Chap. 424.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 158 of the Code of Virginia,
with reference to the duties of the electoral board, its seal, and the stamping
and delivery of the ballots. [H B 332)

Approved March 21, 1924.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That section
one hundred and fifty-eight of the Code of Virginia, as amended by an
act approved March twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and twenty, be
amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 158. It shall be the duty of the electoral board of each city
and county to procure and adopt a seal, if there be not one already
adopted by the electoral board of such city or county, which seal may
be changed from time to time in the,discretion of said board, and shall
not be less than two inches in diameter. Said board shall meet as soon
as convenient after the printing of the ballots as provided for in this
chapter, at which meeting only members of the board shall be present,
and the member of the board who shall have secured from the printer
the ballots as required by section one hundred and fifty-six shall deliver
said ballots to said board, and shall certify to the board the number of
ballots so delivered which certificate shall be filed and also copied into
the minutes of the meeting of the board. The board shall satisfy itself
as to the number of said ballots, which number shall be entered by the
secretary of the board in a book provided by him and kept for such
purpose. The board shall thereupon designate one of its members,
who shall cause the seal of the board to be affixed in his presence to
every ballot printed as provided in this chapter, upon the side reverse
from that upon which the names of the candidates appear. Such
member of the board shall make affidavit that the seal of the electoral
board was affixed to said ballots in his presence in the manner pre-
scribed by law, in which affidvait shall be set forth the name of every
person taking part in the affixing of said seal; and said affidavit shall be
filed with the board and a copy thereof entered upon the minutes of
the board. For his services in causing the seal to be affixed to said bal-
lots, the said member of the board shall receive two dollars. Of the
said ballots, the board shall cause to be made, in the presence of at least
one member of the board, as many packages as there are voting pre-
cincts in said county or city, one for each precinct, which package shall
contain a number of ballots twice the number of the voters registered
at the precinct for which it is intended. Each of these packages shall
be securely sealed in the presence of a member of the board 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 packages designed for the various precincts
shall be delivered to the secretary of the board and remain in his ex-
clusive possession until delivered by him to the Judges, or one of the
judges, of election of the several precincts as provided by the following
section, or until he shall have delivered the same to one of the other
members of the board to be delivered to the judge or judges as required
by this chapter. Every person taking part in affixing the seal to the
ballots or in placing said ballots in packages shall make affidavit that
he will faithfully perform his duties and that he will not divulge to any-
one the contents of such ballots or any part thereof, which affidavits
shall be filed with the secretary of the board and retained as a part of
the records of the board. The secretary of said electoral board shall
keep in his sole custody the seal or stamp of said board in a sealed
package, to be opened by him only when necessary for use in stamping
ballots. If any member of the board, other than the secretary be desig-
nated to attend to the stamping of the ballots, the said seal, as soon as
the stamping of the ballots is completed, shall be forthwith returned to
the secretary to be kept by him as herein provided.

2. An emergency is declared to exist, and this act shall be in force
from its passage.