Last Registration Day:--It shall be the duty of the Registrar of Vital Statistics for the State of Delaware to furnish the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, on or before the tenth day of January, April, July and October in each year, a full, complete and accurate copy of the record of the name, residence and age of each person twenty-one years of age and upward who has died in New Castle County, including the City of Wilmington, during the three calendar months then next preceding, as the facts in respect to such deaths shall be furnished to the said Registrar of Vital Statistics. The Bureau shall keep, preserve and file in its office all copies of such records.
It shall be the duty of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, upon receipt of the aforesaid records, to strike or cause to be struck from the Registers and Books of Registered Voters for each election district in New Castle County, including the City of Wilmington, the name of every person upon the said registration books, who shall by a coincidence in respect to said name and fact appear to have deceased, and opposite to and against every such name to enter in the column headed "Disqualified" the word "Dead" and the month, day, and year of such entry, and in the column headed "Remarks" the words, "Stricken from the Registers", adding against each such entry made in the Column of Remarks, the name of the person making such entry, and through the name of every such person, and then only, shall draw a heavy line in ink indicative that such name is stricken from the Registers for that election district, and in the Books of Registered Voters, a heavy line in ink shall be drawn through his name, his age and his residence.
It shall be the duty of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County in each year of registration to strike or cause to be stricken from the Registers and Books of Registered Voters for each election district in New Castle County, including the City of Wilmington, in the manner and for the causes hereinafter stated, the name of every person appearing on said books who has failed or omitted to vote for any cause whatever in the election district covered by said registration books for a period of five years or who, since his registration, has become disqualified or for any reason has ceased to be a qualified voter in the election district in which he is registered. The fact of voting or not voting shall, for the purpose of this Section, be deemed to be prima facie established by the entry of the word "Voted" or the omission of such entry in the appropriate column opposite the name of the registered voter in the Books of Registered Voters, but before any name shall be stricken from the registration books, for any of the causes herein stated, the Bureau of Registration shall give notice of such intention and the reason therefor by registered mail, directed to such registered voter at the Post Office address as the same shall appear in the Registers and the date on which the matter shall be passed on at a meeting of the Bureau. Such notice shall be mailed not later than the Wednesday next preceding the sitting of the aforesaid Bureau. If at such meeting of the Bureau it shall be established to its satisfaction that the person aforesaid did in fact vote in said election district within a period of five years, or that he is a duly qualified voter in the election district, then his name shall not be stricken from the aforesaid books, but if it shall not be established that he voted in the election district within a period of five years, then the Bureau shall draw or cause to be drawn in the Registers a heavy line in ink through the name of such person in the column headed "Registered Voter" and a line shall be drawn through his name as first entered but in such a manner that his name shall remain legible, and in the column headed "Remarks" opposite his name shall be written the words "Stricken off for failure to vote in five years", giving the year of the General Election in which the said person last voted, and the date of such entry, or if found disqualified, the reason for such disqualification shall be entered in the column headed "Remarks" opposite his name and the date of the entry, and a heavy line in ink shall be drawn through his name in the Registers and in the Books of Registered Voters a heavy line in ink shall be drawn through his name, his age and his residence.
Every person whose name has been stricken from the registration books for failure to vote, as aforesaid, may become registered anew at any sitting for registration if he possesses all the necessary qualifications for registration upon personal application for such purpose as if he had not before been registered. It shall be unlawful to strike any name from the registration books on the last day of registration in any year for having failed to vote as aforesaid.
Section 32. Additional Registration for Members of Armed Forces, Etc.; When; Auxiliary Registrars Appointed; Powers and Duties; Qualifications; Terms; Compensation; Vacancies; Oaths: --In addition to the registration days as provided in Chapter 56 of the Revised Code of Delaware, 1935, the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County shall sit each day, Sundays and Legal Holidays excepted, during the regular office hours of the Bureau, and such other hours as the Bureau shall deem necessary in the office of the Bureau for the purpose of registering every qualified elector who is a member of the armed forces of the United States, or of the Merchant Marine of the United States, or is serving with the American Red Cross, the Society of Friends, the Women Air Force Service Pilots, or the United Service Organizations, attached to and serving with the armed forces of the United States, or who has received official notice of induction or acceptance into any such services, and whose name does not already appear as a registered voter on the registration books for his or her election district and who shall appear in person at the office of the said Bureau of Registration; provided, however, no such registration shall be made within the period commencing with the third Saturday next before the next ensuing election and ending ten days after the said election.
For the purposes of this Section the said Bureau of Registration may appoint Auxiliary Registrars who shall be residents and voters in New Castle County. The members of the Bureau and the Auxiliary Registrars, so appointed, shall possess all the powers and shall perform all the duties imposed upon registration officers as provided in Chapter 56 of the Revised Code of Delaware, 1935, except they shall not be nor shall they be authorized to perform any of the duties of an election officer.
Auxiliary Registrars appointed under the provisions of this Section shall be equally divided between the two principal political parties, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Bureau. The compensation of Auxiliary Registrars, so appointed, shall be fixed by the Bureau and shall be paid by the Levy Court.
If any vacancy or vacancies should occur among the Auxiliary Registrars, such vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by the appointment of some capable person or persons who shall have the same qualifications, possess the same powers and be qualified in the same manner as the original appointee.
Before entering upon their duties as registration officers, the Members of the Bureau and the Auxiliary Registrars shall take and subscribe to the oath or affirmation as prescribed for other registration officers.
All the provisions relating to registration of voters in general, as provided by law, shall apply as far as pertinent to this Section.
Section 33. Examination of Registration Books; When; Governor Notified of Books Required; Additional Books Furnished; When; Books so Furnished to Become Official; How Endorsed; Names Transcribed Therein; When; Affidavits Attached; Old Books Preserved; How Long:--After each General, Supplementary or additional registration, it shall be the duty of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County to examine all the Registers and Books of Registered Voters for each and every election district in New Castle County, including the City of Wilmington, and if upon such examination, it shall appear that the Registers or the Books of Registered Voters, or any of them, containing the registration in any election district in their County will not be available for the subsequent registration then next succeeding, either from lack of space or because they have become worn or for any other cause whatever, it shall be the duty of the said Bureau to notify the Governor forthwith what registration books are required for subsequent registrations in any election district in their County, and it shall be the duty of the Governor, at least five days prior to the first day of April in the year of holding the next succeeding election, to furnish the said Bureau all registration books needed in any election district in New Castle County, of the form and design as in Chapter 56 of the Revised Code of Delaware, 1935, prescribed, and the registration books so provided by the Governor shall become and be, respectively, the Registers and/or Books of Registered Voters in such election district. The Register shall be endorsed upon the back and at the head thereof with the words "Register of _______ Election District _________ Representative District, New Castle County", together with the date, month and year when the same were received by the Bureau. The Books of Registered Voters so received shall be endorsed "Books of Registered Voters of _______ Election District ______ Representative District, New Castle County". Endorsements as herein provided shall be made by the President of the Bureau. All the provisions of Chapter 56 of the Revised Code of Delaware, 1935, relative to Registers and Books of Registered Voters, so far as pertinent, shall apply to the aforesaid Books.
It shall be the duty of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County in each election district in New Castle County, including the City of Wilmington, in which new registration books are furnished for any of the causes hereinbefore stated, to trans-scribe or cause to be transcribed from the original Registers into the new registration books so furnished the names and other particulars, as required by law, omitting therefrom all names which heretofore have been stricken from the lists of registered voters in such election district. Upon the completion of such transcription, each of said books shall be compared as to their correctness and shall be verified by oath or affirmation by all the members of the Bureau or a majority thereof. The affidavit signed by them shall be attached to each such book.
The Bureau shall keep and preserve in its office, until the last day of February next after the ensuing general election, all of the books from which such transcription was made, and the said books shall be open to the inspection of any one desiring to do so.
Section 34. Registration Books Delivered to Registrars in Wilmington in Year of Municipal Election; When:--It shall be the duty of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County, prior to the first Saturday in June in each year in which a Municipal Election is held in the City of Wilmington, to deliver to the proper Registrar for each election district in the said City the two Registers and the two Books of Registered Voters.
Section 35. Expense of Registration for Municipal Elections Paid by Mayor and Council of Wilmington:--In each year in which a Municipal Election is held in the City of Wilmington, the cost and expense of all registration notices, posters, maps, advertisements, supplies and other necessary expense connected with the registration of voters for Municipal Elections, shall be paid by the Mayor and Council of the City of Wilmington as other election expenses are paid and upon proper vouchers signed by the President and Secretary of the Bureau of Registration for New Castle County.
Section 36. Registration Officers Appointed in 1944, Terms: --All Registration Officers appointed by the Board of Registration for Registration Department District Number One (New Castle County), in the year 1944, shall continue in office until their successors are duly appointed and qualified.
Section 37. Present Board of Registration Abolished:-- From and after the effective date of this Act the Board of Registration for Registration Department District Number One (New Castle County) be and the same is hereby abolished.
Section 38. Repeal of Inconsistent Act or Acts:--All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed so far as such inconsistencies exist.
Approved March 26, 1945.