An Act to amend and reenact § 46.1-299, as amended, of the Code of Virginia, relating to devices signalling intention to turn or stop and rules therefor.
Volume 1968 Law 99
Volume | 1946 |
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Law Number | 192 |
Subjects |
Law Body
Chap. 192.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 118, 119, 122 as amended,
150, 152, 154 as amended, 157 as amended, 159, 163, 166, 176, 179, 189, 190, 191,
192, 193, 194, 195, 196 and 201 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the election
franchise and qualifications for office; and to repeal Section 169 of the Code of
Virginia relating to penalties. (H B 71]
Approved March 15, 1946
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That section one hundred eighteen, one hundred nineteen, one
hundred twenty-two as amended, one hundred fifty, one hundred fifty-
two, one hundred fifty-four as amended, one hundred fifty-seven as
amended, one hundred fifty-nine, one hundred sixty-three, one hundred
sixty-six, one hundred seventy-six, one hundred seventy-nine, one hun-
dred eighty-nine, one hundred ninety, one hundred ninety-one, one hun-
dred ninety-two, one hundred ninety-three, one hundred ninety-four,
one hundred ninety-five, one hundred ninety-six, and two hundred one
of the Code of Virginia, be amended and re-enacted, and that the Code of
Virginia be further amended by adding thereto a new section numbered
two hundred sixty-eight-a, the amended and new sections being as fol-
lows:
CHAPTER 12
Elections of State, County, District and City Officers, and the Terms of
Their Offices; Filling Vacancies.
Section 118. Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Attorney-Gen-
eral; term of office—The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Attor-
ney General, shall be chosen by the qualified voters of the Commonwealth
at the general election to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday
in November, of the year one thousand nine hundred twenty-one, and
every fourth year thereafter, and shall hold their offices for a term of
four years, to commence on the first day of February next succeeding
their election.
Section 119. Returns; how votes counted and election determined.
—The State Board of Elections, on the first day of the session of the
General Assembly next succeeding the election of a Governor and Lieu-
tenant-Governor, shall deliver the returns of such election to the Speaker
of the House of Delegates, who shall within one week thereafter, in the
presence of a majority of the Senate and House of Delegates, open said
returns, and the vote shall be counted, and the election determined in
conformity with the provisions of section seventy of the Constitution.
Section 122. How vacancies in certain offices filled—When a va-
cancy occurs during the session of the General Assembly in the office of
Attorney General, it shall be filled by election by the joint vote of the
two houses. If such vacancy occur during a recess of the General As-
sembly, the Governor shall fill, pro tempore, the vacancy by commis-
sion to expire with the expiration of such unexpired term or at the end
of thirty days after the commencement of the next session of the General
Assembly, whichever shall happen first. At such next session, the Gen-
eral Assembly shall fill such vacancy by election by the joint vote of the
two houses for the unexpired portion of the term.
General and Special Elections; When and Where to be Held; Regula-
tions for Their Conduct and Government; Compensation for Serv-
ices in Elections.
Section 150. How and by whom poll books furnished.—It shall be
the duty of the county clerk of the county, and the clerks of the corpora-
tion courts, on the first day of April and October in each year, to make
out and transmit to the State Board of Elections a list of the number of
election districts in their respective counties and corporations, together
with the number of voters in such district ; upon the receipt of which the
State Board of Elections shall transmit to the said clerks, respectively,
duplicate poll books or poll lists for each election district in their respec-
tive counties or cities, of sufficient size to contain the names of all the
voters therein,
Section 152. When polls opened and closed.—At all elections by
the people, the polls shall be opened at each voting place at six o’clock
A. M. eastern standard time of the day on which the election is directed
to be had and closed at six o’clock P. M. eastern standard time of the
same day, except that at all elections held between the thirty-first day of
May and the first day of October in any year the polls shall be opened
at six-thirty o’clock A. M. eastern standard time and closed at seven-
thirty o’clock P. M. eastern standard time of the same day.
Section 154. Duty of candidates for office—Any person who in-
tends 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
thirty days before the election if it be a general election, at least thirty
days before the election if it be a special election, or within five days
after the issuance of any writ of election or order calling a special election
to be held less than thirty-five days after the issuance of the writ or
order, notify the State Board of Elections, in writing, attested by two
witnesses, of his intention, designating the office for which he is a candi-
date. The written notice shall be signed by the candidate, but if he be
incapable of writing his proper signature then some mark adopted by
him as his signature shall be acknowledged before some officer authorized
to take acknowledgment to deeds and in the same manner. Any person
who intends to be a candidate for any office not embraced in the forego-
ing, at any election, shall give notice at least sixty days before the elec-
tion if it be a general election, and at least thirty days before the election
if it be a special election, or within five days after the issuance of any
writ of election or order calling a special election to be held less than
thirty-five days after the issuance of the writ or order, to the county
clerk or-clerks of the county or counties, and to the clerk or clerks of
the corporation courts of the city or cities whose electors vote for such
office, which notice shall in all respects be in the same form as that above
described required to be given to the State Board of Elections. No per-
son not announcing his candidacy as above, or who is not qualified to
vote in the election in which he offers as a candidate, shall have his name
printed on the ballots provided for the election, unless he be a party
primary nominee; nor shall the name of any candidate for United States
Senate or for the House of Representatives, or for any State office, other
than a party nominee, nominated by such method as his political party
has chosen for nominating eandidates, be printed on the ballots provided
for the election, unless he file along with his notice of candidacy a petition
therefor, signed by two hundred and fifty qualified voters of the State at
large, or of his congressional district, as the case may be, each signature
to which has been witnessed by a person whose affidavit to that effect
is attached to the petition; nor shall the name of any candidate for the
General Assembly, or for any city, or county office, other than a party
nominee as above mentioned, be printed on the ballots provided for the
election, unless he file along with his notice of candidacy a petition there-
for, signed by fifty qualified voters of his city, county, or district, as the
case may be, witnessed as aforesaid and with like affidavits attached there-
to.
The name of any candidate for office who has been nominated by his
party, either by convention, primary or by being declared the nominee
of the party when no primary has been held, shall be certified by the
chairman of the party to the State Board of Elections or the clerk or
clerks of the proper court or courts as the case may be, and no further
notice of candidacy or petition shall be required.
On receipt of the foregoing notice the State Board of Elections shall
notify the secretary of each electoral board of each county and city of the
State or of the congressional district, and the clerk or clerks shall notify
the secretary of the electoral boards of their respective counties and cities,
which notices shall be sent by the State Board of Elections and clerks im-
mediately after the time has expired in which candidates may give notice
of their candidacy as prescribed by this section, and upon the failure or
refusal of the clerk or clerks immediately to certify to the electoral board
the name of each and every candidate which has been duly filed, the
judge of the circuit or corporation court may upon motion of any candi-
date affected immediately certify to the electoral board the name of each
and every candidate which has been duly filed. The clerks shall send
copies of the original notices of candidacy, to the secretary of the elec-
toral board when they notify him. The names of party primary nominees
to be voted on in the several counties and cities shall be furnished the
secretaries of the respective electoral boards thereof by the several per-
sons to whom abstracts of primary elections must be furnished under sec-
tion two hundred forty-one. Whenever any secretary of the electoral
board is elected he shall at once notify the State Board of Elections of
his election and inform it as to his post office address.
Section 157. Elections for President and Vice-President.—In elec-
tions for President and Vice-President of the United States the names of
electors selected by the different political parties, together with the names
of the candidates for whom they are expected to vote in the electoral
college, shall be furnished to the State Board of Elections by any person
or persons representing said parties at least thirty days before any elec-
tion for the said electors of President and Vice-President of the United
States ; and thereupon it shall be the duty of the State Board of Elections
to immediately notify the secretary of the electoral board of each county
and city of the State; and it shall then become the duty of the electoral
boards of the several counties and cities within the State, within twenty
days preceding such election, to cause to be printed on the official ballot
provided for in this chapter the name of each candidate for President
and Vice-President of each political party, and the names of the electors
nominated by the political party of such candidates; and the qualified
voters at said election shall designate their preference for any candidates
for President and Vice-President by marking, as provided in section one
hundred and sixty-two, the square preceding the name of the candidate
for President, and the ballots so marked shall be counted as if squares
preceding the names of the candidate for Vice-President and of the indi-
vidual electors nominated or selected by the same political party had been
so marked.
Section 159. How and when ballots opened.—Before every election
the secretary of the electoral board shall deliver to the judges, or one
of the judges, of election the package of official ballots for that precinct,
taking a receipt therefor and a certificate that the seals appeared to be un-
tampered with. And in the event of the inability by sickness or other inca-
pacity of said secretary to deliver said official ballots, the said electoral
board or the said secretary may cause them to be delivered by another
member of said board. Said sealed package, at the opening of the poll,
shall be opened in the presence of the clerks and judges of election, and the
ballots in said packages shall then be carefully counted. All ballots remain-
ing unused at the close of the polls and all defaced or spoiled ballots shall
be returned with the poll books under seal to the clerk of the circuit or
corporation court as provided in section one hundred eighty. Any person
wilfully 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 especially provided for
herein, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and be punished with a
fine of two hundred dollars and imprisoned one month in jail.
Section 163. Ballot not to be carried away; penalty.—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 shall immediately return
said ballot to the judges of election. Except as provided by section one
hundred sixty-six, 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 section 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. If any elector carry an official ballot or copy thereof beyond
the voting booth, or away from said booth, except to the judges of elec-
tion, or vote any ballot except such as shall be received by him from the
judge of election, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and pun-
ished therefor by a fine of one hundred dollars; and it shall be the duty
of the judge 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, upon failure so to do, he may be con-
fined in jail by order of the judges of election until he obeys said re-
quirements, but such confinement shall not exceed ten days.
Section 166. Judges to assist certain voters——Any person reg-
istered prior to the first of January, nineteen hundred and four, and any
person registered thereafter who is physically unable to prepare his bal-
lot without aid, may, if he so requests, be aided in the preparation of his
ballot by one of the judges of election designated by himself. The judge
of election so designated shall assist the elector in the preparation of his
ballot in accordance with his instructions, but the judge shall not enter the
booth with the voter unless requested by him, and shall not in any man-
ner divulge or indicate, by signs or otherwise, the name or names of the
person or persons for whom any elector shall vote. For a corrupt viola-
tion of any of the provisions of this section, the person so violating shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and be confined in jail not less than
one nor more than twelve months.
Section 176. How polls closed; when votes canvassed and result
declared.—As soon as the polls are finally closed (of which closing procla-
mation shall be made by the judges fifteen minutes previously thereto)
and the last ballot deposited the judges shall immediately endorse on the
poll books immediately after the name of the last voter thereon the words
‘Polls Closed”, and at once affix their signatures following such endorse-
ment and proceed to canvass the vote given at such election, and the said
canvass shall be continued without adjournment until completed and the
result thereof declared.
Section 179. When ballot void.—If a ballot is found to have been
voted for a greater number of names for any one office than the number
of persons required to fill the said office, or if the title of the office is
erased, the said ballot shall be considered void as to all the names desig-
nated to fill such office, but no further; but no ballot shall be void for
having been voted for a less number of names than is authorized to be
inserted therein.
Section 189. State Board of Elections to open and record returns.
—The State Board of Elections upon receipt of the certified abstracts of
the votes given in the several counties and cities directed to be sent to it,
shall proceed to open the same (except the abstract of votes for Governor
and Lieutenant-Governor, and the Attorney General), and shall record
them in a suitable book to be kept by it for the purpose, and file and care-
fully preserve in its office said abstracts and the original envelopes.in
which they were enclosed.
Section 190. If abstracts not forwarded, messenger to be sent for
them.—If from any county or city no such abstract of votes shall have
been received by the State Board of Elections within twelve days next
after any election, it shall dispatch a special messenger to obtain a copy of
the same from the official having charge thereof; and such official shall
immediately, on demand of such messenger, make out and deliver to him
the copy required, which copy of the abstracts of votes the messenger
shall deliver to the State Board of Elections without delay, to be recorded
as aforesaid.
Section 191. How election returns canvassed by State Board and
certificates of election given.—For the purpose of canvassing the result
of elections, the State Board of Elections shall meet at its office on the
fourth Monday in November next after the election, when it shall, upon
the certified abstracts on file in its office proceed to examine and make
statements of the whole number of votes given at any such election for
members of the State Senate and House of Delegates, members of the
United States Senate and House of Representatives and electors of Pres-
ident and Vice- President of the United States, or for so many of said
officers as have been voted for at such election, which statement shall
show the names of persons for whom such votes have been given for
either of the said offices and the whole number given to each, distinguish-
ing the several districts, cities, and counties in which they were given;
they shall certify such statements to be correct and subscribe their names
thereto, and they shall thereupon determine what persons have been
by the greatest number of votes duly elected to such offices, or either
of them, and shall endorse and subscribe on such statements a
certificate of such determination, and shall record in a_ suitable
book to be kept by it in its office for that purpose each such
certified statement and determination, and shall without delay make
out and transmit to each of the persons thereby declared to be
elected a certificate of his election, certified by it under its seal of
office. In the election of a Senator it shall also forward to the Clerk of
the Senate a certificate of the election of such Senator ; and in the case of
election of a member of the House of Delegates it shall forward to the
Clerk of the House of Delegates a certificate of the election of such mem-
ber. And upon the first day of the session of the General Assembly it
shall lay before each house a list of the members elected thereto, with the
districts they represent. In cases of special elections to fill vacancies
held at any other time than that fixed for general elections, the State
Board of Elections shall meet at its office on the day after the returns of
such elections are received for the purpose of canvassing the result of such
special elections in the manner hereinbefore set forth. But if said ab-
stracts, or any of them, shall not be received within twelve days from said
election, the board shall meet and adjourn from time to time until the
abstracts shall be received; and in any case the board may adjourn from
time to time until their labors are completed.
Section 192. How election determined in case of a tie.—If any two
or more persons have an equal number of votes and a higher number than
any other person for member of the Senate or House of Delegates, mem-
ber of the United States Senate or House of Representatives, or elector
of President and Vice-President of the United States, the State Board of
Elections shall proceed publicly to determine by lot which of them shall
be declared elected. Reasonable notice shall be given to such candidates
of the time when such election shall be so determined; and if they, or
either of them, shall fail to appear in accordance with said notice, the
Board shall proceed so to determine said election in their absence.
Section 193. Preservation of order at elections—Any sheriff,
deputy sheriff or other police officer of a district in which an election is
held, who may be designated for the purpose by the judges of election,
shall attend at the place of election and preserve order at and about the
same; and if no sheriff, deputy sheriff or other police officer he in attend-
ance, the judges of election, may, by writing, appoint one or more per-
sons specially, who shall have all the powers of a sheriff in the premises.
Section 194. Intimidation, etc., of voters; how prevented ; punish-
ment therefor.—The judges of election, if it shall appear that the voters
are being intimidated or coerced from any source in the exercise of their
suffrage by bystanders about the polling place, or that voters are being
hindered or tampered with in any way so as to prevent the casting of a
secret ballot, may order such person or persons so engaged in intimidat-
ing, coercing, hindering, or tampering with voters to cease such action,
and if such person or persons so engaged do not forthwith desist, the
judges of election, or a majority of them, may order the arrest of such
person by any person authorized by law to make arrests, and confine him
or them in the county or city jail, as the case may be, not exceeding
twenty-four hours, and such person or persons, upon conviction thereof,
shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.
Section 195. Intimidation, etc., of election officers; how punished.
— Any person or persons who shall, by bribery, intimidation, or other un-
lawful or corrupt means, wilfully hinder or prevent, or attempt to so hin-
der or prevent, the election officers at any precinct from holding an elec-
tion at the time and place set apart and designated as a place for holding
such election, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by confinement in the penitentiary for not less
than one nor more than five years.
Section 196. Disturbance of election; how prevented.—If any per-
son conduct himself in a noisy, riotous, or tumultuous manner at or about
the polls, so as to disturb the election or insult or abuse a judge or clerk
of election, any person authorized to make arrests, may forthwith arrest
him and bring him before the judges of the election, and they, by war-
rant under their hands, may commit him to the jail of the county or cor-
poration for not exceeding twenty-four hours; but they shall permit him
to vote if he be so entitled.
Section 201. Pay of messenger.—The special messenger sent by
the State Board of Elections to any county or corporation for a copy of
the abstract of votes of such county shall receive as compensation for his
services the sum of five dollars per day for the time necessary to go and
return from such county or city, and five cents per mile for each mile
traveled in going to and returning by the route usually travelled from
the capital to such city or to the county seat of such county, to be paid out
of the public treasury.
2. Section one hundred sixty-nine of the Code of Virginia is here-
by repealed.