Chap. 427.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 156 and 167 of the Code of
Virginia, in relation to election ballots. [H B 404]

Approved April 1, 1932

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sections
one hundred and fifty-six and one hundred and sixty-seven of the Code
of Virginia be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 156. Oath of the printer—The printer with whom the
board shall contract for the printing of the said ballots shall, before
the work is commenced, take an oath before the secretary of said board,
who is hereby empowered to administer said oath, to the following

effect: “T, ..... cee eee ee eee , solemnly swear that I will print (here
insert number) ballots according to the instructions of the electoral
board of the county (or city) Of ......-..+.. - that I will print, and

permit to be printed, directly, or indirectly, no more than the above
number; that I will at once destroy all imperfect and perfect impres-
sions other than those required to be delivered to the electoral board ;
that as soon as said number of ballots is printed, I will distribute the
type used for said work, and that I will not communicate to any one
whomsoever, in any manner whatsoever, the size, style, or contents 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 employee
or other person engaged upon said work, or who shall have access to
it: and any intentional violation of said oath shall constitute 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 the said ballots
are printed from the commencement until the end of said work, and
see that the undertakings of said oath are strictly complied with. For
the faithful discharge of said duty he shall receive the compensation of
two dollars. In cities having a population of thirty thousand or more
inhabitants, the electoral board may designate some other person to
perform such duties; such person, before entering upon the perform-
ance of such duties, shall take an oath that he will faithfully execute
the same. As soon as said ballots are printed they shall be securely
wrapped and sealed, and such member, or designated member, of the
electoral board shall take and keep them in his exclusive possession,
allowing no one to examine them until delivered to the electoral board
as provided by law. 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. |

Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit any electoral
board from publishing the style and size of ballot.
Section 167. Crowds forbidden; counterfeit ballots——It shall not
be lawful, upon the day of election, for persons to congregate and
crowd upon the public highway within one hundred feet of any of the
voting places, and any person violating the provisions 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 chapter, any judge of election, or any person who shall sell or give
to any person whomsoever except where it is distinctly provided by
this chapter, any official ballot or copy, or any facsimile of the same,
or shall counterfeit, or attempt to 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 shall be the duty
of the judges of election to see that the provisions of this section are
strictly carried out.

Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit:
(a) the printing and circulation of “informative ballots,” provided such
“informative ballots” are not printed on white paper, and (b) the
publication in newspapers of “informative ballots.”