Chap. 326.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act approved March 10, 1906,
entitled: An act to amend and re-enact an act approved March 12, 1904, to
amend and re-enact section 1 of an act approved March 28, 1903, in relation to
changing the boundaries of wards in cities, and for increasing and diminish-
ing the number thereof, to provide for the appointment of commissioners to
rearrange and revise registration books therein, and to validate and establish
the wards in those cities which have been re-districted into wards since the
adoption of the present Constitution, and to prevent gerrymandering.

Approved March 14, 1908.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act
approved March tenth, nineteen hundred and six, entitled an act to
amend and re-enact an act approved March twelfth, nineteen hundred
and four, to amend and re-enact an act approved March twenty-eighth,
nineteen hundred and three, in relation to changing the boundaries of
wards in cities, and for increasing and diminishing the number thereof,
be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

81. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That in each
city of this Commonwealth there shall be as many wards as the city
council may establish; provided, however, that whenever, by the last
United States census or other enumeration made by authority of law,
it shall appear that the population in any ward exceeds that of any other
ward by as much as three thousand inhabitants, or whenever in the
opinion of the council it is necessary, or whenever the corporate limits
of the city shall be extended or contracted, if necessary, it shall be the duty
of the city council to re-district the city into wards, or so change the bound-
aries of existing wards, or so increase or diminish the number of wards,
as that no one ward shall exceed any other ward in population by more
than three thousand inhabitants. But in no case shall the city council
redistrict the city into wards or change the boundaries of existing wards,
except in so far as it may be necessary to change such boundaries for
the purpose of attaching newly annexed territory to such existing ward
or wards as may be contiguous thereto, oftener than once every five
years, except upon a recorded vote of three-fourths of the members elected
to the council, or three-fourths of the members elected to each branch
thereof, when the council is composed of two branches; and in every
such case the reason therefor shall be set forth in the ordinance pro-
viding for such re-districting ; and provided, that whenever the city shall
be so re-districted, the judge of the corporation or hustings court shall
appoint three commissioners, whose duty it shall be to rearrange and
revise the registration books of said city, so as to place each registered
voter on the proper precinct and ward registration books, and shall
also have authority at any time, upon the recommendation of the electoral
board or city council of said city, if in his opinion he deems it necessary,
to appoint two commissioners whose duty it shall be to revise, amend, re-
arrange and correct said registration books and any errors and mistakes
shown or appearing therein, for which purposes the registrar shall, upon
the order of the corporation court or judge thereof, deliver to such
commissioners so appointed the registration books for the purposes
aforesaid. The commissioners shall, in either case, receive such compen-
sation as the judge of the corporation court may allow, to be paid by the
city, together with all other expenses incurred thereby A mandamus
shall lie on behalf of any citizen to compel the performance by the
council of the duty so prescribed.

2. In all cases in which cities have been re-districted into wards, or
in which the boundary lines of existing wards have been changed, the
ordinances of the said councils in so doing, which were first adopted
since the present Constitution took effect, are hereby validated ; and said
wards as designated and established thereby, are hereby declared to be
the existing wards of said cities, and the time within which the same
may be again altered or changed, or said cities re-districted, shall be
computed from the date of the adoption of said ordinances, respectively.

3. No ordinance of any city re-districting the same into wards, or
changing the bounds of existing wards, which may be adopted between
the passage of this act and the time when the same shall take effect, shall
be valid unless the same be adopted by a recorded vote of three-
fourths of all the members elected to the council, or three-fourths of all
the members elected to each branch, where the council is composed of
two branches. ‘

4. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby
repealed.