The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-03-31
Duties of Election Clerks.

election clerks shall attend at the times
and places designated for meetings in
their respective wards, towns or planta-
tons for the election of any national,
state, county, city or ward officers, and
for the determination of any question
submitted to the qualified voters of any
city by lawful authority, shall be present
at and witness the counting by the pre-
siding election officer or officers of all
votes cast in such meetings, and shall re-
ceive such reasonable compensation for
each days actual service as the municip-
al officers of their respective cities. towns
and plantations may determine, No per-
son shall be eligible to the position of
election clerk in any ward, town and
plantation where he is candidate TO be
voted for.
By this section it is made the duty of
election clerks to be present and aoitness
the counting. Warden Harper can't clear
the space within the rail at the next
election.
Persons Within the Rail.
Here is paragraph in the new law
which is especially commended to the
attention of City Marshal SWEET:
No person other than the election
officers, election clerks and voters adj
mitted as hereinafter provided, shall be
permitted within said rail, except by
authority of the presiding election Off
Ger or officers for the purpose of keeping
order and enforcing the law.
Marshal SWEET will discover from read
ing this paragraph that the warden has
- r;rb+ ~ ;n,-;+o H., ~; Al, ,,,;l -
cept to preserve order, and that he has
no right to go there for any other pur-
pose.
Marking the Ballot.
The new system of marking the ballot
will not have much bearing on the pend
ing election since but one officer is to be
voted for, but we give it:
Sect "a. On receipt of his ballot the
voter shall forthwith, and without leav
ing the enclosed space, retire alone to
one of the voting shelves or compart-
ments SO provided and shall prepare his
ballot by marking in the appropriate
margin or place, a cross (X) as follows:
He may place such msrk within the
square enclosing the name of the party
group or ticket, in which case he shall
be deemed to have voted for all the per-
sons named in the group under such
party or designation.
And if the voter shall desire to vote for
any person or persons, whose name or
names are not printed as candidates on
the party group or ticket, he may erase
any name or names which are printed on
the group or party ticket, and under the
name or names SO erased he may fill IN
the name OF names of the candidates of
his choice.
Or if the voter does not desire to vote
for a person or persons whose name or
names are printed upon the party group
or ticket, he may erase such name or
names with the effect that the ballot
shall not be counted for the candidate or
candidates whose names are so erased.
Assistance to the Voter.
One of the most important amend
ments relates to assistance to the voter.
The sections on this subject, as amended,
read as follows:
Section 26. Any voter who shall de-
clare to the presiding election officer or
officers that he cannot mark his ballot by
reason of physical disability, or from in
ability to read the same, shall receive
the assistance in the marking of his bal
lot, of two of the election clerks; such
clerks shall not both represent one and
the same political party, and they shall
certify on the outside of such ballot that
the same was marked by them, or by the
voter with their assistance, and thereaf-
ter shall give no information concerning
the same. The presiding election officer
or officers may require every voter, who
applies for such assistance, to make oath
to his inability to mark his ballot, before
such clerks shall be directed to assist as
aforesaid, and such officer or officers are
hereby qualified to administer such oath,
and no clerk shall assist or offer to assist
any voter in marking his ballot until di-
rected SO to do by the presiding election
officer or officers.
Section 33. An election or ballot clerk
who shall assist, or offer to assist any
voter, before such clerk shall have been
directed by the presiding officer or officers
to SO assist such voter shall be punished
by q fine of not less than twenty-five, nor
more than one hundred dollars, OF by
Imprisonment not exceeding sixty days
for each offence, and thereafter shall be
disqualified from holding the Office of
election or ballot clerk.
If the ballot-clerks undertake to fur
nish the free assistance which some did
at the last election they will find them
selves boarding with Sheriff Cram for so
days. AS they will be watched it would
be for their advantage to carefully study
the provisions of this section and abide
by them.
City Charter Prov sions Not Repealed.
Ons amendment distinctly declares
that provisions of the city charter relating
to the count are not repealed. This
amendment is as follows,
Provisions in the charter of any city
for the election of two persons to assist
the warden in receiving, sorting and
counting the ballots, are not affected by
the provisions of this act or the act of
which it is amendatory; but persons SO
elected shall be deemed election clerks
for that purpose; they shall equally rep
resent the two political parties which, at
the state election next preceding, cast the
greatest number of votes.