Page:To regulate the conduct and to maintain the freedom and purity of elections part 2a.jpg

146 who shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, take and subscribe the oath or oaths prescribed for State officers. Should only one of the commissioners appointed be present, he shall appoint another, and both together shall appoint a third, and the commissioners so appointed shall take the oath, and perform all the duties of commissioners of election in the same manner as if they had been appointed by the supervisor of registration.

. 7. Be it further enacted, etc., That it shall be the duty of the commissioners of election to receive the ballots of all legal voters who shall offer to vote, and deposit the same in the ballot box to be provided for that purpose. The commissioners shall deposit the ballot of each voter in the ballot box in the full and convenient view of the voter himself.

. 8. Be it further enacted, etc., That in all cases the vote of the person offering to vote shall be taken from the hand of the voter by one of the commissioners of election, and any commissioner of election receiving a vote from the hands of any person other than the voter, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than three hundred dollars; and any person taking a vote from a voter for the purpose of handing the same to the commissioner of election, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than three hundred dollars; Provided, That any voter shall have the right to deposit his own vote in the ballot box with his own hand.

. 9. Be it further enacted, etc., That any commissioner of election, constable, police officer or election officer, who shall see any person; taking from the hands of a voter his ballot with intent to pass it to the commissioners of election, or attempting so to pass such ballot, shall forthwith arrest such person and convey him at least one quarter of a mile from the polls, and keep him there under guard until the close of the polls.

. 10. Be it further enacted, etc., That the commissioners of election shall preserve order and decorum at the election, and shall commit to prison, or if at any place over one mile from the parish prison, to the custody of the officer, who shall convey the prisoner to a place at least a quarter of a mile from the polls, any disorderly person or persons for a term not to extend beyond the hour of closing the polls, provided he be permitted to vote before being imprisoned. It shall be the duty of the commissioners of election, or any of them, to issue a warrant forthwith for the arrest of such person or persons, and the officer making the arrest shall commit such person or persons as above provided until the close of the poll. Such warrants may be directed to any sheriff, constable or police officer, and shall be executed immediately by such officer. As soon as practicable after the closing of the polls, such person or persons shall be brought before the proper magistrate for examination, who shall proceed forthwith to examine the case.

. 11. Be it further enacted, etc., That it shall be the duty of the commissioners of election at each poll or voting place to keep a list of the names of the persons voting at such poll or voting place, which list shall be numbered from one to the end, and said lists of voters, with their names and number as aforesaid, signed and sworn to as correct by such commissioners, shall be delivered to the