Page:The Constitution of West Virginia ratified in 1872.pdf/14

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Safeguards for Ballots

11. The Legislature shall prescribe the manner of conducting and making returns of elections, and of determining contested elections; and shall pass such laws as may be necessary and proper to prevent intimidation, disorder or violence at the polls, and corruption or fraud in voting, counting the vote, ascertaining or declaring the result, or fraud in any manner upon the ballot.

Registration Laws Provided For

12. The Legislature shall enact proper laws for the registration of all qualified voters in this State. [The amendment of this section was proposed by House Joint Resolution No.45, Acts, Regular Session, 1901, p. 472; submitted by Acts, Regular Session, 1901,c. 154; and ratified November 4, 1902. Vote on the amendment: For ratification, 55,196; Against ratification, 25,379; Majority, 29,817. This section, prior to its amendment, read: “No citizen shall ever be denied or refused the right or privilege of voting at an election, because his name is not, or has not been registered or listed as a qualified voter.”]

ARTICLE V Division of Powers

1. The Legislative, Executive and Judicial Departments shall be separate and distinct, so that neither shall exercise the powers properly belonging to either of the others; nor shall any person exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time, except that justices of the peace shall be eligible to the Legislature.

ARTICLE VI Legislature

1. The legislative power shall be vested in a Senate and House of Delegates. The style of their Acts shall be, “Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia.”

Composition of Senate and House of Delegates

2. The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four, and the House of Delegates of sixty-five, members subject to be increased according to the provisions hereinafter contained.

[The Senate is now composed of thirty-four, and the House of Delegates of one hundred members.]