CHAPTER 39.
OF ELECTIONS.
AN ACT to provide for the Registration of Voters in the City of Wilmington.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
SECTION I. That for the purpose of preventing fraud at qualified voters in the all elections held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November, as provided by Section I of Article 4 of the Constitution of this State, and facilitating the ascertainment of those who are duly qualified electors according to the constitution and laws of this State, there shall hereafter in the city of Wilmington be a general registration of all the qualified voters resident in each election district in said city at the times hereinbelow provided and then only on Saturday of the fourth week, on Saturday of the third week and on Friday and Saturday of the second week next preceding the day of each and every such election. That for each and every election, other than such as above designated, except municipal elections and elections for members of the Board of Education, held in said city there shall be a revision of the general registration had as provided in this a61, which revision shall be made on the second Saturday next preceding the day of each and every such election.
SECTION 2. That, in the month of August in the year 1891, on or before the tenth day thereof, the Governor of the State of Delaware shall appoint three persons of said city, who shall constitute a Department of Elections for said city, with full power to act as such for the terms of two, four and six years from the date of their appointment, or until their successors shall be duly appointed. At the first meeting of the said board said members of said Department of Election shall determine their terms by lot, and shall certify the result to the Clerk of the Peace for New Castle County, who shall carefully preserve the same; and the said result, or a copy duly certified by the said Clerk of the Peace under his hand and seal of office, shall be evidence in all the courts of this State or elsewhere. At the expiration of the term of the said member who shall draw the shortest term, and biennially thereafter, the place of the retiring member shall be filled by appointment by the Governor of the State of Delaware, for the term of six years. No person shall be eligible to appointment as a member of said department who shall not be a citizen of the United States of America, and be a qualified voter of and resident in said city for the term of five years next preceding his appointment. No member of said Department of Elections shall hold or be a candidate for any other State or county office during his membership in said department, nor until the expiration of six months after he shall have ceased to be a member of said Department of Elections. When any vacancy occurs in said department, by or from any cause whatsoever, the Governor aforesaid shall fill the unexpired term by appointment, but at no time shall all the members of said department be of the same political faith and opinion. Each of said members shall, before entering upon his duties, and within one month from the time of his appointment, take and subscribe and file in the office of the Clerk of the Peace aforesaid an oath or affirmation that he will perform the duties of his office with fidelity and impartiality. The persons so named shall meet and organize said Department of Elections by this act constituted by selecting one of their number to be president, whose term of office shall continue for two years from the date of his appointment, when and biennially thereafter the said Department of Elections shall select one of their number to be president. Each member of the Department of Elections shall receive as a compensation for his services the annual salary of five hundred dollars: Provided, that no salary or compensation shall be paid in any year in which no general or special election is held.
SECTION 3. The duties of the members of the Department of Elections shall be as follows:
I. They shall, on or before the first day of September next preceding the time of the first registration held under the provisions of this act, and in every sixth year thereafter, on or before the first day of September, divide the city into as many election districts as they shall deem necessary.
Provided that each election district shall contain as near as may be no more than three hundred, nor less than one hundred, qualified voters. And provided further, that each of said districts shall be entirely within the boundaries of one ward. And on or before the first day of September, A. D, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and biennially thereafter, said Department of Elections may divide such of the districts, and such only as by the registration of voters last preceding such division shall be found to have had a registration of more than three hundred voters, but in any such division of any such district one portion of the district shall retain the original numerical designation and the other portion shall take the number following the highest numbered district in the ward in which such new districts are situated.
2. They shall designate and appoint a place of registry and polling place in each election district in the city, and shall, not less than two weeks prior to the first day of any registration or revision of registration, provided for in this act, advertise, by posters or handbills, posted in five of the most public places in each district, the number and boundaries of the districts in which they are posted, the time and place of holding the next registration and election in such district, the officers to be voted for at such election, and at the places so designated all elections shall be held and the work of registration performed; and the said Department of Elections shall hire all such places and cause the same to be fitted up, warmed, lighted and cleaned, but in such election district such place shall be in the most public, orderly and convenient portion of the district, and no building or part of a building shall be designated or used as a place of registry or 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.
3. They shall cause to be prepared books for the registration of names and facts required by this act; said books to be known by the general name of Registers, and to be so arranged as to admit of the entry of the names of each street or avenue in each election district, and the number of each dwelling in any such street or avenue, if there be a number thereto, and if there be no number, under such definite description of the location of the dwelling place as shall enable it to be readily ascertained, found and located; of the names of all male persons, resident in each dwelling in each of said districts, who shall apply for registration. Such registers shall be ruled in parallel columns, in which, opposite to and against the name of every applicant, shall be entered the words and figures hereinafter provided in this act, and shall be of such size as to contain not less than four hundred names, and so prepared that they may, be used at each ele6lion in the said city until such time as in this act provided for the succeeding registration, and shall on the inside be in appearance and form as follows, to wit:
4. They shall prepare and furnish all necessary registers, books, maps, forms, oaths, certificates, blanks and instructions for the use of the inspectors of election, provide for the furnishing of such officers therewith and with all necessary supplies, and also a copy of this law for their guidance.
They shall have and retain the custody of all registers, tally lists, books, maps, forms, oaths of office and of removal, blanks, instructions, and all other records and supplies of every other kind or description pertaining to the Department of Elections provided for in this act.
5. They shall have power to dismiss any election officer at any time and supply his place with another person. They may also employ a clerk and such other assistants as in the judgment of the members of said department shall be necessary and proper for the faithful performance by the department of the duties by this act imposed; provided the expense thereof shall not exceed fifteen hundred dollars in any one year, which said sum shall not include the compensation of members of the Department of Elections inspectors, and poll clerks, to be paid as provided in this act.
6. They shall from time to time and at all times, and at least once in each and every year in which an election is held, have full power and authority to make or cause to be made such full, complete and accurate copies, as they shall deem necessary, of the records of the names, residences, age and cause of death of each male person who shall die in the city, as the facts in respect to such death shall be furnished to the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the city, and shall keep, preserve and file all such copies of such records; and it shall be the duty of the Department of Elections, in each year in which an election is held, to cause to be delivered to each inspector of election in each election district in the city, on or before the first day of registration, an alphabetical record of all male persons twenty-one years of age and upwards who, in the district in which the said inspector is to serve, have died since the last election. Such records shall be known and designated as the record of death; and it shall be the duty of each inspector of election in each election district upon the receipt of such record, to securely attach the same to the inside of the register in his custody to the end that it may be preserved, and upon the receipt of the same each inspector shall examine the register in his custody as to the name of every person upon said register, who, by said record of deaths, shall by a coincidence in respect to said names and facts appear to have deceased, and opposite to and against every such name to enter in the column headed " why disqualified" the word "dead," in the column "date of erasing name" the month, day and year of such erasing, and in the column headed 'remarks" the words "stricken from the register," adding against each such entry made in the column of remarks the initial letters of the name of the inspector making such entry, and through the name of every such person stricken from the register, and then only, shall draw a line indicative that such name is erased from the register of that election district.
7. They shall furnish the inspectors of election in each election district with the hereinafter named election machinery:
(a) Two boxes of a size sufficient in their judgment to receive the ballots in the respective districts, and of such character and workmanship as will insure safety and fairness in elections; in the lid of one of the boxes shall be a hole sufficient only to admit with convenience one ballot; and it shall be furnished with a lock and key for securing the lid; the lid of the other box shall be without a hole and shall also be furnished with a lock and key and so constructed as to be secured with tape and sealing wax.
(b) Stamps which, when applied to tax receipts on registration days, will produce the word "Registered,'' the number of the district, and also the day and year of registration in letters and figures, and when applied to tax receipts, on election day, will produce the word "Voted," the number of the district, and also the day and year of voting in letters and figures.
8. They shall, hereafter, appoint all inspectors of elections and poll clerks for elections in said city, and shall also make all necessary removals and transfers of election officers and fill all vacancies which from any cause may occur.
9. They shall, in the month of August, in each year in which a general election is held, select for each election district, to serve as inspectors of election, three persons, who shall be citizens of the United States of America and of the State of Delaware, of good character, able to read, write and speak the English language understandingly, qualified voters in the city, and not candidates for any office to be voted for by the electors of the district for which they shall be selected, two of whom shall be of different political faith and opinion from their associates; provided, that the total number of inspectors in each ward shall be divided as equally as possible between the different political parties; and those appointed to represent the party in political minority to be named solely by such member or members of the Department of Elections as is or are the representative or representatives of such political minority; and no person who shall have served as inspector at any registration shall be a candidate at the election for which such registration was held. Every person so selected to be an election inspector shall, on receipt of notice thereof, appear within ten day thereafter, before said department, for the purpose of examination, and if found qualified shall, unless excused by the department by reason of ill-health or other good and sufficient cause, be bound to serve as such officer at every registration and election for the term for which he is appointed, and shall take the following oath of office, which oath may be administered by any member of the Department of Elections:
I, ______ residing at No. _____ in the city of Wilmington, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Delaware, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of inspector of election for the ______ election district of the ______ ward of the city of Wilmington, according to the best of my ability, and that I am a citizen of the United States and of the State of Delaware, a qualified voter in the city of Wilmington and not a candidate for any office to be voted for by the electors of the district for which I am appointed.
In case of refusal or neglect on the part of any person so selected to be an election inspector to comply with the above requirements, or to serve, or to act, he shall be liable to a penalty of two hundred dollars, recoverable by said department by civil action in any court of record in the name of the "President of the Department of Elections of the City of Wilmington," and for the use and benefit of New Castle county; and 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 act preliminary to receiving his certificate of appointment or to attend on the day of any registration or 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 within the meaning of this act. The Department of Elections shall deliver a certificate of appointment to whomsoever shall be nominated, approved and sworn into office by it as an inspector of elections, 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 inspectors of election appointed under the provisions of this act 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 the inspectors are actually on duty on a day of registration or election and for improper conduct as an election 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 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 as inspector as aforesaid to appear and qualify as an inspector within the time herein prescribed shall be deemed to create a vacancy in said office.
10. They shall appoint as poll clerks two persons of different political faith and opinion and possessing the other qualifications of inspectors of elections required by this act, who shall be in all respects similarly named, selected, notified, examined, appointed, commissioned and sworn as in this act required for the appointment of inspectors in and for such election districts. Said poll clerks shall hold office for the same period of time and upon the same conditions as are above prescribed for inspectors of election, and shall receive a like certificate of appointment. In case of refusal or neglect on the part of any person so selected to be a poll clerk to comply with the above requirements, or to serve, or to act, he shall be liable to a penalty of two hundred dollars, recoverable in the same manner and for the same use as the penalty above provided in case of refusal or neglect on the part of an inspector of election.
Whenever, from any cause, there shall exist a vacancy in the office of inspector of election or poll clerk, a person appointed to fill such vacancy shall be named by such member, or such of the members of the department or his successor or their successors as named the inspector or poll clerk in whose place any such person is designated. Inspectors of election and poll clerks appointed in pursuance of the provisions of this act shall be entitled to receive three dollars for each day's service at any registration or election, such compensation not to exceed in the aggregate the sum of fifteen dollars; provided, that the inspector whose duty it shall be to attend the meeting of the board of canvass shall receive the additional sum of three dollars as a compensation for said attendance. The said compensation shall be paid on the certificate of the president of the Department of Elections, as to the period of service, but no payment shall be made to any person as inspector of election or poll clerk who shall not have taken, subscribed and filed the oath or affirmation required therein, and who shall not, during the period of his service have fully complied with all the requirements of law in anywise relating to his duties; and the acting of any such person in either of said capacities, without having taken, subscribed and filed the said oath or affirmation, shall be deemed to be a misdemeanor and punished as such. Inspectors of election and poll clerks, during the time they hold such office, shall be exempt from the performance of military and jury duty, and no person who, by the law of this State, is exempt from jury duty, shall be required to serve as an inspector or poll clerk under this act.
SECTION 4. The inspectors of election appointed pursuant to the provisions of this act shall, at the times in this act designated for registration, meet in their respective election districts at the places which, as provided in this act, shall be designated therein for such meeting, and at such times in each election district the said inspectors of election shall openly and publicly do and perform the following acts, viz:
1. They shall organize as a board by selecting one of their number to act as chairman, but in case of failure to so organize within fifteen minutes after the time fixed for meeting, the chairman shall be selected by lot.
2. They shall receive and enter upon their several registers the application for registration of all male persons who shall personally present themselves.
3. They shall remain in session on each of said days and on each of the days for revision of registration from between the hours of eleven and twelve o'clock in the forenoon and seven o'clock in the afternoon.
4. They shall examine all persons who personally apply as to their qualifications as electors, and shall each, in a separate book, immediately and in the presence of the applicant enter in the Register, to be made and furnished as provided in this act, the statements and facts below set forth in the manner following, viz:
First - Under the column "residence" the name and number of the street, avenue, or other location of the dwelling, if there be a number, and if there shall not be a number, such clear and definite description of the place of said dwelling as shall enable it to be readily ascertained, fixed and determined; and if there shall be more than one house at the number given by the applicant as his place of residence, in which house he resides; and if there be more than one family residing in said house, either the floor on which he resides (every floor below the level of the ground being designated as the basement, the first floor on or above such level as the first floor, and each floor above that as the second or such other floor, as it may be), or the number or location of the room or rooms occupied by the applicant and whether front or rear.
Second - Under the column "name" the name of the applicant, giving the surname and Christian name or names in full, and also any other name by which he is generally known, with the initial or initials of any other name or names which he may have in addition thereto, the surname being written first; but the names of all persons residing in the same dwelling to follow each other and to be under the street and house number or other description, as provided of the dwelling.
Third - Under the column "sworn" the word "yes" or "no," as the fact shall be.
Fourth - Under the column "nativity" the state, county, kingdom, empire, or dominion, as the fact shall be stated by the applicant.
Fifth - Under the column "color" the word "white" or "colored," as the fact may be.
Sixth - Under the subdivision of the general column "term of residence" the period by months or years stated by the applicant in response to the inquiries made for the purpose of ascertaining his qualifications and filling such column.
Seventh - Under the column "naturalized " the word "yes" or "no," or "native," as the facts shall appear.
Eighth - Under one of the columns "qualified,'" "may become qualified," or "disqualified," as the fact shall appear and be determined by at least two of the board of inspectors of election, the name in full of the applicant, and through the remaining two of said three columns and opposite to his name a heavy line in ink; it being however required to designate as qualified voters all persons who at the time of application appear in all respects to be duly qualified under the constitution and laws of the State of Delaware to vote at the next ensuing election; and any male citizen of :he age of twenty-one years and under the age of twenty-two years, having resided within the State one year next before the election and the last month thereof in the county where he may offer to vote; and to designate as persons who may become qualified all such as are not at the time of application but may, under the constitution and laws aforesaid, be entitled to vote before the closing of the polls on the day of said next ensuing election; and as persons disqualified all such who under the constitution and laws aforesaid are not at the time of application and cannot, before the closing of said polls on the day of the next ensuing election as aforesaid, be entitled to vote, and under the column "why disqualified" briefly the ground or reason of such disqualification. Provided that any applicant marked upon any day of registration or revision of registration as "disqualified" shall, upon any succeeding day of registration, or upon the day of election next succeeding such day of registration or revision of registration, be entitled to be heard; and if he shall produce evidence satisfactory to the board of inspectors that he was, on the day of his first application, improperly adjudged disqualified, they shall enter his name as one of an original applicant, writing his name in the column "qualified," or "may become qualified," as the case may be; and shall strike out the previous entry of his name from the registers by drawing a heavy black line in ink through the same, and opposite thereto, in the column headed "remarks," enter the word "reconsidered," together with the date thereof and initials of the name of the inspector making the same.
Ninth - Under the column "date of application ''the month, day and year when the applicant presented himself.
SECTION 5. On the days and at the times in this act designated for any revision of any general registration, the duly qualified inspectors of eke-lion shall meet in their respective election districts, at the places which, in accordance with the requirements of this act, shall have been provided for such meetings, and shall openly and publicly do and perform the following acts, namely: each and every of the duties and requirements set forth in sub-divisions one and three of Section 4 of this act. They shall in each election district receive the applications for registration of all such male persons whose names are not then borne upon the registers thereof as qualified voters therein as shall personally present themselves, and who, on the day of election next ensuing, would be entitled to vote therein; and as to all applications made to them shall proceed in the manner provided, in sub-division 4 of Section 4 of this act; provided, that if, upon examination, as in this act provided for, of any applicant for registration it shall appear that he has, since the last day of any general registration of voters or revision thereof in the said city of Wilmington, moved into or become a resident of said election district, the said inspectors shall inquire from whence such applicant removed or came; and if it shall appear that such removal was from a place within the said city or State, they shall inquire if, in the election district in which he resided at the time of the last preceding general registration (naming such time), or in which he has resided at any time subsequent thereto, he has been registered, or has applied for registration; and if he state that lie has not, then the said inspectors shall proceed with said application as with that of any other person who may apply to them, but if he shall state that he has been so registered, the said inspectors shall, before further proceeding, require him to present to them a certificate of removal, as provided for in this act, so that his name shall not be upon the registers of two election districts, and upon the presentation to any board of inspectors of any certificate of removal, the said board shall treat the person presenting the same in the manner provided in sub-division 4 of Section 4 of this act for applicants for registration.
SECTION 6. Any person who shall at any time, as provided in this act, have applied to the inspectors of election in any election district of said city of Wilmington for registration, and shall have, in the registers thereof, been entered as a qualified voter, and who shall, at any time prior to the close of any revision of registration, have removed from the dwelling place under which he shall as a resident be borne upon the registers, may, upon any day provided in this act for meetings of the inspectors of election, other than the day of any ele6tion, personally appear before the said inspectors in the election district in which he resided at the time his name was entered upon the said registers, during the hours in this act provided for their sessions for such revisions and, if challenged, shall publicly take and subscribe before one of said inspectors the following oath or affirmation, which shall be known as an oath of removal:
"I, ______ residing in the _____ election Oath of voter district of the city of Wilmington, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I, duly entered in the registers of said election district from said residence as a qualified voter, have removed my place of residence to number _____ in the ____ election district of the city of Wilmington, and I do hereby request that the proper entries be made as the same are provided for by law, and that a certificate of removal be furnished me at this time."
Upon such oath or affirmation being made and subscribed as herein provided, it shall be the duty of the said inspectors to carefully preserve the same. And upon such application (or in case of challenge) upon any such person so taking and subscribing said oath of removal, the said inspectors of election, if satisfied of the identity of the person making the same with the person he claims to be as the description of said last mentioned person shall appear on the, register, and if not satisfied therewith, shall at once, by any one whom said board shall specially authorize, make an examination and inquiry at the place of residence of such person, as the same shall be entered upon the registers, as to the fact of the removal of such person from said dwelling place, when, if his removal therefrom shall be found by the report of such person to be a fact, shall immediately proceed to strike from said registers the name of such person by entering in each of the registers, opposite to and against the name of any such person, and in the column headed "Why Disqualified," the word " Removed; " in the column headed "Date of Erasing Name," the month, day and year of such striking from said registers such name; and in the column headed "Remarks," the words "Transferred to," together with the number of the election district to which such person shall, in his oath of removal, state he has removed, and the initial letters of the name of the inspector who shall in each of said registers make such entries; and shall, through the name of any such person, as the same shall appear on said registers, and there only, draw a line as indicative that such name is erased from the registers of that election district, and the name of any such person so found stricken and erased from said registers shall, as to his name and residence at the place in said registers entered under the column of "Residence," be thereafter considered by the Department of Elections, all inspectors of election, and all other election officers, to be stricken from the registers of that election district, and shall be treated as if never entered thereon. If the dwelling place to which any such person shall have removed be within the boundaries of the same election district as was his former residence, as stated in the registers of said election district, the said inspector shall, in said registers, under the number or other description of the dwelling place to which such person has removed, enter his name, and in the several columns opposite and against the same, such words and figures as prior to the striking from or erasing the name of such person in the manner in this section above provided, where in the columns similarly headed and opposite to and against the name of each person as upon said registers it appeared under the dwelling place from which he shall have declared he has removed; and if the dwelling place to which any such person shall have removed shall be within the boundaries of any other election district than was the residence under which he was previously entered on said registers, the said inspectors of election shall fill up, sign and deliver to such person a certificate, which shall be known as a certificate of removal, and shall be in the words and figures following, to wit:
"CERTIFICATE OF REMOVAL.
'Polling place of the _______ election district in the city of Wilmington, 189__.
"To the board of inspectors of election _____ election district: This is to certify that the name of _____
heretofore residing at _____ in this election district, has been by us, the inspectors of election in this district, stricken from the registers of this district and the proper erasures made upon the oath of removal, and at the request of said above-mentioned person, and that upon the registers of this election district were entered as to him the following statement:
Name ________ Color ________
Residence ________ Term of Residence ________
Sworn ________ State ________
Nativity ________ County ________
Naturalized ________
Date of Application ________
SECTION 7. The said inspectors shall immediately upon Stamping entering the name of an applicant upon the register require him to present his proper tax receipt, and shall stamp said receipt presented by him with the word "registered," the number of the district, and also the day and year of registering in letters and figures.
SECTION 8. The said inspectors shall, in each election district, at the close of each day of registration or revision of registration, in a place to be provided therefor in each of the Registers required in this act, fill up, date, and each sign a certificate, which shall be either printed or written, and shall be in the words and figures following, to wit:
"We, the undersigned, inspectors of election in the _____ district of the ______ ward of the city of Wilmington, do jointly and severally certify that at the registration of voters held in the said election district on the _____ day of ______ in the year _____, there were registered by us as qualified voters in the said election district the names which are entered in this book as of said day, and that the number of such registered and qualified voters was and is ______ and that there were also registered by us as persons who may become qualified to vote before the time of the close of the polls in the said election district, on the day of the next ensuing election, the names which are entered in this book as of said day, and that the number of such was and is _______ ."
SECTION 9. The said inspectors shall, in each election district on each day of registration and revision of registration, before adjourning, enter in a book prepared for that purpose, which shall be known as a public copy of the registers, all such names and residences, and all such data, information and statements as during the day have been entered by the inspectors of election in the registers provided in this act. And the whole four books shall, on each of said days after the completion of such copy of the registers, be carefully compared throughout, so that each of the registers and the copy thereof shall in every respect agree with each other, and contain the name and residence of each person who shall have applied for registration and the facts respecting him, as the same shall have been stated by him and entered in the registers, as provided in this act. The said inspectors shall, on the last days of any registration and revision of registration, certify the said copy in the same manner as if it were an original, and within forty-eight hours after their adjournment on said last day of such registration or revision of registration shall leave it suspended in the place where such registration was conducted, where it shall be and remain until the day of the next ensuing election, to the end that the same may be inspected and copied by any elector; but on the day of such election the said inspectors shall take possession of said public copy, and the chairman shall closely retain the same throughout the said day, returning it to the Department of Elections, as provided in this act for the return of the register kept by him; and shall within the same time deliver to the Department of Elections, to be filed in their office, one of the registers made by them, and the other two registers in each election district shall be retained and carefully preserved by the inspectors. Provided that the inspector who is of different political faith and opinion from his associates shall retain the possession and custody of the register made by him for the use of himself or his successor in office (if such there be) at the next election.
SECTION 10. The Department of Elections shall have the right and it shall be their duty to carefully examine and compare with each other the several registers required by Section 9 of this act to be filed in their office, and when it shall appear by any data in their possession that any person has registered in more than one election district, they shall, upon due inquiry, strike his name from the register of any or all election districts in which he is not a qualified voter, and to and against his name under the column "why disqualified," in such register or registers, state the reason therefor, and shall, on the morning of the day of the next election, between the hour of seven o'clock a.m. and the time prescribed for opening the polls, deliver to the inspectors in each election district, at the polling place therein, the register made by the inspector of such district and so corrected by the Department of Elections; and it shall be the duty of the inspectors in each election district to be present at said polling places at or before the hour of seven o'clock a.m., and there remain until the polls are closed and their duties at such polling places are at an end. After receipt of the corrected register from the Department of Elections and before the hour of election they shall carefully compare it with the other registers and the public copy of the registers of the said election districts and make them agree in all respects with said corrected register, so that at the hour of the election all three of the registers at each election district and the public copy thereof shall in all respects agree.
SECTION 11. The inspectors of election in each election district shall, on the day of any election therein, have with them at the polling place in said district the registers provided for in this act. They shall each make use of one of said registers for guidance on said election day and no vote shall be received from any person whose name shall not be found, by at least two of them, to be upon two, at least, of the said registers, as a qualified voter, or as one who may become qualified, and who at the time of offering to vote has perfected his qualifications as an elector under the constitution and laws of this State. The chairman of said inspectors in each election district shall, if present, and if absent, then one of the other inspectors shall, upon any person offering to vote, announce in a loud, clear and distinct manner the name as given of such person; and no ballot shall be received by any of the inspectors or deposited in the ballot-box until at least two of said inspectors shall, as hereinabove provided, have examined and found the name and residence of such person and have declared the same, and that such person is entered as a qualified voter, or as one who may become qualified. When, if the vote of the said person is received, each of the inspectors shall, in the register made by him, in the appropriate sub-division of the column bearing the heading " Voted," and opposite to the name and residence of such person,* the word " Yes." And one of them shall immediately stamp his tax receipt with the word "Voted," and the number of the election district, also the day and year of voting in letters and figures. It shall be the duty of each of the inspectors to note on the said register in his possession, in a suitable and separate part thereof the name and residence of each and every person, if any, whose vote shall in his opinion be received in contravention of the provisions of this section or the constitution and laws of this State, and the name of the inspector or inspectors, if any, who shall so receive or deposit in the ballot-box any such vote; and it shall further be the duty of each of the inspectors, immediately on the close of the polls on the day of election, to compare the said registers as kept by them, as herein provided, and attach to them a certificate in writing that the same are correctly checked, and within twenty-four hours after the completion of the canvass of the votes cast in the election district in which they serve, each inspector shall leave his register at the office of the Department of Elections, where it shall be filed and preserved; and in no election district in this city shall any inspector who has custody or charge of any of the registers, in this chapter provided for, ever permit said register to leave his possession (except it be the one filed in the Department of Elections, as provided in this act) from the time of receiving custody of the same until he shall file the same, as provided in this section, save in the event of his resignation or removal, and the appointment, as provided in this act, of his successor, when he shall promptly surrender and turn over the same to him.
SECTION 12. Any person applying to register, or offering to vote, or who is registered, may, on any day of registration or of election, be challenged by any qualified voter in the city, and any one of the inspectors of election in any election district in the city of Wilmington may at any such time or times, and one of them shall administer to any person so challenged the following oath or affirmation:
"You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will fully and truly answer all such questions as shall be put to you touching your place of residence, name, place of birth, age, your qualifications as an elector, and your right as such to register (or to vote) under the laws of this State."
And may also administer to any person who may be offered as a witness to prove or disprove the qualification of any person claiming the right to be registered, or to vote, the following oath or affirmation:
"You do solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will fully and Oath of truly answer all questions as shall be put to you touching the place of residence and other qualifications as an elector of the person (name to be given) now claiming the right to be registered as a voter (or to vote as the case may be) in this district"
SECTION 13. Any person who is a qualified voter in the city may, upon the day of registration, or of election, require the name of any registered person to be marked for challenge, and on such day or days shall be entitled to be heard by the inspectors of election in any election district in relation to the correctness of their registers.
SECTION 14. At every election held under the provisions of this act each political party shall have the right to designate, place and keep a challenger at each place of registration and voting, who shall be assigned such position immediately adjoining the inspectors of election and upon the inside of the window as will enable him to see each person as he offers to register or to vote, and who shall be protected in the discharge of his duty by the inspectors of election. Each political party may remove any challenger appointed by it, and all vacancies which, from any cause, shall arise shall be filled by the same party, power and authority as conferred the original appointment.
SECTION 15. The poll clerks at each poll in any such city shall keep, in ink, a poll list in books, to be prepared and furnished for that purpose, which shall contain a column headed "name of voter,'' a column headed "residence," and a column headed "remarks."
SECTION 16. The poll books referred to in the preceding section shall be in the form as follows:
ELECTION DISTRICT. (Form of poll books)
RESIDENCE NAME OF VOTER REMARKS.
The name of each elector voting shall be entered by each poll clerk in the column of his poll list headed "name of voter," and the residence of each such elector in the column headed "residence," and in the column of "remarks," opposite the name of each person challenged, shall be noted the oath or oaths offered and taken by any such person.
SECTION 17. In each election district in the city it shall be the duty of the inspectors of election, immediately after the close of the polls on the day of any such election, before proceeding with the canvass of the ballots in the box, and while the poll clerks are canvassing their books, to write, in ink, opposite to and against the name of each person entered in their registers who is not shown by said Register to have voted, and in the column headed "Voted," in the appropriate sub-division thereof, the word "no," so that the said column may be fully filled up, and the 'said inspectors shall then compare the said registers, make them agree, and ascertain the number of persons who by them are shown to have voted at that poll that day, and when they have comparison and ascertained such fact, the chairman of the board of inspectors, or, in his absence, the inspector acting as such shall announce the same in a loud voice.
SECTION 18. From and after the closing of the poll of an election and until the conclusion of the proceedings of the board of canvass, at the courthouse in the county, as provided by law, after the day of election, the canvass, tally, and certification of the result, shall proceed and be to all respects in accordance with the existing laws of this State; the chairman of each board of inspectors, as constituted by this act, performing the duties required by law of an inspector, and the other two inspectors the duties required of judges of election.
SECTION 19. If at the time for opening any registration, revision of registration or any election, the inspectors or a majority of them be not present at the place of registration or election, the voters there may, without ballot, by plurality, choose a person to supply the place of every such absent inspector, but the inspector or inspectors so chosen shall be of the same political faith and opinion as the person or persons for whose place or places he or they may be chosen to fill; and if, at the time aforesaid, either or both of the poll clerks be not present at the place of election, the inspectors shall choose the person or persons to fill the place or places of such absent clerk or clerks; provided, that the person or persons so chosen shall be of the same political faith and opinion as the person or persons for whose place or places he or they may be chosen to fill. When any person shall be chosen to fill the place of an absent inspector or poll clerk, he shall, before entering upon his duties, take and subscribe the oath as provided in Section 3 of this act; and a blank form of said oath shall be printed or written in the back of the register provided to be furnished to the inspectors of election under this act. The failure of an election officer appointed by the Department of Elections to appear and enter upon the performance of his duties at the time or times prescribed in this act for any registration, revision of registration or election, shall constitute a vacancy, and the person or persons selected under the provisions of this section to fill any or all such vacancies shall hold office for the unexpired term or terms of his or their predecessors, under and subject to all the provisions of this at respecting the same.
SECTION 20. Every ballot-box shall be so placed at a window or elsewhere that the voters depositing any ballot, and each challenger, may conveniently see every ballot received by the inspectors and deposited in the ballot-box. No screen or other obstruction to such view of any ballot-box by the voter or challenger shall be allowed.
SECTION 21. The said Department of Elections may rent some suitable and convenient place in the said city, and fit up the same for an office for the use of the said Department of Elections at a yearly rental not to exceed three hundred dollars.
SECTION 22. No person who is registered in one election district shall register or cause himself to be registered in another district.
SECTION 23. For all power, authority, and duties in this act prescribed for or conferred upon and all actions required of inspectors of election save where such authority or action is specifically allowed to any of said inspectors, the concurrence or assent of a majority of all the inspectors of election in any election district must in all cases be obtained.
SECTION 24. No person shall be required to serve as an inspector of election for two successive terms.
SECTION 25. The several inspectors of election, and poll clerks, in this act named and created, are and shall be in all courts and proceedings deemed and held respectively to be election officers; and it shall be the duty of the said inspectors of election, and poll clerks, respectively, or a majority of said inspectors, to be in constant attendance during the hours and times fixed for the discharge of their several duties.
SECTION 26. Any inspector of election, poll clerk, or any challenger, appointed in compliance with the provisions of this act, shall at any time between the first day of registration or revision of registration, as required by this act, preceding any election and ten days after the official declaration and certificate of the result of any such election, have full power and authority to make a thorough and effective canvass of the election district in and for which he has been or was designated to serve and act upon any day of registration, or revision of registration, or election, and to make full inquiry respecting any and every resident of any dwelling, building, or other place of abode in any such election district, his age, term of residence, and qualifications as a voter; but the power and authority by this section conferred upon any inspector of election, poll clerk, or challenger, shall wholly cease upon his resignation or removal from the office or position to which he was appointed, or for which he was designated.
SECTION 27. The inspectors of election in each election district, while discharging any of the duties imposed upon them by this act, shall have full authority to preserve order and enforce obedience to their lawful commands at and around the place of registration or election during the time of any registration or revision of registration, election or canvass, estimate or return of votes, to keep the access to such places open and unobstructed; to prevent and suppress riots, tumult, violence, disorder and all improper practices tending to the intimidation or obstruction of voters, the disturbance or interruption of the work of registration or voting, or the canvass estimate or return of votes, and to protect the voters and challengers from intimidation and violence, and the registers, poll books, boxes and ballots from violence and fraud, and to deputize, if necessary, one or more electors to communicate their orders and directions and to assist in the enforcement thereof.
SECTION 28. The legal compensation of all members of the Department of Elections shall be paid quarterly on the last day of March, June, September and December by the State Treasurer out of any money belonging to the State not otherwise appropriated. The compensation of inspectors of election, poll clerks and other officers of election, as provided for by this act, the cost and expenses of all necessary election notices, posters, maps, advertisements, registers, books, blanks, stationery, the rent and cost of fitting-up, warming, lighting, cleaning and safe keeping of all places of registration and polling places; of furnishing, repairing and carting ballot-boxes, and the cost of all supplies of every kind and nature for elections in said city shall be paid as other general election expenses are, and upon proper warrants and vouchers made by the Department of Elections.
SECTION 29. It shall be the duty of the city surveyor to furnish to the Department of Elections of said city, upon their request, a map or maps of the several wards of the city, or any and all portions thereof.
SECTION 30. Hereafter it shall not be lawful for any of the authorities, officers or agents of the said city of Wilmington to number or re-number, or change the name of any street, avenue, lane, road or way in the said city, or in any wise change or alter any such number or name, save between the first day of July and the last day of August, of any year.
SECTION 31. It shall be unlawful for any inspector of election, poll clerk or challenger, during the election or canvass of ballots, or any person or persons within the polling place, to electioneer or engage in any political discussion. Any violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than ninety days or by fine not more than two hundred dollars, or both.
SECTION 32. Whoever, during the sitting of any board of inspectors of election in any election district in the city, whether held for the purpose of registration, revision of registration, reception or canvass of votes, or of making return thereof, shall bring, take, order, or send into, or shall attempt to bring, take, or send into any place of registration, revision of registration, or of election, any distilled or spirituous liquors whatever, or shall, at any such time and place, drink or partake of any such liquor, shall be deemed and held to be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than ninety clays, or by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, or both.
SECTION 33. If, at any registration, or revision of registration of voters, or at any meeting of inspectors of election held for such purpose, as provided in this act, any person shall falsely personate an elector, or other person, and register, or attempt or offer to register in the name of such elector, or other person, or if any person shall knowingly or fraudulently register, or offer, or attempt to make application to register in or under the name of any person, or in or under any false, assumed, or fictitious name, or in or under any name not his own, or shall knowingly or fraudulently register in two election districts, or, having registered in one district, shall fraudulently attempt to offer to register in another, or shall fraudulently register, or attempt or offer to register in any election district not having a lawful right to register therein, or shall knowingly or willfully do any unlawful act to secure registration for himself or any other person, or shall knowingly, willfully, or fraudulently, by false personation, or otherwise, or by any unlawful means, procure, or attempt to cause or procure the name of any qualified voter in any election district to be erased or stricken from any register of the voters of such district, made in pursuance of this act or otherwise than in this act provided; or by force, threat, menace, intimidation bribery, reward, or offer, or promise thereof, or other unlawful means, prevent, hinder, or delay any person having a lawful right to register or be registered, from duly exercising such right, or who shall knowingly, willfully, or fraudulently compel or induce, or attempt, or offer to compel, or induce by such means, or any unlawful means, any inspector of election or officer of registration in any election district, to register or admit to registration any person not lawfully entitled to registration in such district, or to register any false, assumed, or fictitious name, or any name of any person except as provided in this act, or shall knowingly, or willfully or fraudulently interfere with, hinder or delay any inspector of election, or other officer of registration in the discharge of his duties, or counsel, advise or induce, or attempt to induce any such inspector or other officer to refuse or neglect to comply with or to perform his duties, or to violate any law prescribing or regulating the same, or shall aid, counsel, procure, or advise any voter, person, inspector of election, or other officer of registration, to do any act by law forbidden or in this act constituted an offense, or to omit to do any act by law directed to be done; every such person shall, upon conviction thereof, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not more than two years, or by fine not more than two hundred dollars, or both.
SECTION 34. If at any election hereafter held in the said city as provided in this act any person shall falsely personate any elector or other person, and vote or attempt or offer to vote in or upon the name of such elector or other person, or shall vote or attempt to vote in or upon the name of any person whether living or dead, or in or upon any false, assumed or fictitious name, or in or upon any name not his own, or shall knowingly, willfully or fraudulently vote more than once for any candidate for the same office, or shall vote or attempt or offer to vote in any election district without having a lawful right to vote therein, or to vote more than once or to vote in more than one election district, or having once voted shall vote or attempt or offer to vote again, or shall knowingly, willfully or fraudulently do any unlawful act to secure an opportunity for himself or for any other person to vote, or shall by force, threat, menace, intimidation, bribery or reward or offer or promise thereof, or otherwise, unlawfully either directly or indirectly influence or attempt to influence any elector in giving his vote, or prevent or hinder or attempt to prevent or hinder any qualified voter from freely exercising the rights of suffrage or by any such means induce or attempt to induce any such voter to refuse to exercise any such right, or shall by any such means or otherwise compel or induce or attempt to compel or induce any inspector of election or other officer of election in any election district to receive the vote of any person not legally qualified or entitled to vote at the said election in such district, or shall knowingly, willfully or fraudulently interfere with, delay or hinder in any manner any inspector of election, poll clerk, or other officer of election in the discharge of his duty, or by any of such means or other unlawful means, knowingly, willfully or fraudulently counsel, advise, induce or attempt to induce any inspector of election, poll clerk, or other officer of election whose duty it is to ascertain, proclaim, announce or declare the result of any such election, or to give or make any certificate, document, report, return or other evidence in relation thereto, to refuse or neglect to comply with his duty, or to violate any law regulating the same, or to receive the vote of any person in any election district not entitled to vote therein, or to refuse to receive the vote of any person entitled to vote therein, or shall aid, counsel or advise, procure or assist any voter, person or inspector of election or other officer of election to do any act by law forbidden, or in this act constituted an offense, or to omit to do any act by law directed to be done, every such person shall upon conviction thereof be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished for each and every offense 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 35. If any poll clerk or inspector of election performing the duty of poll clerk shall willfully keep a false poll list or shall knowingly insert in his poll list any false statement or any name or statement, or any check, letter or mark except as in this act provided, he shall, upon 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 36. Every inspector of election who shall willfully exclude any vote duly tendered, knowing that the person offering the same is lawfully entitled to vote at such election, or shall willfully receive a vote from any person who has been duly challenged in relation to his right to vote at such election without exacting from such person such oath or other proof of qualification as may be required by law, or who shall willfully omit to challenge any person offering to vote whom he knows or suspects not to be entitled to vote, and who has not been challenged by any other person, shall upon 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 37. Every inspector of election, member of the Department of Elections, poll clerk, or other officer authorized to take part in or perform any duty in relation to any canvass or official statement of the votes cast at any election, who shall willfully make any false canvass of such votes, or shall make, sign, publish or deliver any false returns of such election, or any false certificate or statement of the result of such election, knowing the same to be false, or who shall willfully deface, destroy or conceal any statement or certificate entrusted to his care or custody, shall, on conviction thereof, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not more than two years, or by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, or both.
SECTION 38. If any person, other than an inspector of election, shall at any election knowingly and willfully put or cause to be put any ballot or ballots or other paper having the semblance thereof into any box used at such election for the reception of votes, or if any such inspector shall knowingly and willfully cause or permit any ballot to be in said box at the opening of the polls and before voting shall have commenced, or shall knowingly or willfully or fraudulently put any ballot or other paper having the semblance thereof into any such box at any such election, unless the same shall be offered by an elector and his name shall have been found and checked upon the registers, as hereinbefore provided, or if any such inspector or other officer, or person shall fraudulently, before, during or after the canvass of ballots, in any manner change, substitute or alter any ballot, or shall remove any ballot or semblance thereof from, or add any ballot or semblance thereof to the ballots found in any box upon the closing of the polls, every such person shall upon 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 39. If any member of the Department of Elections, any inspector of election, poll clerk, or other officer of registration, election or canvass, of whom any duty is required in this act, or by the general election laws of this State (so far as the same are consistent with the provisions of this act), shall be guilty of any willful neglect of such duty, of any corrupt or fraudulent conduct or practice in the execution of the same, be 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 40. Every inspector of election, poll clerk, or other officer or person having the custody of any record, register of votes, or copy thereof, oath, return of votes, certificate, poll list, or any paper, document, or evidence of any description in this act directed to be made, filed or preserved, who is guilty of stealing, willfully destroying, mutilating, defacing, falsifying, or fraudulently removing or secreting the whole, or any part thereof, or who shall fraudulently make any entry, erasure, or alteration therein, except as allowed and directed by the provisions of this act, or who permits any other person to do so, shall, upon conviction thereof, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished for each and every such offense by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding two years, or by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, or both.
SECTION 41. Every person not an officer, such as is mentioned in the last preceding section, who is guilty of any of the acts specified in said section, or who advises, procures, or abets the commission of the same, or of any of them, shall, upon conviction thereof, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and for each and every such offense shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding two years, or by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, or both.
SECTION 42. Any person who shall be convicted of willful false swearing or affirming in taking any oath or affirmation prescribed by or upon any examination provided for in this act shall be adjudged guilty of perjury.
SECTION 43. Every person who shall willfully or corruptly instigate, advise, induce, or procure any person to swear or affirm falsely, as aforesaid, or attempt or offer so to do, shall be adjudged guilty of subornation of perjury, and shall, upon conviction thereof; suffer the punishment directed by law in cases of perjury.
SECTION 44. If any person shall fraudulently change or alter the ballot of any elector, or substitute one ballet for another, or fraudulently furnish any elector with a ballot containing more than the proper number of names, or shall intentionally practice any fraud upon any elector to induce him to deposit a ballot as his vote and to have the same thrown out and not counted, or to have the same counted for a person or candidate other than the person or candidate for whom such elector intended to vote, or otherwise defraud him of his vote, every such person shall, upon 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 45. If any person shall willfully disobey any lawful command of any inspector of election, or of any board of inspectors of election, given in the execution of his or their duty as such at any election, he shall, upon conviction thereof, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, or both.
SECTION 46. If at any registration or revision of registration of voters or on any day of election, or during the canvass of the votes cast thereat, any person shall cause any breach of the peace or use any violence or threats of violence, whereby any such registration, revision of registration, election or canvass shall be impeded or hindered, or whereby the lawful proceedings of any inspector of election, or board of inspectors of election, or poll clerk or other officer of such election, or challenger, as herein before provided, are interfered with, every such person shall, upon 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 47. If any person shall knowingly or willfully obstruct, hinder, assault, or by bribery, solicitation or otherwise interfere with any inspector of election, poll clerk or challenger in the performance of any duty required of him, or which he may by law be authorized or permitted to perform; or if any person by any other means before mentioned or otherwise unlawfully, shall on the day of registration, .revision of registration, or of election, hinder, or prevent any inspector of election, poll clerk or challenger in his free attendance and presence at the place of registration or of election in the election district in and for which he is appointed to serve, or in his full and free access and egress to and from any such place of registration or election, or to and from any room where any such registration or election, or canvass of votes, or of making any returns or certificates thereof, may be had, or shall molest, interfere with, remove or eject from any such place of registration, or poll of election, or of canvassing ballots, cast thereat, or of making the returns or certificates thereof, any such inspector of election, poll clerk or challenger, or shall unlawfully threaten or attempt or offer so to do, every such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof 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 48. Any inspector of election who shall willfully neglect, or when called on shall willfully decline to exercise the powers conferred on him in this act for any of the purposes set forth in Section 27 of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, or both.
SECTION 49. If any person shall steal, or willfully break or destroy any ballot box used or intended to be used at any election, or shall willfully or fraudulently conceal, secrete, or remove any such box from the custody of the inspectors of election, or shall alter, deface, injure, destroy or conceal any ballot which has been deposited in any ballot-box at such election, or any poll list used or intended to be used at such election, or any report, return, certificate, or other evidence in this act required or provided for, shall, on conviction thereof; be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall for each and every such offense 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 50. If, in any election district, in any registration, or revision of registration of voters, or at any election hereafter held in said city, any inspector of election, or poll clerk, shall knowingly or willfully admit any person to registration, or make any entry upon any register of voters or poll books, or receive any vote, or proceed with a canvass of ballots, or shall consent thereto, unless a majority of the inspectors of election in said election district are present and concur, he shall, upon conviction thereof, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than sixty days, or by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, or both.
SECTION 51. Irregularities or defects in the mode of noticing, canvassing, polling or conducting any election authorized by this act shall constitute no defense to a prosecution for a violation of the provisions of this act.
SECTION 52. Upon ally prosecution for procuring, offering or casting an illegal vote, the accused may give in evidence any fact tending to show that he honestly believed upon good reason that the vote complained of was a lawful one.
SECTION 53. It is hereby made the special duty of the Attorney-General of the State of Delaware to immediately prosecute all complaints which may be made of a violation of any of the provisions of this act to final judgment; and it shall be the duty of the Department of Elections to notify the said Attorney-General of all violations under this act.
SECTION 54. That all laws or parts of laws heretofore passed inconsistent with any of the provisions of this act be and the same are hereby repealed.
Passed at Dover, May 13, 1891.