vided further, That if any town or district shall be divided after coming under the provisions of this act, it shall be the duty of the commissioners of registration to at once ascertain whether either of the divisions of the divided district or town still have the requisite number of inhabitants to continue it under the provisions of this act according to the preceding federal census. 1891, ch. 224, sec. 1; ex. ses. 1891, ch. 12, sec. 1. no compensa tion; oath. SEC. 2. That a board of three commissioners of registration, two of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, shall Commissioners be appointed by the governor for each county in which such of registration; city or cities, town or towns, civil district or civil districts falling within the provisions of this act requiring registration of voters may be located, and said commissioners shall be citizens of and qualified voters, as now provided by law, in the counties for which they are appointed, and of whom not more than two shall be of the same political party. They shall be appointed on or before the first of April, 1890, and every two years thereafter, and shall hold their office for the term of two years, and all vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the governor, as in the first instance. Said commissioners shall serve without compensation, and, before entering upon the duties of their office, shall take and subscribe to an oath before any justice of the peace or judge of a court of record, authorized by law to administer oaths in the county for which they are appointed, to faithfully and honestly discharge the duties of their office. It shall be the duty of said commissioners to qualify, within ten days after their appointment, and organize by the selection of one of their number as chairman, and to appoint registrars of voters as herein provided, a majority of the board in all cases having full power to act; and a failure on the part of any such commissioner to so qualify shall, in all case, vacate the appointment of such commissioner. pointment of; excepted from act: judges and clerks. SEC. 3. That the commissioners of registration herein provided shall, ninety days prior to every general, state, county, and municipal election, appoint two registrars of voters, both of whom shall be residents of the civil districts or wards they are intended special elections to serve in, not more than one of whom shall be of the same political party, for such civil district, county, town, or city falling within the provisions of this act in their respective counties; Provided, That where towns or cities in such counties are divided into wards, voting separately, they shall appoint two registrars for each ward in such town or city; Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not apply to special elections held by any city or town to enable it to subscribe to the capital stock of any railroad, or issue bonds for sewerage, water-works, street improvements and paving, funding outstanding indebtedness, or other work of internal improvement, when said city or town votes in conjunction with the civil district in which it is situated. [It is also made the duty of said commissioners of registration, and the power and authority is hereby conferred upon them, to appoint at some convenient period, prior to all elections held under the provisions of this act, one of the three judges and one of the two clerks of elections in each ward and district and voting precinct of the city or county to which this act applies; and the county courts, mayors, and boards of mayor and aldermen and sheriffs in the counties and cities within the provisions of this act are hereby divested of the authority to appoint more than two of said three judges, and not more than one of the two clerks of said elections, and the county courts, sheriffs, mayors, and boards of mayor and aldermen, in making the appointments of the other two judges, shall appoint one from each of the political parties most numerously represented in such wards or districts or voting precincts of said cities or counties. 1891, ch. 224, sec. 2.] Commissioners stationery, etc.; for same. SEC. 4. That the commissioners of registration appointed under this act for any and all counties affected by this act, shall have power to purchase, at the expense of their respective counties, and shall purchase and furnish, all such books, stationery, etc., to furnish books, to the registrars in the different wards and districts affected county to pay by the provisions of this act necessary to its proper execution in accordance with forms to be furnished by the state comptroller, as hereinafter provided; and said commissioners shall certity cost of the same to the county judge or chairman, and he shall issue his warrant on the county treasury of his county to pay for said books, stationery, etc., and said registrars shall be held accountable as custodians. of said registration books, stationery, etc., except as hereinafter provided. SEC. 5. That each registration under this act shall close at least twenty days before the date of the election for which said registration is had, and that upon the four Fridays and Saturdays next preceding Regulations as twenty days before each such election, being the date of clos- to registration. ing such registration, the registrars shall be at their offices from 8 o'clock A.M. till 9 o'clock P.M., for the purpose of registering voters and furnishing to voters so registered certificates of such registration, and that no person shall be entitled to vote in any district, town, or city or county affected by this act, in any election to which this act applies, who has not appeared in his own proper person before said registrars, and been. registered by them and furnished with a certificate of such registration within the hours and on the days as hereinbefore provided; and it shall be the duty of said registrars for civil districts and wards respectively, to open, on the days designated herein for registration, in some convenient place in each ward or civil district affected by this act, an office for the registration of voters, giving at least ten days' notice of the time and place of such registration in some newspaper published in the county where such civil district, town, or city is located, or by written or printed notices posted in three or more public places in the civil district or ward for which they are appointed registrars. Registration, questions an swearing declar tificates, what to swered on: false ed perjury; cer SEC. 6. That in all cases where the applicant for registration is not personally known to the registrars to be a legal voter in the civil district or ward in which he applies for registration, he shall, before being registered, answer and state his age, place of residence, stating district or ward, road or street, the number of his house, if numbered; and, if not numbered, then a designation of its location; if not the owner, then the name of the owner or renter, where he resides or boards, the time of his residence in said state and district or city, whether married or single, his avocation, place of business, or where and by whom employed, the state, city or district, and post-office; if a new comer, from whence he contain. 1053 came, and if a foreigner, when and where naturalized; has he ever been disqualified as a voter by judgment or decree of any court; if so, when and by what court re-instated. The registrars shall keep suitable books in which the statements or answers of such applicants for registration shall be entered by them; and the said statements or answers shall be, when so made and entered by the registrars, sworn to by such applicant or applicants for registration; and for that purpose said registrars, or either of them, are empowered by this act to administer said oath; and any false swearing on the part of any applicant for registration, as to the statements or answers touching his qualification to vote as herein provided, is hereby declared to be perjury, punishable as perjury in other cases under the laws of the state. The registrars shall number the names of voters as registered, giving the color of each voter opposite his name on the registration book, and shall furnish to each voter so registered a certificate of his registration as a voter, which shall be numbered corresponding with his name on the registration book, and shall show on its face the name of the voter, his color, the ward or district in which he resides, and in what election. he is entitled to vote under said certificate; and when so issued or delivered to the voter, he shall, on presentation of the same to the proper officer holding the election in the ward or district in which said voter resides and for which said registration was held, be entitled to vote in the election for which the certificate shows his qualification to vote, unless, on challenge, it be shown, by proof, to the satisfaction of the judges holding such election, that the certificate was procured by fraud or perjury, or that the voter has removed from the ward or district in which he was registered; and no person shall be entitled to vote in such ward or district except on presentation of his certificate as a voter, as hereinbefore provided for, and whose certificate of registration shall be taken up and canceled. 1889, ch. 218, as amended by ex. ses. 1890, ch. 23, repealed by 1891, ch. 161. Registration affidavit as to jury to make SEC. 7. That the registrars in each district and ward shall, immediately after the registration of voters for such ward or district is closed, keep the books of registration open for public inspection at books kept open the office of registration for the space of five days; and if for inspection; any errors of a purely clerical nature are discovered during correctness: per- said time, the same shall be corrected by the registrars. On false affidavit. the expiration of said five days, the said registrars shall make affidavit before any officer in their county authorized by law to administer oaths, on their book of registration, immediately following the close of the list of names of registered voters, to the correctness of their registration, and that they have, in all respects, in conducting such registration, complied with the provisions of this act; and any false statement made in said affidavit is hereby declared to be perjury on the part of the parties making the same, and punishable as perjury in other cases; and said book or books of registration, when thus completed, shall be turned over by the registrars to the commissioners of registration for their county for safe-keeping, and said commissioners shall thereafter be held responsible for the same as in case of other public records. SEC. 8. That the registrars herein provided for shall be compensated in the sum of one dollar and fifty cents per day each, for the eight days 94 of registration hereinbefore designated, and shall have the Compensation of same rate of compensation for one additional day for cor- registrars. recting errors as hereinbefore provided for, to be paid out of the county treasury on the warrant of the judge or chairman of the county court when the account is certified by the commissioners of registration. In case of municipal elections, the costs shall be paid by the corporation or municipality for which said election is held. SEC. 9. That at the close of each day's registration the registrars shall draw a heavy black line, in ink, immediately under Books marked at the last name registered on that day, entirely across the close of each page of the registration book, to indicate the completion of day. that day's registration. ister qualified SEC. 10. That any registrar of votes [voters] willfully refusing to register any qualified voter, shall be liable to indictment by grand jury for a misdemeanor in office, and, upon conviction, shall be sen- Refusal to regtenced to pay a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail meanor; penalty or work-house for not less than ten nor more than thirty days, or both, at the discretion of the court. voter a misde - SEC. 11. That all persons qualified to vote under existing laws at the date of his application, or who may become qualified by reason of his arriving at the age of twenty-one years by the date of the Who entitled to election for which the registration is had, or who will be registration. qualified by reason of having resided in the state for twelve months and county six months by the date of said election, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter under this act. Disagreement of SEC. 12. That if the registrars disagree as to the right of an applicant to be registered as a voter, they shall register his name and issue to him a certificate as in other cases, writing across the face of the certificate the words: "The registrars disagree," and registrars. in such case the applicant may take such certificate to the board of commissioners of registration, who shall determine the question of disagreement and indorse on the certificate the words "approved" or "disapproved," as they may decide, and the holder of such certificate shall not be entitled to vote on such certificate unless the word " "approved" is indorsed on the same and signed by the majority of said board of commissioners. Refusal or ina how remedied. SEC. 13. That in case of the temporary absence of a duly appointed registrar on any of the days fixed for registration by this act from sickness or other cause, he (and on his failure to do so, the commissioners of registration) shall select a person from the bility to act, political party to which he belonged to act for him and in his stead during such temporary absence; and should any duly appointed registrar willfully refuse to act on any registration day, as herein provided for, the registrar not refusing shall have power to supply his place by appointment of another registrar, to assist him, from the same political party to which the declining member belongs, which appointment shall continue until the board of commissioners supply the place by another regular appointment; Provided, That in each case an oath, the same as taken by regular registrars, shall be administered to such temporary registrars by any officer of his county authorized to administer an oath. 1053 trars. SEC. 14. That the said registrars provided for in this act, before entering upon the duties imposed upon them by this act, shall take and subscribe to the following oath: "I do solemnly swear (or Oath of regis- affirm) that I will faithfully and impartially keep the register of voters in my district (or ward); that I will not knowingly register, or allow to be registered, any person not a legally qualified voter, and that I will not knowingly prevent any person from registering So help me God." who is a legally qualified voter. clared a misdemeanor; penalty. SEC: 15. That it is hereby declared a misdemeanor for any person to register or have his name registered as a qualified voter under this act, Certain acts de- when he is not such a qualified voter; or to vote, or attempt to vote, on any certificate of registration issued under the provisions of this act to some one other or otherwise than the person voting, or offering to vote, on the same; or to procure or induce any other person to register or be registered as a voter not being legally qualified as such; or to induce or procure any other person to vote, or attempt to vote, on any certificate issued under the provisions of this act to another or otherwise than to the person voting, or offering to vote, on the same; or to alter, change, forge, or counterfeit, or procure the same to be done by another, the certificates of registration provided for in this act; or to issue, circulate, or in any way use, or attempt to use, any fraudulent certificate of registration, the same not having been regularly issued by duly appointed and legally quali fied registrars as provided for in this act. And any person convicted of either of said offenses shall be fined not less than fifty dollars or be confined in the county jail or work-house not less than thirty days, or both, at the discretion of the court. SEC. 16. That, to secure uniformity in registering voters under this act, the state comptroller shall furnish to the commissioners of regis Comptroller to furnish blank forms, etc. tration in the various counties where the same are required to be appointed under this act, blank forms for all books and certificates of registration required under and by the provisions of this act, and the same shall be paid for out of the state treasury as other claims are paid. furnished, and use. SEC. 17. That said registrars provided for in this act shall furnish a certified copy of list of voters registered by them in their respective Certified lists of Wards or districts, and for each voting precinct therein, said voters, to whom certified copy to be signed by both of said registrars and delivered with the books of registration to the county commissioners, who shall furnish said certified copy of list of voters to judges holding the elections under the provisions of this act at each voting precinct in said ward or district, to be used by said judges on election day to determine who may be entitled to vote under the provisions of this law; and said registrars shall be entitled to fifty cents each for said certified copy of list of voters. Repeal of con SEC. 18. That an act passed April 2 and approved April 4, 1889, chapter 207, to provide for the registration of voters in towns, cities, and civil districts in the State of Tennessee having a voting ficting laws; act population of five hundred votes [voters] or more in the presance of improve idential election of 1888, or may hereafter have that number ment bonds. in any presidential election, be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and that all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the provis applies to issu 96 |