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register and ward registers shall no longer be applicable to said city and county. The provis ions of said code as to making and keeping the great register and as to the ward registers and the manner of entering the names of electors therein, and the substance and contents of said entries, and the alterations, changes, and cancellation thereof, as well as the proceedings and proof to enable voters to be registered in said great and ward registers, and all other matters relating thereto, so far as the same are not in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby made applicable to the precinct registers of said city and county authorized by this law. And said precinct registers shall be used at all elections in like manner and with like effect that ward registers were used before the passage of this act; and no person shall vote at any election except he be legally registered upon the precinct register of the precinct in which he is a qualified voter.

Precinct registration.

SEC. 16. The registration of electors in the precinct registers in the city and county of San Francisco shall take place previous to each general state election as herein provided, and an elector properly enrolled therein, without being again enrolled, may vote at the general election ensuing his registration, and at all special elections between said general election and the next general election, but not afterwards until re-registered according to law.

Place of residence particularized.

SEC. 17. In addition to the matters required by section one thousand and ninety-six of the Political Code to be entered in the register, the precinct registers in the city and county of San Francisco shall particularize the place of residence of each elector registered, by specifying the name of the street, avenue, or other location, of the dwelling of such elector, with the number of such dwelling, if the same has a number, and if not, then with such description of the place that it can be readily ascertained and identified. If the elector be not the proprietor or head of the house, then it must show that fact, and upon what floor thereof, and what room said elector occupies in such house; all of which facts are to be ascertained from such elector in the manner required by law for proving the qualification of electors to entitle them to be registered. Any person making a false oath with respect to residence, as provided for in this section, shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and on conviction punished accordingly.

Blanks for precinct registration.

SEC. 18. A sufficient quantity of blanks for precinct registers for all the precincts of said city and county shall be prepared by said registrar of voters as soon as is practicable after his entry upon office, and as often as required by this act thereafter, and kept at the office of said regis trar, so that voters may be registered upon application and proper proof according to law. Ninety days before each general election the registrar shall commence the registration of all voters entitled thereto who apply with the proper proof. Such voters shall be registered in the precinct registers for the precinct where they are entitled to vote, and not otherwise. Such registration shall continue at the office of the registrar until the precinct registers are turned over to the board of precinct registration, as is hereinafter provided for, when it shall cease at said office. Such registration shall be made subject to the rules herein provided for the board of precinct registration.

Board of precinct registration.

SEC. 19. There shall be a board of precinct registration in each precinct of said city and county, which shall be constituted in the following manner: The board of election commissioners, as soon as is practicable after they shall have divided the city and county into election precincts as hereinbefore provided for, shall proceed in the manner provided in section thirteen hereof, to appoint the one original inspector and the two original judges of election provided for in section one thousand one hundred and forty-two of the Political Code for each precinct. Said inspector and judges shall serve for one year, unless otherwise ordered by the commission, and in addition to acting as election officers at all the elections during the year, shall serve as precinct registering officers for enrolling the electors of their respective precincts on the precinct registers thereof. All other election officers shall be appointed by the board of election commissioners at such time as shall be necessary before the election.

Meetings of boards.

SEC. 20. Said boards of precinct registration shall meet in the places provided in their respect ive precincts for such purpose by the registrar of voters, commencing five days (not counting Sundays or legal holidays) before the day fixed by this act for the cessation of the registration of electors in said city and county, and shall sit in open session from nine o'clock A. M. until ten o'clock P. M. of each day, until the day of such cessation (Sundays and legal holidays excepted), to receive and act upon applications for registration on the part of the voters of said precinct. They shall organize by electing one of their number chairman. They shall receive the applica tions for registration of such male residents of their several election precincts as then are, or on the day of election next following the day of making such application would be, entitled to vote therein, and who shall personally present themselves, and such only.

Places for precinct registration-Duty of registrar.

SEC. 21. It shall be the duty of the registrar of voters to provide suitable places in each precinct for the sessions of the board of precinct registration. He shall also furnish them with blanks, stationery, and all other matters and things necessary to enable them to conveniently and speedily perform the duties devolving upon them under this act. He shall also give such boards his assistance and advice in organizing and conducting the registration of voters and other matters required of them by law, and shall visit said boards, while engaged in said duty, and see that said proceedings are conducted according to law, and the registers made in due form. He shall be allowed free access to the preciuct registers at all times, and within such reasonable

limits as the board of election commissioners shall prescribe, the public shall have access thereto in like manner.

Cessation of registration at registrar's office.

SEC. 22. As soon as the board of precinct registration shall have commenced their sittings for registration in the several precincts, as herein provided for, registration at the office of the registrar shall cease, and the precinct registers shall be turned over by the registrar to said respective boards, who shall go on with the registration of voters at the places provided by law for them in their respective precincts until the time provided by law for registration to cease, when all registration shall stop, except in the cases specially provided for in section twenty-nine of this act. It shall be the duty of the board of precinct registration, in addition to their other duties, to carefully examine and revise the names of voters upon their several precinct registers, as turned over to them by the registrar, and to ascertain if such names are the names of legal voters, properly on said precinct register and entitled to vote in said precinct.

Applications for registration in exceptional cases—
8-Examinations-Appeals.

SEC. 23. The board of precinct registration shall keep the several precinct registers for such time as shall be necessary, not to exceed three days after the time for registration ceases according to law, during which time they shall hear and determine applications for registration in the excepted cases provided for in section twenty-nine of this act. They shall also make diligent examination and inquiry during said period as to the right of the respective voters who have been registered on said precinct register to such registration, and shall in all doubtful cases certify their doubts, with the reason thereof, to the board of election commissioners for further action. All persons who are refused registration by the registrar or precinct board can appeal to the board of election commissioners, who shall hear and determine the same in a summary manner, so as not to delay the completion of the registers.

Delivery of precinct registers to registrar.

SEC. 24. When the board of precinct registration have completed the examination and inquiry provided for in the preceding section, they shall certify the precinct register, as is hereinafter provided, and deliver the same to the registrar of voters. Said delivery shall be made not later than three full days after the cessation of registration as provided by law. They shall at the same time prepare and duly certify a separate and distinct list, showing the names of all persons concerning whose right to registration they are in doubt, together with grounds or reasons for such doubt. Such list and cerificate shall be delivered to the registrar at the same time with the precinct register. Proper blanks shall be prepared and furnished by the registrar for the purpose of making the return of doubtful names on the registers, and also blank certificates, and all other necessary things for said purpose.

Form of certificate to precinct register.

SEC. 25. The certificate to be attached to the precinct register shall be substantially in the following form, to wit:

tion for the

precinct of the

We, the undersigned, inspectors and judges of election forming the board of precinct registraward, of the city and county of San Francisco, do jointly and severally certify that on the day of 18, we met and organized as such board, at the place appointed by law for the holding thereof in said precinct. That the precinct register was delivered to us by esquire, registrar of voters for said city and county, containing at the time of its delivery to us the names of (stating number) voters. That we have examined and inquired into said list to the best of our ability, and have noted all doubtful registration thereon. at said place, We also certify that we sat as a board of precinct registration -, from the day of till the day of —, 18, and have admitted to registration (showing number) citizens, whose names and other matters of qualification will appear upon the foregoing register, and that the whole number of qualified voters upon said register is (number)

Dated, San Francisco,

(Signed): (Signed):

(Signed):

18.

Form of certificate of doubtful names.

SEC. 26. The certificate to be annexed to the list of doubtful names shall be substantially in the following form, to wit:

We, the undersigned, composing the board of precinct registration for the

the

precinct of

ward, of the city and county of San Francisco, hereby certify that the accompanying list shows all the names and other matters of qualification of voters upon the precinct register for said precinct about whose right to registration we entertain a reasonable doubt, together with a statement of the cause or grounds for such doubts.

Dated, San Francisco,

(Signed): (Signed): (Signed):

Doubtful persons to be notified.

18-.

SEC. 27. It shall be the duty of the registrar to forthwith notify all persons certified as doubtful, of said fact, and to cite them before the board of election commissioners, as provided in section six of this act, in cases where the registrar has reason to believe persons have been impropfor in said section. erly registered, and the same proceedings shall be had as to citation and cancellation as provided

Registration subject to what changes. SEC. 28. Fifteen days before a general election all registration or enrollment of voters shall cease, and the precinct registers as they stand shall be the precinct registers for said ensuing election, and until the next general election, subject only to changes in the following cases: I. All that for any reason are illegally on the precinct register shall be canceled.

II. Any name that has been once lawfully on the precinct register so as to entitle the person to vote at said ensuing election, and which has been by fraud, mistake, or otherwise improperly removed, may be restored, on proper evidence thereof.

III. Any legal voter who applied in time for enrollment upon a precinct register, and, through any fault or neglect of the registrar, or board of precinct registration, or for want of time on the last day, he having duly applied on said day, has his name left off, may have the same put on afterward, on showing that he applied in time, and that it was through no fault or neglect of his own that it was left off.

Any voter entitled to have his name upon the precinct register under the terms of any of the three preceding subdivisions, and no others, may have the same placed upon the supplementary register provided for in the next section within five days from the time herein provided for the cessation of enrollment on the precinct register. Any person who does not so apply within said time shall not be enrolled on the precinct register for said election; provided, that nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent any lawful changes, additions, and supplements to said precinct registers after the general election, and prior to any special election thereafter to be made under the regulations fixed by the board of election commissioners, and to be used at other than general elections.

Printing of precinct registers.

SEC. 29. As soon as the registrar shall receive the precinct register from any board of pre cinct registration, he shall proceed with the greatest diligence to cause said precinct register to be printed, and the same shall be printed, and copies of them posted in his office for public inspection within three days. He shall also proceed by means of clerks and other assistants, to be provided by the board of election commissioners, to ascertain by inquiry and examination the correctness of said precinct registers, and to cancel all names not legally thereon, and shall prepare a supplemental list for each precinct, showing the cancellations and additions to the regular list made after the publication of the same, which supplemental list shall be printed and posted in like manner five days before the election, after which no changes shall be made; provided, that all cancellations and additions to the registers made by the registrar shall be subject to the approval of the board of election commissioners. In printing precinct registers, each letter of the alphabet shall be commenced upon a new or separate page, and blank pages to a sufficient and proper number shall be left with printed headings only so as to allow for such additional names as are authorized by law to be written in by the registrar supplementary to the printed

names.

Notice of expiration of time for registration.

SEC. 30. Not less than ten days before the day for the sitting of the boards of precinct regis tration, the registrar shall cause an advertisement to be printed for ten consecutive days in three daily morning and three daily evening (including the official paper) newspapers published in said city and county, giving notice to the voters of said city and county that the time for the enrollment of voters on the precinct registers will expire on a certain day, naming the day, fixed in this act for the last day of registration, and inviting them to present themselves for registration at the place of the meeting of said boards, which shall be named within the time, under penalty of being debarred the privilege of voting at such election. Such notice shall specify the day upon which the precinct registration by the board of precinct registration shall commence, and also the day upon which it is to end.

Renewal of registration.

SEC. 31. Any elector who has been legally registered in the precinct register, provided he has not changed his residence or otherwise lost his right to vote in his precinct, shall not be required to renew such registration until the making up as herein provided of the precinct reg. ister for the next ensuing general election after the election for which such registration was made, but may vote in such precinct at any election taking place before such general election. The precinct registers shall be printed in sufficient numbers to allow for their being used at all the elections likely to occur before the next general election after the one then for which the registration is made, and all necessary changes or additional names shall be noted upon the reg ister for each special election thereafter, or added in supplements thereto, conformatory, as the same is applicable, to the provisions of the law governing the making of the general election register. The board of election commissioners are hereby empowered to make rules govern ing such supplemental registration for special elections. The board is also empowered to provide for and regulate all special elections occurring before the making of the first set of precinct reg isters under this act, and for such elections the ward registers shall be used in the precincts, subject to such rules and regulations as the board of election commissioners shall establish. Rooms for board of precinct registration and polling-places.

so far

SEC. 32. The registrar of voters shall procure rooms or places both for the sitting of the board of precinct registration as well as for polling places, subject to the approval of the board of

election commissioners both as to location and cost.

Expenses of registration and elections.

SEC. 33. All provisions for carrying out the registration and election laws in said city and county of San Francisco shall be made by the board of election commissioners, and demands on the treasury authorized or allowed by them for such purpose shall have the same force and effect

as if authorized or allowed by the board of supervisors.

Provisions of Political Code.

SEC. 34. All of the provisions of the Political Code touching the registration and qualification of voters, and the method of calling, holding, and conducting elections in force in said city and county at the passage of this act, shall continue in force therein, so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions hereof.

SEC. 35. This act takes effect from and after its passage. Under this act the board of election commissioners have power to determine what clerical assistance the registrar needs, and to fix

their compensation, but the selection of the assistants rests solely with the registrar: Schmitt v. Dunn, 55 Cal. 651.

An Act to provide a new great register for the county of Yolo, and to re-register the voters

thereof.

[Approved March 26, 1878; 1877-8, 554.]

This act, as indicated in the title, provided for a new great register in Yolo county, and repealed all conflicting acts.

An Act to provide for transcribing the great register of El Dorado county.

[Approved March 29, 1878; 1877-8, 637.]

This act authorized the county clerk of El Dorado county to transcribe the great register of that county.

An Act to provide a new great register for the county of Fresno and other counties, and to re-register the voters thereof. [Approved March 29, 1878; 1877-8, 693.]

This act provided for new great registers in the counties of Fresno, Kern, Tulare, Stanis

laus, Merced, Amador, Butte, Nevada, and Siskiyou, and repealed all conflicting acts.

CHAPTER IV.

ELECTION PRECINCTS.

1127. Supervisors to establish election precincts.

SEC. 1127. The board of supervisors of each county must establish a convenient number of election precincts therein.

Precincts in San Francisco: See statute preceding chapter.

"The term 'precinct' is used instead of the term 'district,' for the reason that it is most in use in the state: See People v. Laine, 33 Cal. 55. Frequent complaint has been heretofore made that parties take possession of the polling

1128. Boundaries to be defined.

places, and thus cut off some of their opponents from voting. The boards of supervisors should take notice of the fact and provide an ample number of polling-places and precincts, so as to obviate this complaint, and allow all a chance to vote:" Commissioners' note.

SEC. 1128. In the order establishing precincts the boundaries thereof must be defined.

1129. Board may alter, etc., precincts.

SEC. 1129. The board may from time to time change the boundaries of create new, or consolidate established precincts.

1130. Limitations on powers.

SEC. 1130. The following limitations are imposed upon the powers given the supervisors in this chapter:

1. No precinct must be established so as to embrace more than one township, nor in such manner that its exterior limits cross the exterior boundaries of any township, incorporated town or city, or any ward, district, or other territorial subdivision for which local officers are to be elected, except a school or road district.

2. No precinct must be established, nor must the boundaries of one already established be altered, within thirty days next preceding a general or special election. [Amendment, approved April 16, 1880; Amendments 1880, 80 (Ban. ed. 370); took effect from passage.]

1131. Board to designate place for holding election, and offices to be filled. SEC. 1131. The board must, at least fifteen days prior to an election, issue its order appointing boards of election, designating the house or place within the precinct where the election must be held, and the offices to be filled, naming and numbering, in numerical order, commencing with number one, the offices to be filled, unexpired terms being lastly designated. [Amendment, approved March 30, 1874; Amendments 1873-4, 21; took effect July 6, 1874.]

Election proclamations.--Time and place of holding elections are of the substance of the election: Sec. 1053, ante.

Time and place of election.-It is essential to the validity of an election that it be held in the place and at the time prescribed by law. Time and place are of the substance of every election: Brightly's Election Cases, 450; Cooley on Const. Lim., sec. 603; McCrary on Elections, sec. 109, 127; Dickey v. Hurlburt, 5 Cal. 343; Saterlee v. San Francisco, 23 Id. 314; Knowles v. Yeates, 31 Id. 82, and see ante, note to sec. 1053. In the California case from 31 Cal. 82, supra, it was decided that if the inspector and judges of an election open the polls and hold the same at a place not authorized by the board of supervisors, and at a distance from the place appointed by the board for holding the same, without any excuse therefor, the election is invalid, and the votes there cast should be rejected and disal

lowed. Chief Justice Thompson, in Chadwick v. Melvin, Brightly's Election Cases, 251, 254, says: "A fixed place, it seems to me, is as absolutely a requisite, according to the election laws, as is the time of voting; the holding of elections at the places fixed by law is not directory; it is mandatory, and cannot be omitted without error. I will not say that in case of the destruction of a designated building on the eve of an election the election might not be held on the the same or on some contiguous ground as a matter of necessity, necessitas, non habet legem, but then the necessity must be absolute, discarding all idea of convenience." But mere irregularity in the conduct of an election, as a change in a voting place two days before the casting the vote, which in no way affected the result, will not render the election illegal: L. M. & B. R. R. Co. v. Geiger, 34 Ind. 185; and see 1 Dillon on Mun. Corp., sec. 197.

1132. When polling-places not designated by supervisors.

SEC. 1132. If the board fail to designate the house or place for holding the election, or if it cannot be held at the house or place designated, the justices of the peace residing in the precinct must meet two days before the election, and by an order, under their hand (copies of which they must at once post in three public places in the precinct), designate the house or place. In the city and county of San Francisco, any three of the justices of the peace may discharge the duties imposed by this section, at least eighteen hours prior to the opening of the polls. [Amendment, approved March 30, 1874; Amendments 1873-4, 21; took effect July 6, 1874.]

The last clause was added by the ple v. Laine, 33 Cal. 55, except as to posting amendment. The whole section "obviates proclamations:" Commissioners' note. the difficulty which existed in the case of Peo

CHAPTER V.

BOARDS OF ELECTION.

1142. Boards of election, how appointed.

SEC. 1142. When an election is ordered, the board of supervisors must appoint, for each precinct, from the electors thereof, one inspector and two judges, who constitute a board of election for such precinct; and in the city and county of San Francisco the board of supervisors must also, prior to the election-day, appoint for each precinct, from the electors thereof, an additional inspector and two additional judges, who, with the original inspector and judges, shall canvass the votes for such precinct, and who must be present at the closing of the polls, otherwise the board of election must appoint the additional inspector and judges, or supply the place of an absent member thereof. The original and additional inspectors and judges shall thenceforth constitute the board of election, the members relieving each other in the duties

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