Page:A History of the Australian Ballot System in the United States.djvu/99

86 misdemeanor; and upon being thereof convicted, shall be imprisoned for any term not more than two years, at the discretion of the Court who shall try such person.

Deputies to seal box and voting papers and deliver them forthwith to Returning Officers

34. Immediately before taking the votes, the Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer shall exhibit the ballot box empty, and each Deputy Returning Officer shall immediately on the close of the voting, publicly close and seal the box containing the voting papers which have been taken at the voting-place whereat he presided, and shall, with the least delay possible, deliver or cause the same to be delivered to the Returning Officer of the Electoral District, or to the Deputy Returning Officer for the Electoral Division, as the case may be; and in cases of elections of members to serve in the Legislative Council, the Deputy Returning Officers for each division shall, with the least delay possible, deliver or cause to be delivered the whole of such boxes to the Returning Officer for the said Province; and any Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer convicted of illegally dealing with the ballot boxes, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be liable to a penalty of not less than Fifty nor more than Two Hundred Pounds, and to imprisonment until the same be paid.

Names of persons elected to be declared by Returning Officer

35. The Returning Officer of each Electoral District shall at the place of nomination, and as soon as may be practicable after the election shall have been held, in the presence of two or more scrutineers, whereof each candidate shall name one, open all the boxes containing the voting papers delivered in at such election, and shall examine the same, and shall reject all voting papers which shall contain the names of more persons than are required to be elected at any such election, or shall contain any matter or thing other than such names, and shall openly declare the general state of the votes at the close of the election, as the same shall have been made up by him from the voting papers taken at the several voting-places; and he shall at the same time and place declare the name of the person or persons who may have been duly elected at such election; and in the event of the number of votes being found to have been equal for any two or more candidates he shall by his casting vote decide which of the same candidates shall be elected: Provided, however, that no Returning Officer shall vote at any election for the Electoral District of which he is the Returning Officer, except in case of an equality of votes as aforesaid: Provided also, that it shall and may be lawful for the deputy of any Returning Officer to vote at any election for the Electoral District, in like manner as if he had not been appointed and acted as such deputy.

Return of writs with names of elected persons endorsed thereon

36. The name of the person or persons so elected shall be inserted in or endorsed on the writ by the Returning Officer, and the writ returned to the Governor within the time by which the same may be returnable.