select three of their own number to act at such election as judges of election. Such judges shall, so far as possible, be so selected that they shall represent the leading political parties of this State. When so elected, they shall choose one of their number as chairman and another as clerk, by drawing lots. Such chairman shall then administer the oath of office to the other judges, and one of the judges shall then administer the same to the chairman. The oath to be administered shall be as follows:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm), that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of judge of election, according to the best of my ability."

Such oath or affirmation shall be written or printed, or partly written or partly printed, attached to or entered upon the poll books used at such election, subscribed by the persons taking the same, and certified to by the person administering the same.

§ 7. Immediately upon the organization of the board of judges the commanding officer to whom shall have been delivered any official war ballots, poll books and envelopes, shall deliver the same to the judges of election and shall take a receipt therefor, which receipt shall be forwarded by mail by such commanding officer, to the Secretary of State. Said judges shall produce and have at the polls before any votes are taken by them, a box for the reception of the ballots to be voted at such election. Before proceeding to take any votes, they shall open said box and publicly exhibit the inside thereof, and the same shall be entirely emptied. They shall then close and securely fasten the same, and said box shall not be opened again until the close of the polls at such election. Each such box shall have an opening in the top thereof for the reception of voted ballots.

The chairman of the board shall have charge of the ballot box during the election and shall receive from the qualified voters, their envelopes containing ballots, and shall deposit them in the ballot box. The other two members shall keep the poll books.

§ 8. Before any person shall receive an official ballot or be permitted to vote, he shall make and subscribe the oath printed upon the official envelope, as provided herein, and any one of the judges of election is hereby authorized to administer and attest such oath. If any voter shall refuse to take the oath so tendered, he shall not be allowed to vote, but if he shall take the oath tendered him, his vote shall be accepted. Upon subscribing to the required oath, the voter shall state his name and residence by street and number, if any, county, city or town, which information shall be entered upon the poll books. He shall also give such other information as is required to be entered in the poll books. When such voter has given such information, the judge in charge of the polls and envelopes, shall write in the proper blank spaces upon such official envelope, the name and residence, by street and number, if any, of such voter, and the county, city or town in which he claims to reside, and shall deliver such ballot or ballots and such envelope to such

voter.

Such voter shall then retire to some convenient place and shall

prepare his ballot and envelope for voting. After preparing his ballot, the voter shall fold his ballot in such a way that the contents of the ballot shall be concealed, and enclose the same in such envelope, which he shall securely seal. He shall then deliver such envelope to the chairman of the board of judges. Before such envelope shall be deposited in the ballot box, the chairman shall state the name of such voter, his residence, whether or not he is entitled to vote and whether or not the envelope is securely sealed. If the voter's name and other information hereby required, appear upon the poll books, the judges keeping such poll books shall so announce and record such voter as voting. The chairman shall thereupon deposit such envelope in the ballot box. Any person so voting shall not in any manner vote again for any candidate or on any question in such election.

§ 9. As soon as the polls of such election are closed, the judges shall publicly destroy all official envelopes and ballots not voted and shall then publicly open such ballot boxes and count and ascertain the number of voters voting, and shall not adjourn or postpone the count until it shall have been fully completed. The judges shall number each voter whose name is recorded in such poll books as having voted, beginning with the first name entered therein, and numbering the same in consecutive order, and shall fill out and sign the certificate to be made by them as to the whole number voting at such election. If the envelopes containing ballots found in such box shall be more than the number of such envelopes so shown by the poll books to have been deposited therein, the judges shall compare the names upon such envelopes with the names recorded in such poll books, and all such envelopes so found in said. ballot box purporting to have been deposited therein by a voter whose name is not duly entered in such poll books, as herein provided, shall, with their contents, be immediately destroyed, without opening the same, and if more than one such envelope shall be found in said ballot box purporting to have been deposited therein by the same voter, then all such envelopes and their contents purporting to have been deposited in such ballot box by such voter, shall be destroyed. No such envelope without an official endorsement, as herein provided, shall be counted.

§ 10. At the completion of the count, the judges shall certify the correctness of the same upon the poll books, and shall publicly announce the-number of votes cast. They shall, thereupon, enclose all such envelopes containing ballots, without opening the same, in a sealed package, with the poll books, and shall forward them to the Secretary of State, at Springfield, Illinois, as soon as possible after such election.

§ 11. Upon the receipt by the Secretary of State of the packages containing the envelopes and poll books, he shall at once forward such envelopes to the county clerk of the respective counties wherein reside such voters absent in military service. Each county clerk shall deliver all envelopes so received from the Secretary of State to the county canvassing board at the time of its regular meeting, and such board shall count all the ballots enclosed in such envelopes and make abstracts of the same, which abstracts shall be sent to the Secretary of State, to be canvassed in the manner provided by law for the canvassing of other

votes. Such abstracts shall be made and sent to the Secretary of State in accordance with the provisions of sections 71 and 76 of an Act entitled: "An Act in regard to elections, and to provide for filling vacancies in elective offices," approved April 3, 1872, in force July 1, 1872, as subsequently amended.

Any such ballots may be rejected for cause by the county canvassing board.

§ 12. If any person shall wilfully swear falsely to any affidavit herein provided for, he shall, upon conviction thereof, be deemed guilty of perjury, and shall be punished as in such case by law provided. If any election officer shall refuse or neglect to perform any of the duties prescribed by this Act, or shall violate any of the provisions thereof, or if any officer taking any of the affidavits provided for herein, shall make any false statement in his certificate thereto attached, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail, not exceeding thirty (30) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

§ 13. The general election laws to the extent that the same are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act shall govern and control all elections under this Act.

AN ACT to amend an Act entitled, "An Act in regard to elections, and to provide for filling vacancies in elective offices," approved April 3, 1872, in force July 1, 1872, as subsequently amended, by amending section fifty-nine (59) thereof.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly: That an Act entitled, "An Act in regard to elections and to provide for filling vacancies in elective offices," approved April 3, 1872, in force July 1, 1872, as subsequently amended, be and the same is hereby amended by amending section fifty-nine (59) thereof so as to read as follows:

59. All the ballots counted by the judges of election shall, after being read, be strung upon a strong thread or twine, in the order in which they have been read, and shall then be carefully enveloped and sealed up by the judges, who shall direct the same to the officer to whom by law they are required to return the poll books, and shall be delivered, together with the poll books, to such officer, who shall carefully preserve said ballots for six (6) months, and at the expiration of that time said clerk shall remove the same from original package and grind and shall sell the same, together with all reserve and unused ballots, to the highest and best bidder for cash in hand paid, and deposit the proceeds in the city treasury, county treasury, or treasury of the municipality, or other subdivision of the State which paid for such ballots. Provided, if any

contest of election shall be pending at such time in which such ballots may be required as evidence, the same shall not be disposed of or sold until after such contest is finally determined.

(HOUSE BILL No. 736. FILED JUNE 29, 1917.)

AN ACT to amend an Act entitled, "An Act to regulate the holding of elections and declaring the result thereof in cities, villages and incorporated towns of this State," approved June 19, 1885, in force July 1, 1885, as subsequently amended, by amending section 7 of Article II, sections 5, 11, 17, 18, 21 and 27 of Article III, section 6 of Article IV, sections 5 and 6 of Article VII, and by repealing sections 19, 20, 22, 23 and 24 of Article III thereof.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: That an Act entitled, "An Act to regulate the holding of elections and declaring the result thereof in cities, villages and incorporated towns of this State," approved June 19, 1885, in force July 1, 1885, as subsequently amended, be, and the same is hereby amended by amending section 7 of Article II, sections 5, 11, 17, 18, 21 and 27 of Article III, section 6 of Article IV, and sections 5 and 6 of Article VII, to read as inserted herein, and by repealing sections 19, 20, 22, 23 and 24 of Article III.

ARTICLE II.

§ 7. It shall be the duty of said board of commissioners, within two (2) months after its first organization, to divide said city, village or incorporated town into election precincts, which shall contain as nearly as practicable four hundred (400) qualified voters, and in making such division and establishing such precincts such board shall take as a basis the poll books, or the number of votes cast at the previous pres

idential election. Within ninety (90) days after each presidential election, such board shall revise and rearrange such precincts on the basis of the votes cast at such election, making such precincts to contain, as near as practicable, four hundred (400) actual voters; but at any time and in all instances where the vote cast at any precinct, at any election, equals six hundred (600) there must be a rearrangement so as to reduce the vote to the standard of four hundred (400) as near as may be. The precincts in each ward, village or incorporated town shall be numbered from one upwards, consecutively.

ARTICLE III.

§ 5. Said board of registry shall, by noon of the second day following such registry, hang up the register, which shall be known as the public register, at the place of registration, which shall be accessible to the public during all business hours and the other two registers shall be returned to the board of election commissioners within the time aforesaid. Any voter of the ward, village or town shall be permitted to be present at the place of registration in said ward and shall have the right to challenge any applicant who applies to be registered. And when challenged such applicant must make oath and sign an affidavit in writing as follows:

"I do solemnly swear that I am a citizen of the United States, am years of age, and that I have resided in the State of Illinois

and election .street. and

street, in said precinct, for the period of... that I last registered in said city for the..

...from No.

of...... that I have never been convicted of any erime (or if convicted, state the time and when pardoned by the Governor of any State.)"

This affidavit shall be signed and sworn to before one of such boar‍l of registry, and it shall be preserved and returned to the office of said election commissioners immediately. If said board of registry shall deem such affidavit sufficient, and if the board is convinced that such person is a qualified voter, then he must be admitted to such register as qualified. Blank affidavits of the character aforesaid shall be sent out to the judges of all the precincts, and the judges of election shall furnish the same on demand and administer the oath without criticism. If any judge of election, poll clerk or other person, when such applicant has been challenged, shall designate such person upon any of the registers as a qualified voter before he has made and filed with the board of registry the affidavit of the character aforesaid, such judge of election, poll clerk or other person shall, upon conviction thereof, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than ten (10) days nor more than sixty (60) days, or by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment.