than five days, appear before the Supervisor of Elections for the purpose of examination, and if found qualified shall, unless excused by said Board, by reason of ill-health, or other good and sufficient cause, be bound to serve as such officer for the term of two years from the date of his appointment, unless excused or dismissed by the Board; and in case of neglect or refusal to comply with the above mentioned requirements, or to serve or act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction in the Police Court, shall be liable to a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars. Failure on the part of any such person to present himself for examination, or to comply with any of the requirements of this Article preliminary to receiving his certificate of appointment within the time prescribed, or to attend and perform the duties on any day of registration, or revision or examination of registration, or the day of any election during said term, unless prevented by sickness, or other sufficient cause (the burden of proof of which shall be upon the delinquent) shall be deemed a refusal within the meaning of this section. The Board of Police Commissioners are empowered to require the Police Force to serve the notices and other process, under such rules and regulations as they may adopt.

of Ward

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SEC. 18. The persons so appointed officers of election shall each take and subscribe and file with the Supervisor of Elections before acting as such, and within ten days from the date of notice of appointment the following oath of office: "I, residing at solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of the State of California, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of election for the City and County of San Francisco, in Election Precinct -, according to the best of my ability, and that I am a citizen and qualified elector of the State of California and not a candidate for office to be voted for by the electors of the precinct or ward for which I am appointed, nor have I held office or employment under the United States, the State of California, the City and County of San Francisco, or any Department thereof, or been a candidate therefor, within ninety days." No payment shall be made to any person as an election officer who shall not have taken, subscribed and filed such oath or affirmation, or who shall not during his period of service have fully complied with the requirements of law relating to his duties, and the acting of any such person in such capacity without having taken and subscribed such oath or affirmation, shall be a misdemeanor.

SEC. 19. Each person so appointed and qualified shall receive a certificate of appointment from and in such form as

may be prescribed by said Board to be attested by the Secretary. It shall specify the ward and precinct for which he is appointed and the date of the expiration of his term of office. He may be removed by said Board for want of the requisite qualifications, or for cause, in either of which cases such removal, unless made when the Inspector or Clerk is actually on duty on a day of registration or election, and for improper conduct as an election officer, shall only be made after notice, in writing, to the officer sought to be removed, which notice shall set forth clearly and distinctly the reasons for his removal. When any Inspector or Clerk is appointed to fill a vacancy, that fact shall be stated in his certificate of appointment, and he shall hold office only for the unexpired term. No Inspector or Clerk shall be transferred from one election precinct to another after he has entered upon the performance of his duties.

SEC. 20. The registration of electors shall be done by election precincts. The provisions of the Political Code, requiring the keeping of a Great Register and Ward Registers, shall not be applicable to said city and county. The provisions of said Code, as they now are or may hereafter be, as to making and keeping the Great Register, and the manner of entering names therein, and the substance and contents of said entries, and the alterations, changes and cancellation thereof, as well as the proceedings and proofs to enable electors to be registered in said Great Register, and all matters relating thereto, so far as the same are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Charter, shall be applicable to the precinct registers of said city and county. And said precinct registers shall be used at all elections, and no person shall vote at any election unless he be legally registered upon the precinct register of the precinct in which he is a qualified voter. No certificate of the Secretary of the Board or of any other officer shall ever be taken as the basis of a right to vote, or as an excuse for not being registered; the register itself being the only evidence of registration, no person whose name is not thereon shall be allowed to deposit his ballot under any circum

stances.

SEC. 21. The registration of electors in the precinct registers in said city and county, shall take place previous to each general election, and shall end thirty days before such election, as herein provided, and an elector properly enrolled thereon, without being again enrolled, may, if he has not changed his residence, vote at the general election next ensuing after his registration, and at all special elections between said general election and the next general election, but not afterwards, until again registered according to law.

SEC. 22. The Board of Election Commissioners shall cause to be prepared books for the registration of names and facts required by law and by this Article, as provided in Section 23 of this Chapter. Said books shall be called Precinct Registers, and shall be so arranged as to admit of the entering under the name of each street or avenue in each election precinct, and the number of each dwelling in any such street or avenue, if there be a number thereto, and if there be no number, under such other definite description of the location of the dwelling-place as shall enable it to be readily ascertained, found and located, of the names of all electors resident in each dwelling in each of said precincts who shall apply for registration. Said Registers shall be ruled in parallel columns, in which, opposite to and against the name of every applicant, shall be entered words and figures of the character hereinafter provided in this section, and each of said Registers shall be of such size as to contain not less than five hundred names, and so prepared that they may be used at each election, until such time as is provided for the succeeding general registration, and shall, on the inside, be in appearance and form substantially as follows, to-wit:

To each precinct register shall be prefixed an alphabetical list of all the names contained therein, and opposite to each name shall be set its register number. It shall be the duty of the Boards of Precinct Registration at the time names are registered, to place each name in said alphabetical list and set opposite the same its registered number in both the precinct registers and the duplicates.

SEC. 23. The Board of Election Commissioners shall cause to be prepared a sufficient quantity of blanks for Precinct Registers, duplicates, and indexes for all the precincts, ninety days previous to each general election, and the Secretary shall cause them to be made into books sufficient and proper for each precinct. Any elector who would be entitled to vote at the general election and who is about to absent himself from the city and county to remain away during the time provided herein for registration by the Boards of Precinct Registration so that he will be unable to be so registered, may upon making and filing with the Secretary an affidavit showing such fact, be specially registered at the office of the Board by the Secretary or a Deputy, but no others shall be so registered, nor under any other circumstances. Such voters shall be, registered in the Precinct Registers, for the precinct where they are entitled to vote, and not otherwise. Such special registration shall continue at the office of the Election Commissioners until the Precinct Registers are turned over to the Board of Precinct Registration, as is hereinafter provided for, when it shall cease at said office and the registration of voters shall be continued by the Precinct Boards. Such special registration shall be made subject to the rules herein provided for registration by the Boards of Precinct Registration.

SEC. 24. It shall be the duty of the Commissioners in the third month preceding every general election to appoint four Inspectors of election for each precinct. Said four persons shall constitute the Board of Precinct Registration for said precinct, and shall serve for two years, unless sooner removed by said Commissioners. Two of them shall be of different political faith and opinions from the other two. By the said Boards of Precinct Registration in their respective precincts at the time and in the manner provided by law and this Charter all registration of voters shall be done, except such as are specially registered at the office of the Board of Election Commissioners by the Secretary upon affidavit of intended absence from the city and county as provided for in Section twenty-three of this chap

ter.

SEC. 25. Said Boards of Precinct Registration shall meet in the places provided in their respective precincts