a conspicuous place, the names of the chairman and secretary, or the names of two officers, at least, of the political or other organization issuing the same, or the name and residence, with street and number thereof, if any, of some voter of the Commonwealth, as responsible therefor. BALLOT LAW COMMISSION. 1893, C. 417, § 92. 124. The Ballot Law Commission shall consist of the Ballot Law secretary of the Commonwealth, the attorney-general and Commisthree other persons who shall be appointed from different sion. political parties by the governor, with the consent of the council, in the month of June or July in each year, and shall hold office for terms of one year beginning with the first day of August. Any vacancy occurring in the number of the three members so appointed shall be filled by appointment in like manner for the remainder of the unexpired term. nesses, etc. 125. The Ballot Law Commission may summon and May sumcompel the attendance of witnesses and administer to them mon witoaths, and may require the production of books and pa- 1804, c. 343, pers at a hearing before them upon any matter within their § 1. jurisdiction. Witnesses shall be summoned in the same manner, be paid the same fees and be subject to the same penalties for default, as witnesses summoned before the general court. A summons may be signed and an oath may be administered by any member of the said board. Decision of majority 126. The decision of a majority of the members of the board upon any matter within its jurisdiction shall be final. final. 1893, c. 417, $94. Compensa Ibid. § 95. 127. The appointed members of the Ballot Law Commission shall be paid such compensation for their services, tion. not exceeding three hundred dollars each, as the governor and council may determine; and the total expenditures by and on account of said commission shall not exceed the sum of fifteen hundred dollars in any one year. constitute 128. Said board of election commissioners shall consti- Election tute the Boston Ballot Law Commission, and shall in all commismatters relating to objections and questions arising in the sioners to case of nominations of candidates for city offices in said city, Boston have all the powers and duties prescribed for the Ballot Law Ballot Law Commission of the state, in matters under their jurisdic- Commistion; and in every case where said commissioners sit as a ballot law commission the chief justice of the municipal court of the city of Boston, or in case of his sickness or sion. 1895, c. 449, § 5 disability the next senior justice of said court, who is not sick or otherwise disabled, shall preside, but shall not vote except in case the other commissioners are evenly divided in their decision, when he shall cast the deciding vote. In every other matter in which the commissioners are equally divided said chief justice, or other justice of said court as above provided, shall act with them and cast the deciding vote. TITLE IV. WARDS AND VOTING PRECINCTS. sion of cities into. 1893, C. 417, 129. A city may, in the year eighteen hundred and Wards, ninety-five, and in every tenth year thereafter, before the new divi. first day of May in such year, by vote of its city council, make a new division of its territory into such number of wards as may be fixed by law; and the boundaries of such § 96. wards shall be so arranged that the wards shall contain, as nearly as can be ascertained, and as nearly as may be consistent with well-defined limits to each ward, equal numbers of legal voters. A division so established shall take effect in accordance with the provisions of section one of chapter two hundred and twenty of the acts of eighteen hundred and ninety-five (one hundred and thirtytwo of this digest). 1895, c. 220, § 2. ignation, 130. The several cities of the Commonwealth shall, Voting prefor the choice of all officers who are elected by the cincts, despeople, be divided into convenient voting precincts con- etc. taining not more than eight hundred registered male 1893, c. 417, voters, and all such voting precincts shall be designated § 97. by numbers or letters of the alphabet. Every ward of a city containing, according to the regis- Division, tration of voters at the preceding annual city election, time, boun eight hundred or less registered male voters, shall consti- daries, etc. tute a voting precinct, except that if a ward shall, according to such registration in any year, contain more than five hundred but not more than eight hundred such voters, the board of aldermen of the city may, on or before the first Monday of July in the following year, if they shall deem it expedient so to do, divide the same into two voting precincts. If a ward of a city constituting a single voting precinct shall, according to such registration, in any year contain more than eight hundred male voters, the board of aldermen shall, on or before the first Monday of July in the following year, divide the same into two or more voting precincts; and if a voting precinct of a ward shall, according to such registration in any year, contain Voting precincts, under new division of wards. more than eight hundred male voters, the board of aldermen shall in like manner either divide such precinct into two or more voting precincts or shall make a new division of the ward into voting precincts, so that no such precinct, shall contain more than eight hundred registered male voters. When wards are so divided into voting precincts, the precincts shall be established so as to contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of voters, and in such manner that each precinct shall consist of compact and contiguous territory, and shall be entirely within one ward; and, so far as possible, the middle lines of known streets or ways, or other well-defined limits, shall be the boundaries of such precincts. 131. When a new division of the territory of a city into wards has been made, in accordance with the provisions of section ninety-six (one hundred and twentynine of this digest) of said chapter four hundred and 1893, c. 417, seventeen, the board of aldermen of such city shall, on or $ 98. before the first Monday of July in the year in which such new division has been made, divide such city into voting precincts, conformably to the provisions of the preceding section. Ward lines existing previous to new divi. tinue for poses. 1895, c. 220, 132. For the purposes of all elections in the year of any new division of a city into wards, including elections of representatives to the general court, members of the sion to con- common council, and other officers, and for the purposes of any election held prior to the annual state election in certain pur- the next succeeding year for filling a vacancy among officers so elected, or a vacancy caused by failure to elect, and for the purpose of assessing taxes in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-five, the wards and voting precincts as existing previous to such new division shall continue, and for such purposes the election officers shall be appointed and hold office, and voting lists shall be prepared for each such voting precinct, and all other things required by law shall be done as if no such division had been made. § 1. Map or description to 133. Whenever a ward of a city has been divided into new voting precincts, or the voting precincts thereof have |