Chap. 746.—An ACT to provide for the method of voting by ballot.

Approved March 6, 1804.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That every
elector shall vote by ballot.

2. Each person offering to vote shall deliver a single ballot to one
of the judges of election in the presence of at least one of the other
two judges.

3. The ballot shall be a white paper ticket, containing the names
of the persons who have complied with the provisions of this act as
hereinafter provided, and the title of the office printed or written as
hereinafter provided. None other shall be a legal ballot.

4. Any person who intends to be a candidate for any office,
state or national, to be elected by the electors of the state at
large, or of a congressional district, shall, at least twenty days
before such election, notify the secretary of the commonwealth, in
writing, properly attested, of such intention, designating the office
for which he be a candidate. Such written notice shall be
signed by the said candidate, but if he be incapable of writing
his proper signature, then some mark adopted by him as his signa-
ture shall be acknowledged before a justice of the peace or other
officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds, and in the
same manner. Any person who intends to be a candidate for any
office not embraced in the foregoing at any election shall give a
similar notice at least twenty days before such election to the clerk
or clerks of the county or hustings courts of the various county or
counties or the city or cities whose electors vote for the candidate
for such office. No person not announcing his candidacy as pro-
vided for above shall have his name printed on the ballots provided
for such election. On receipt of the foregoing notice it shall be the
duty of the secretary of the commonwealth to immediately notify
the secretary of each electoral board of each county or city of the
state or of said congressional district.
5. It shall be the duty of the electoral boards of the several
counties and cities within the state, within thirty days preceding
each election, to cause to be printed a number of ballots equal to
twice the entire registered vote of the said county orcity. These
ballots shall contain the names of all candidates complying with
the provisions as above required, printed in black ink immediately
below the office for which they have so announced their candidacy.

6. The printer with whom the board shall contract for the printing
of the said ballote shall, before the work is commenced, take an oath
before the secretary of said board, who is hereby empowered to ad-
minister said oath, to the following effect:

“T, , solemnly swear that I will print (here insert number)
ballots, according to the instruction of the electoral board of the
county (or city) of ; that I will print and will permit to be
printed, directly or indirectly, no more than the above number; that
I will at once destroy all imperfect and perfect impressions; that as
soon as said number of ballots is printed I will distribute the type
used for said work; and finally, that I will not communicate to any
one whomsoever, in any manner whatsoever, the size, style or con-
tents of said ballots.”

This oath shall be reduced to writing, and signed by the person
taking it, and also a similar affidavit shall be required of any em-
ployee or other person engaged upon said work, or who shall have
access to it, and any intentional violation of said oath shall consti-
tute the crime of perjury. It shall be the duty of said board to
designate one of their number to be continuously present in the
room in which said ballots are printed from the commence-
ment until the end of said work, and see that the undertak-
ings of said oath are strictly complied with. For the faithful
discharge of said duty he shall receive as compensation two dol-
lars. As soon as said ballots are printed, they shall be securely
wrapped and sealed, and such member of the electoral board
shall take them into his exclusive possession, allowing no one
to examine them; nor shall such member communicate to any one
any information as to the size, style or contents of said ballots. He
shall continue in such exclusive possession until he delivers said
ballots to the electoral board as hereinafter provided. Any violation
of the provisions of this section for which no punishment has been
otherwise provided shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and punished
by a fine of two hundred dollars and imprisonment for one month
in jail.

7. It shall be the duty of the electoral board, as soon as possible
after the passage of this act, to procure and adopt a seal, which may
be changed from time to time in the discretion of said board, which
said seal shall be not less than two inches in diameter. Said board
shall meet as soon as convenient after the printing of the ballots,
as provided in the preceding section, of which meeting the judge of
the county or corporation court shall be notified, and at which there
shall be present the said judge and the members of the said board,
but no other persons. And said judge shall thereupon enter of
record upon the minutes of the electoral board an affidavit stating

that said ballots were counted and sealed in his presence in the
manner prescribed by law. At this meeting the member of the board
who shall have secured from the printer the ballots, as required
by the preceding section, shall deliver said ballots to said board.
The ballots shall then be carefully counted by the said board, and
entered by the secretary of the board in a book provided by him and
kept for such purpose. The board shall affix its seal to every ballot
printed as above provided, upon the side reverse from that upon
which the names of the candidates appear. Of the said ballots they
shall make as many packages as there are voting precincts in said
county or city, one for each precinct, which package shall contain
twice as many official ballots as there are voters registered at the
precinct for which it is intended. Each of these packages shall be
securely sealed so that the ballots shall be invisible, and so that
they could not be readily opened without detection. Upon each of
said packages shall be endorsed the name of the precinct for which
it is intended and the number of ballots therein contained. The
remainder of the ballots shall then be securely wrapped and sealed
and kept securely by the said board. The said packages designed
for the various precincts shal] remain in the exclusive possession of
the secretary of the board until delivered by him to the judges or
judge of election of the precinct as hereinafter provided.

8. Before every election the secretary of the electoral board shall
deliver to the judges or judge of election the package of official bal-
lots for that precinct, taking a receipt therefor and a certificate that
the seals appeared to be untampered with. Said sealed package, at the
opening of the polls, shall be opened in the presence of the clerks
of election and other judges present, and the ballots in said package
shall then be carefully counted. All ballots remaining unused at the
close of the polls shall be carefully destroyed before the box is
opened. Any person willfully and corruptly failing to perform the
duties required of him, or intentionally violating any of the provisions
of this section, or opening any sealed package of official ballots, except
as specially provided for herein, shall be deemed guilty of a misde-
meanor and be punished with a fine of two hundred dollars and im-
prisonment one month in jail.

9. It shall be the duty of the electoral board of the several coun-
ties and cities to provide at each of the voting places in their respec-
tive counties and cities asmall compartment or booth, large enough to
contain and conceal from general observation a voter and a desk or
other convenience for writing. In said booth there shall be placed
pen and ink. Said compartment or booth shall be so erected that a
person standing at said desk in said booth or compartment shall be
wholly excluded from the observation of the clerks, judges of elec-
tion and other persons. The said board, in its discretion, may have
one or more of said booths at said voting places.

10. Except as hereinafter provided for, save the judges of election
and clerks allowed by law, no person other than the elector offering
to vote shall be within forty feet of the ballot-box. The judges of
election shall promptly decide any dispute as to the precedence of
electors to the right to vote, deciding who first offered: or, if two or
more offered at the same time, selecting the one to whom precedence
shall be given; but in case of a challenge, the challengers and chal-
lenged and the witnesses may appear before the judges; when such
challenge is decided only the elector having the right to vote shall
remain within the prescribed limits.

11. Every elector qualified to vote at a precinct shall, when he so
demands, be furnished with an official ballot by one of the judges of
election selected for that duty by a majority of the judyes present.
The said elector shall then take the said official ballot and retire to
said voting booth. He shall then draw a line with a pen or pencil
through the names of the candidates he does not wish to vote for,
leaving the name or names of the candidate or candidates he
does wish to vote for unscratched. No name shall be considered
scratched unless the pen or pencil mark extend through three-fourths
of the length of said name, and no ballot save an official ballot
above provided for shall be counted for any person. When, as to any
office, more than one name remains unscratched the ballot for that
particular office shall be void, but the ballot, as to any other office
for which only one name remains unscratched, shall be valid. He
shall fold said ballot with the namesof the candidates on the inside
and hand the same to the judge of election, who shall place the same
in the ballot-box without any inspection further than to assure him-
self that said ballot is a genuine ballot, for which purpose he may,
without looking at the printed inside of said ballot, inspect the off-
cial seal upon the back thereof: provided it shall be lawful for any
voter to erase any or all names printed upon said official ballot and
substitute therein in writing the name of any person or persons for
any Office for which he may desire to vote.

12. It shall be unlawful for any elector to carry the official ballot
furnished him by the judge of election further than the voting booth,
and should he, after inspecting said ballot, conclude not to vote, he
must immediately return said ballot to the judges of election. Ex-
cept as hereinafter provided, no person shall advise, counsel or assist
any elector by writing, word or gesture, as to how he shall vote or
mark his ballot after the same has been delivered to him by the
judges of election. Any person violating the provisions of this sec-
tion shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than one
thousand dollars and confined in jail six months. To carry any
official ballot beyond the voting booth or away from said booth, ex-
cept to the judges of election or to vote any ballot except such as
shall be received by the elector from the judge of election, shall be
a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of one hundred dollars; and it
shall be the duty of the judges of election to cause by verbal order
or warrant the instant arrest of any person making such attempt,
and he shall be required to vote or surrender said ballot, and he may
be confined in jail, by the order of said judges of election, until he
obeys said requirement, not exceeding ten days.

13. No elector shall be allowed by the judges of election to remain
in said voting booth provided in this act more than two and one-half
minutes to the obstruction of other electors desiring to vote. Said
judges of election shall cause any elector attempting to occupy said
voting booth for a longer time to require and surrender his ballot,
and he shall not again be allowed to receive an official ballot, unless
in the discretion of the judges of election another opportunity to
vote will not delay or hinder other electors.

14, Should any ballot be unintentionally or accidentally defaced,
or in any way rendered unfit for voting by such elector, the elector
shall deliver said defaced ballot to the judges of election and receive
another upon taking an oath that the defacement of the ballot first
delivered to him was not done for the purpose of defacing said offi-
cial ballot. Any person swearing falsely to such fact shall be
deemed guilty of perjury.

15. The electoral board of each county or city shall appoint for
each voting precinct therein one special constable, who shall be an hon-
est and discreet person of said precinct and be able to read and write,
and who shall be a conservator of the peace, and shall be especially
charged with enforcing the provisions of this act, having all the
powers of a constable; and for such services he shall be allowed one
dollar per day. He shall have the power of arresting, upon the verbal
order or warrant of the judges of election, or a majority of them, of
the precinct to which he is appointed, any person who is offending
or attempting to violate any of the provisions of this act or disturb-
ing the peace, and the person so arrested shall be taken as soon as
possible before a justice of the peace having cognizance of the offence,
and be then proceeded against under the general laws of the state.
At the request of any elector in the voting booth who may be physi-
cally or educationally unable to vote, the said special constable may
render him assistance by reading the names and offices on the bal-
lot and pointing out to him the name or names he may wish to strike
out, or otherwise aid him in preparing his ballot. In case said
elector be blind, said special constable shall prepare said ballot for
said elector in accordance with the instructions of said elector. Be-
fore entering upon the duties of his office the said special constable
shall take an oath to faithfully perform the duties thereof, and for
a corrupt violation of the same he shall be deemed guilty of a mis-
demeanor, and be fined not less than five hundred dollars and be
imprisoned not less than one nor more than twelve montha in jail.

16. It shall not be lawful upon the day of election for persons to
congregate and crowd upon the public highways within one hundred
feet of any of the voting places, and any person violating the pro-
visions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a fine of
twenty-five dollars or be confined in jail not exceeding ten days.
Any member of the electoral board, the printer who shall print the
official ballots provided for by this act, any judge of election, or any
other person who shall give or sell to any person whomsoever, except
where it is distinctly provided by this act, any official ballot or any
copy, or any fac-simile of the same, or any information about the
same, or shall counterfeit or attempt counterfeit the same, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be fined five hundred dollars and imprisoned in jail six months. It
hall be the duty of the judges of election to see that the provisions
f this act are strictly carried out.

17. The said special constable may be removed by said electoral
oard or by said judges of election at their pleasure, and a successor
or him may be appointed immediately. And when any such con-
table fails to attend punctually at the opening of the polls at any
recinct, the judges of election at such precinct, or a majority of
hem, may select some qualified voter from those present, who, after
aking an oath to be administered by one of the said judges to faith-
ully perform the duties of said office, shall] have same powers to act
ind be under like penalties as said special constable appointed by
said electoral board.

The secretary of said electoral board shall keep in his sole custody
he seal or stamp of said board, and in a sealed package, to be opened
ynly in the presence of the electoral board and the judge of the
-ounty or corporation court when in the discharge of their duty as
prescribed in section seven aforesaid.

18. The cost of conducting an election under this act shall be paid
by the supervisors out of the general county levy, and in cities by
the council thereof.

19. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act or any sec-
tion thereof are hereby repealed.