(Chap. 98.—An ACT to promote pure elections, primaries, and conventions, and to
prevent corrupt practices or bribery in same; to limit the expenses of candi-
dates, to prescribe the dutics of eandidates, and providing penalties and reme-
dies for violations of this act, and declaring void under certain conditions elee-
tions in which the provisions of this act, or any of them, have been violated.

Approved March 24, 1903.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That no candidate
for congress, or for either house of the general assembly of Virginia, or
any State, county, district, or municipal office, shall expend, pay, promise,
loan, or become pecuniarily liable in any way for any money or other
valuable thing to influence voters in his behalf, or permit the same to be
so used, with his knowledge and consent, by his friends or adherents in
any election, primary or nominating convention: provided, however, that
no expenditure made by any candidate or his adherents and friends for
the purpose of printing or advertising in some newspapers, or in securing
suitable halls for public speaking at a reasonable price, shall be deemed
illegal.

2. That no person shall expend, pay, promise, loan, or become pecuni-
arily liable in any way for, any money or other valuable thing in behalf
of any candidate for office at any election, primary or nominating conven-
tion held in this Commonwealth. Any person or candidate violating any
of the provisions of this or the preceding section of this act shall be
subject to a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand
dollars, or confined in jail not less than one nor more than twelve
months.

3. Every person who shall be a candidate before any caucus or con-
vention, or at any primary election or at any election for any State,
county, city, township, district or municipal office, or for senator or
member of the house of delegates of Virginia, or for senator or repre-
sentative in the congress of the United States, shall, within thirty days
after the election, caucus, convention or primary election held to fill such
office or place, make out and file with the officer or board empowered by
law to issue certificates of election to such office or place, and a duplicate
thereof with the clerk of the county or corporation court for any county
or city in which such candidate resides, a statement in writing, which
statement and duplicate shall be subscribed and sworn to by such candi-
date before an officer authorized to administer oaths, setting forth in
detail all sums of money contributed, dishursed, expended or promised
by him, and to the best of his knowledge and belicf by any persons or
person in his behalf, wholly or in part, endeavoring to secure his nomina-
tion or election to such office or place; and also all sums of money con-
tributed, disbursed, expended or promised by him in support and in con-
nection with the nomination or election of any other persons at such
election, primary or nominating convention, and showing the dates when,
the persons to whom and the purposes for which all such sums were paid,
expended or promised. Such statement shall also set forth that the same
is as full and explicit as affiant is able to make it; and he shall also, before
some officer qualified to administer oaths, take, subscribe to and file with
said statement the following oath:

I do solemnly swear that the statement herewith filed embraces all
money spent by me or in my behalf, with my knowledge and consent, by
my adherents and friends; that I have neither directly nor indirectly
arranged, encouraged nor connived at. the spending of any moncy other
than as shown in my said statement; that I have not repaid any money so
spent or claimed to have been so spent, and that I will not do so, and that
I have not violated any of the provisions of this act in letter or in spirit.

So help me God.
4. No officer or board authorized by law to issue commissions or cer-
tificates of election shall issue any such certificate or commission to any
such person until such statement and oath shall have been so made,
verified and filed by such persons with said officer.

5. Any person failing to comply with the above provisions by failing
to file said statement and oath in the manner and form above prescribed
shall be Hable to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, to be recovered
in an action or motion brought in the name of the State by the attorney-
general, or by the Commonwealth’s attorney of the county or city of the
candidate’s residence, or by any person suing in the name of the Com-
monwealth, the amount of said fine to be fixed within the above limit by
the jury, and to be paid into the school fund of said county.

6. No person shall enter upon the duties of any elective office until
he shall have filed the statement, oath, and duplicate provided for in this
act, nor shall he receive any salary or any emolument for any period prior
to the filing of the same.

?. Said statement and oath shall at all times be open to public in-
spection and copies of same furnished any applicant.

8. In any contest over the election of any officer in this Commonwealth,
if it be alleged in the notice of contest of the contestant that the provi-
sions, or any of them, of this act has been violated by the contestee, or by
his friends and adherents, with his knowledge and consent, and it so
appears upon the trial of said contest, then said election shall be declared
null and void and of no effect, unless it also appears that the contestant
is entitled to the office for which he is contesting.

9. The statements of any person testifying under this act shall not be
used against him in any way.

10. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby re-

pealed.