of official ballots for that purpose shall not have been delivered to the board of election by the county or municipal clerk for any organization, party or group of petitioners, it shall be lawful for such organization, party or group of petitioners to deliver to the board of election official ballots, in number sufficient to furnish one of such ballots to each voter; and it shall then be the duty of such board of election to provide each voter with such ballots in the manner provided for in this section; no person shall be permitted to vote at said election until after he shall have received said ballots and envelope in manner aforesaid, and carried the same with him into one of the booths; having obtained said ballots and envelope, the voter shall, with the same in his possession, without delay and without leaving said railed inclosure, retire alone to one of said booths and enter the same and close the door thereof, and remain therein such length of time, not exceeding five minutes, until he shall have inclosed in said official envelope the ballot he intends voting, in such manner as to conceal all printing, writing or pasters on the face of said ballot, whether said ballot was procured from said election officer, or within said booth or elsewhere; on leaving the booth the voter shall forthwith, and before leaving said railed inclosure, deliver his ballot, inclosed in said envelope as aforesaid, unsealed, but with the flap thereof turned down so as to conceal the ballot therein, to the judge of election at the ballot-box, who shall immediately deposit the same in the ballot-box in the presence of the voter; after which the voter shall, without unnecessary delay, leave the polling-room; and no ballot (except as in this act otherwise provided) shall be counted unless the same shall be inclosed in an unsealed official envelope, in the manner herein prescribed; provided, that in no case shall the ballot be deposited by such judge until the board of election shall have decided to receive the same; nor shall the ballot or envelope, in Duty of receiving voter after ballots and envelope. Duty, of board as to ballots received. Proceedings in case voter is blind or disabled. Name of person voted divulged. any case, be by any member of said board opened, marked or examined, or permitted to be opened, marked or examined, before the same shall be deposited in the ballot-box; and each envelope inclosing a ballot shall be separately deposited in the ballot-box. 81. Any voter at any election who declares under oath, and establishes to the satisfaction of a majority of all the members of the board of election, that by reason of blindness or other physical disability, he is unable to enter and remain in a booth or to prepare his ballot therein, for voting as aforesaid, without assistance, shall be permitted to bring with him to such booth a person of his own selection, who may retire with such disabled voter to the booth and assist him in the preparation of his ballot and inclosing and folding the same in the said envelope as the disabled voter shall direct, in order that may be cast by such disabled voter as his ballot; the poll-clerk shall make a memorandum on the poll-book of every instance when an oath was administered to a voter as herein provided, stating briefly what facts were sworn to, and the name of the person or persons who aided the voter in preparing his ballot; no voter shall it for not to be divulge to any one within the polling-place the name of any candidate for whom he intends to vote; nor shall he ask for and receive the assistance of any person within the polling-place in the preparation of his ballot except as prescribed in this section; no person who assists a voter in the preparation of his ballot, as herein provided, shall reveal to another the name of any candidate for whom the voter has voted, or anything that took place while he was assisting such voter in preDisability not paring said ballot for voting; this section shall not apply to the case of any person intoxicated or unable to read and write. to include intoxicated persons, etc. Proceedings when voter's name is already checked off. 82. When any legal voter shall apply to the board of registry and election in the district in which he resides, and shall find that his name upon the registry list is already checked as having voted, it shall be lawful for the board of registry and election to receive his vote, upon due proof to them that he is a lawful voter in such district and has not voted in said election. good order 83. The boards of election of every election district Preservation shall preserve the peace and maintain good order in at the polls. their respective polling-places, during the progress of all elections and the counting of the votes cast thereat, and to that end each member of every election board, during the progress of any election and the counting and canvassing of the votes, shall be and hereby is invested and charged with all the powers and duties of constables of this state in criminal matters; said election boards, or any two members of them, may, by writing under their hands whenever in their opinion it shall be necessary so to do, request the municipal authorities of any municipality within which their election district is situate, or the body or officer having charge and direction of the police force in such municipality, to detail one or more policemen to assist in preserving the peace and good order in and about such polling-place, which request shall forthwith be complied with as far as possible by the body or officer to whom the same is made. 84. No member of any board of registry and election shall be elected to any office to be filled at the election in which he shall serve; and if any such member shall be voted for in any such election, the person or persons, to the number to be elected therein, who shall, by law, be qualified for the office or offices to be filled at such election, for whom the greatest number of votes shall have been given therein, other than such member, shall be deemed and taken to be elected, and the votes which shall be given to such member shall be deemed and taken to be null and void. Member of eligible to office. board not elective Act to apply to all general and city elections. Provisions No official ballots required, but furnished by candidates. Local or Charter Elections in Townships and Municipalities Other than Cities. 85. The provisions of this act relating to the nomination of candidates and the use of official ballots and envelopes shall apply to all general elections throughout this state and to the charter, local or special elections in all of the cities of this state, but shall not apply to any township, local or municipal election in any township, town (a), borough or other municipality of this state; but every township, local or municipal election in any township, town, borough or municipality, other than cities, shall be held and conducted in the following manner: The clerk of every such townhship, town, borough or other municipality shall, before election day, arrange the room by him provided for such election with booths, and railings, in all respects as is required in and by this act; the ballots to be used at such elections shall not be official, but shall be furnished or provided by candidates or other interested parties; such ballots shall be printed with black ink on plain white paper, after the manner and style hereinbefore provided; it shall and may be lawful for any voter at such election to erase from his ballot any name or names thereon printed, and to write or paste thereon the name or names of any person or persons for whom he may desire to vote for any office; the ink or lead pencil to be used in writing any name or names upon the ballots to be black in color, and the use of any other colored ink or pencil shall invalidate the entire ballot; all pasters shall be printed with black ink on white paper, and the use of any other kind or style (a) By an amendment the provisions of the act do now apply to the charter, local, municipal and special elections in all of the cities and towns of this state and in all other municipalities of this state having a population of more than 8,000 inhabitants according to the last state or federal census. See sec 234 post. envelopes required; how provided. of paster shall invalidate the entire ballot; for said Official election such clerk shall provide and furnish, at the expense of the township or municipality, official envelopes of the size, color and style hereinbefore mentioned; said envelopes shall have printed upon the face thereof the words "official envelope for ;" after the word "for" shall follow the designation of the township or other municipality for which the envelope is prepared; then shall follow the date of the election and a fac-simile of the signature of such clerk; the distribution and use of such official envelope shall be confined exclusively to the polling-room, in the manner hereinafter directed; such clerk shall provide, and on the day preceding the election furnish to some member of the board of registry and election of each election district in every such township or municipality, so many official envelopes as will be equal to double the number of all the votes cast in such election district at the last preceding election therein; which envelopes so furnished shall be by the officer receiving the same delivered to the board of registry and election on the day of election, before the opening of the polls; it shall be lawful for any candidate or other person at any such election to deliver to the board of registry and election the ballots of any party or faction having candidates to be voted for at such election; which ballots so supplied, the board of registry and election shall receive and cause to be furnished to each voter, together with the official envelope; if on the face or back of any ballot or envelope inclosing any ballot, there shall be any mark, sign, designation or device whatsoever, other than is permitted by this act, whereby such ballot or envelope can or may be identified or distinguished from any other ballot or envelope used at such election, the ballot inclosed in such envelope shall be absolutely void and not counted for any candidate named thereon; (a) the con- Ballots, how (a) For authorities as to what ballots and envelopes shall be deemed marked, &c., see note (a) to section 58 ante. Distinguishballot or renders ing mark on envelope same void. canvassed, etc. |