Substance

of entry.

Rules governing entry.

"Some bills are yet outstanding. The cost of the

coming judicial election is estimated at fifteen thousand dollars.'

SEC. 1096. Such entry must show:

1. The name, at length;

2. The age, omitting fractions of years;

3. The country of the nativity;

4. The place of residence (giving the ward or precinct); 5. If naturalized, the time and place of naturalization; and,

6. The date of the entry;

-Of each person. Each name must be numbered in the order of its entry.

NOTE. This section is but a condensation of the provisions of a corresponding section in the Act of 1868. (Stats. 1868, p. 647.)

SEC. 1097. No person's name must be entered by the Clerk, unless:

1. Upon a certificate of registration in another county, showing that such registration has been cancelled, and upon proof by the affidavit of the party that he is an elector of the county in which he seeks to be registered; 2. Upon the return of the Assessor of the county;

3. If a naturalized citizen, upon the production of his

certificate of naturalization, or upon his own affidavit of Rules governing its loss, together with the affidavit of a registered citizen entry. to the effect that the applicant has resided in the United States for five years and in this State for six months next preceding the time of application, and is reputed to be a citizen of the United States, and that deponent believes him to be, and proof by the affidavit of the party that he is an elector of the county;

4. If born in a foreign country, but by his affidavit he states he became a citizen of the United States by virtue of the naturalization of his father whilst he was residing in the United States, and under the age of twenty-one years, upon the production of a certified copy of his father's certificate of naturalization, or upon such proof of residence and reputed citizenship as is required by the preceding subdivision, and upon proof by the affidavit of the party that he is an elector of the county;

5. Upon the production and filing of a certified copy of the judgment of a District Court directing such entry to be made;

6. In other cases upon the affidavit of the party that he is an elector of the county;

7. In every case the affidavit of the party shows all the facts required to be stated in the entry on the regis ter, except the date and number of the entry.

NOTE. The theory of this section is:

1. That no person's name must be entered upon the Great Register who is not at the time entitled to vote at some precinct in the county.

2. That before any person can be registered he must make and file with the Clerk an affidavit showing that he is entitled to vote in the county, and also all the facts to be entered on the Great Register. This affidavit remains a record in the Clerk's office, upon which perjury may be assigned should it be discovered that the affidavit was false in any particular; it is a lasting and satisfactory record of the proof upon which the registration was made.

Subdivision two provides for an entry upon the return of the Assessor. In a subsequent section the mode and manner of that return is provided for, and that the

Assessor's roll of electors.

What

enrolment

Assessor must with such return deliver to the Clerk all affidavits used before him.

Subdivision five directs the entry to be made upon the judgment of the District Court. Subsequent sections and notes will explain this.

SEC. 1098. The Assessor of each county must keep a roll of electors, on which, and upon like proof as is required for entry upon the Great Register, he must enroll the name of any elector of the county making application to him for that purpose.

SEC. 1099. Such enrolment must show the same facts must show. as are required to be shown by the entry upon the Great

Duty of
Clerk or
Assessor
relative to

certain

proofs

produced before him.

Assessor must make

turns of his

Register.

SEC. 1100. The Clerk or Assessor must, upon every certificate of naturalization presented to him as evidence of citizenship, indorse and subscribe a statement of the time of presentation and of his action thereon.

NOTE.-The object of this section is to prevent the use of the same certificate by different persons.

SEC. 1101. At the end of every month the Assessor monthly re- must return to the County Clerk a certified copy of all enrolment. entries made upon his roll of electors during such month, and all affidavits made for the purpose of procuring such enrolment.

Duty of Clerk upen receipt of the return.

Affidavits

must be filed in Clerk's office.

Persons not to be

registered in different counties

at the

same time.

SEC. 1102. Upon the receipt of such return the Clerk must at once enter upon the Great Register the names contained and the statements made in such return.

SEC. 1103. The Clerk must file and preserve all affidavits returned to him by the Assessor or used before him for the purpose of obtaining registration.

SEC. 1104. No person must cause himself to be registered or enrolled in one county when his registration in another remains uncancelled.

NOTE.-The object of this section is to compel persons before registering in one county to have their registration in another county cancelled so that he may not in such other county be personated by another, and a

fraudulent vote polled. The Penal Code, section forty-
two, fixes the punishment for a violation of the above
section at a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or
by imprisonment in the County Jail or State Prison not
exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprison-
ment. It gives a wide latitude to the Court in prescrib-
ing such punishment. If it appeared on the trial that
the offence was committed through ignorance or inad-
vertance, the fine ought to be light; otherwise, the pun-
ishment should be severe.

tion of

SEC. 1105. There must be left opposite each name in Cancellathe Great Register a blank for cancellation. Cancella- entry. tion is made by writing in such blank the word “Cancelled," and a statement of the reasons therefor.

SEC. 1106. The Clerk must cancel the entry in the When enfollowing cases:

1. At the request of the party registered;

2. When he knows of the death or of the removal of

the

person registered;

3. When the insanity of the person registered is legally established.

4. Upon the production of a certified copy of a judgment of felony in full force against the person registered. 5. Upon the production of a certified copy of a judgment directing the cancellation to be made.

SEC. 1107. Upon the application of the party in person or in writing, the Clerk must give him or his agent a certified copy of the entries upon the Great Register relating to such party.

NOTE.-If a person desires to register in another county, the word "Cancelled" is entered upon the Great Register, and the copy shows that entry, thus making the certificate available for his purpose.

If he takes a certificate without that word, it is primary evidence that he is entitled to vote at some place in the county. In a subsequent part of this Title it is provided that persons whose names are placed on the Great Register after the printed lists are made out may nevertheless vote upon producing and filing with the Election Board a certificate of his registration. These are some of the uses of the foregoing section.

try may be cancelled.

Clerk must

give certifi

cate of reg

istration.

SEC. 1108. If the Clerk refuses to enter the name of any qualified elector of the county upon the Great Register, such elector may proceed by action in the District Court to compel such entry.

NOTE.-The object of this section is to afford those who have applied for registration, and have been rejected, an opportunity to test the right claimed in the Courts. The old law provided that in such cases they might proceed by mandamus; but it is, to say the least, very doubtful whether in that proceeding any Court could review the action of the Clerk upon the weight of the evidence. If so, there was no need of any provision, for mandate would lie without such a provision. To avoid all difficulty upon so important a question we give the applicants an opportunity to try the whole matter in a Court, subject to the same rules as govern other actions.

There are many reasons why this proceeding should be had in the District instead of the County Courts.

The remedy by mandate, if ever effectual, is not taken away. It exists under the power to compel a performance of the duties of the Clerk, which power is by general laws vested in the Courts.

SEC. 1109. Any person may proceed by action in the Dictrict Court to compel the Clerk to cancel any entry made on the Great Register illegally, or that ought to be cancelled by reason of facts that have occurred subsequent to the time of such entry.

NOTE.-A preceding section makes it the duty of the Clerk to cancel the registration upon the happening of certain events-such as death, removal from the county, conviction of a felony, etc.; but he may wilfully neglect the performance of his duty, or may not be possessed of the facts. The section above gives to any person, at any time, the right to purge the Great Register. Committees of political parties may always examine the register, and may take steps, under the provisions of this section, to purge it of names not legally thereon, or to test the legality of any entry made in it.

It is not in the power of humanity to enact laws that will effectually accomplish the purpose intended, and sometimes stringent provisions in statutes impose greater wrongs than would flow from the evil such provisions were intended to avert, but it seems to the Commissioners that, under the provisions of this Chapter, it is within the power of the citizens of the county to keep