CHAPTER LIII.

APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS TO CODIFY LAWS.

Code commissioners.

SEC. 645. Eli Carter and Z. Jackson are hereby appointed a committee to arrange and codify the acts passed by the Legislature, with power to make the necessary alterations in the chapters, sections and parts of sections from the code of Iowa as referred to in the acts to establish a civil and criminal code as shall complete a code of laws as near as may be of a general nature only, and furnish an index to the same.

We, the commissioners appointed to prepare a code of criminal and civil law for the Territory of Jefferson, do hereby certify the foregoing to be the codes of criminal and civil law prepared by us, from the code of Iowa as specified by the first General Assembly of the Provisional Government in an act passed for that purpose. Witness our hands, this 23d day of January, A. D. 1860.

ELI CARTER,
ZAREMBA JACKSON.

Polls.

AN ACT

To Regulate Elections.

SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Provisional Legislature of the Territory of Jefferson, the Governor approving. At the general elections, a poll shall be opened at the place of election in each township of each county.

Judges of election.

SEC. 2. There shall be three judges of election, who shall possess the qualification of voters and shall be chosen from among the voters on the morning of election.

SEC. 3. There shall be two clerks of election, who shall be chosen by the judges of election.

Oath of judges and clerks.

SEC. 4. Before opening the polls, each of the judges and clerks of election shall take the following oath: I, A. B., do solemnly swear, that I will impartially and to the best of my knowledge and ability perform the duties of (judge or clerk) of this election, and will judiciously endeavor to prevent fraud, deceit and abuse in conducting the same.

Oath to be entered in poll books.

SEC. 5. One of the clerks can administer the oath to the judges, and the judges can administer the oath to the clerks. The oath must be subscribed by the party, entered in the poll books and certified by the person administering the same.

Time of opening and closing the polls.

SEC. 6. The polls shall be opened at nine o'clock in the forenoon, and kept open until six o'clock in the evening, and if the judges deem it necessary, in order to receive all the votes they may keep the polls open until nine o'clock in the evening; proclamation shall be made at the opening of the polls and half hour before the close of the polls.

Constables to preserve the peace.

SEC. 7. Any constable of the township, who may be designated by the judges of election, and directed to attend at the place of election, and he is authorized and required to preserve order and peace at and about the same.

Riotous behavior at election.

SEC. 8. If any person conducts in a noisy, riotous or tumultuous manner, at or about the polls, so as to disturb the election or insults or abuses, the judges or clerks of election the constable may forthwith arrest him and bring him before the judges and they by a warrant under their hands, may commit him to the jail of the county, or cause him to be held under arrest for a term not exceeding twenty-four hours.

Poll books.

SEC. 9. The county clerk shall prepare and furnish to a constable in each township of his county, two poll books having each of them a sufficient column for the names of the voters, a column for the number, and sufficient blank leaves to contain the entries of the oaths, certificates, and returns; which poll books shall be furnished by the constable to the judges of election.

Manner of voting.

SEC. 10. In voting, the electors shall deliver their ballots to one of the judges who shall deposit them in the ballot-box; but no person is entitled to vote at any other place than in the township in which he resides at the time he offers to vote.

Ballots designate the office.

SEC. 11. The ballots shall designate the office for which the person therein named is voted for.

Challenging voters.

SEC. 12. Any person offering to vote may be challenged as unqualified by either of the judges or by any person who is an elector in this Territory, and it is the duty of each of the judges to challenge any person offering to vote whom he knows or suspects not to be duly qualified.

Qualification of elector.

SEC. 13. When any person is so challenged, the judges shall administer to him the qualifications of an elector, and may examine him as to his qualifications, and if the person insists that he is qualified and the challenge is not withdrawn, one of the judges shall tender to him the following oath:

Oath administered to voter.

SEC. 14. Do you solemnly swear, that you are a citizen of the Territory of Jefferson; that you are a resident of this county for the last three days; that you are twenty-one years of age, and that you have not voted at this election; and if he takes such oath his vote shall be received.

Name of voter entered in poll book.

SEC. 15. The name of each person when his ballot is received shall be entered by each of the clerks in the poll book kept by him, so that there may be a double list of voters.

Judges to canvass the votes.

SEC. 16. When the poll is closed, the judges shall proceed to canvass and ascertain the result of the election, unless they determine to adjourn the canvass to the next day which they may do, but no longer; and if the canvas be so adjourned the opening in the lid of the ballot-box shall be closed and sealed, the box locked and the key delivered to one of the judges, and the box and poll books to one of the clerks, to be securely kept until they meet on the next day.

Canvass in public; Two ballots folded together.

SEC. 17. The canvass shall be public, and shall commence by a comparison of the poll list from the beginning, and correction of any errors which may be found therein, until they shall be found or made to agree. If two or more ballots are found so folded together as to present the appearance of a single ballot as to convince the judges that they were cast as one, they shall not be counted, but they shall have the words rejected as double written upon them, be folded together again and kept as herein directed. When ballots exceed voters; Election set aside.

SEC. 18. If the ballots for any officer are found to exceed the number of the voters in the poll lists, that fact shall be certified, with the number of the excess in the return, and if it be found that the vote of the township where the error ocurred would change the result in relation to a county officer, if the person elected were deprived of so many votes, then the election shall be set aside to him, and a new election ordered, but if the error occur in relation to a township officer, it shall be at the discretion of the county court to order a new election or not. If the error be in relation to a district or Territorial officer, the fact shall be certified to the canvassers, and if it be found that the error would effect the result as to any particular office, a new election for that office shall be ordered in the county where the error happened as to that office.

What ballots rejected.

SEC. 19. If at any stage of the canvass, a ballot, not stating for what office the person therein named is voted for, be found in the box when officers of different kinds are to be elected, it is to be rejected.

Tally list.

list.

SEC. 20. As a check in counting, each clerk shall keep a tally

What returns shall set forth; Form of return.

SEC. 21. A return in writing shall be made in each poll book, setting forth in words written at length the whole number of votes cast for each officer, (except those rejected) the name of each person voted for, and the number of votes given to each person for each different office, which return shall be certified as correct, signed by the judges and attested by the clerks. Such return shall be substantially [as] follows:

At an election at the house of township, in

in

county, Jefferson Territory, on
A. D.
there were

ballots cast for the office of

of which

T. W.S

Clerks of Election.

And in the same manner for any other officer.

Disposition of poll books and return.

SEC. 22. One of the poll books containing such return shall be delivered to one of the justices of the peace in the township, to be by him preserved in his office. The other poll books, with its return, shall be enclosed, sealed, superscribed and delivered to one of the judges or clerks of election, who shall deliver the same within three days after the day of election to the county judges, who, after the county canvass shall file and preserve the same in their office.

Time of return.

SEC. 23. When the returns from all the townships are not made to the county court by the fourth day after the election, on the fifth day they shall send messengers to obtain them from those townships whose returns are wanting, the expenses of which shall be paid out of the county treasury on allowance.

County judges to canvass returns.

SEC. 24. As soon as the returns from all townships are received, the county judges shall open and examine the several returns, and make abstracts, stating in words written at length, the number of ballots cast in the county for each office, the name of each person voted for, and the number of votes given to each person for each different office.

SEC. 25. Two abstracts shall be made of all the votes which are to be returned to the secretary of the Territory, one to be sent to him, and the other to be filed in the county clerk's office.