The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-10-30
THE MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION
The Qualifications for Suffrage Under
the New Plan-Details I'm Regard to

Qualifications for Suffrage Underj
n New Plan-Details in Regard to
Voting.
The new constitution of Mississippi,
adopted November LIST, 1890, ia quite
lengthy, containing 285 sections. The
most interesting article is that regulat-
ing franchise. 1t provides that all
elections by the people shall be by bal
lot. The qualifications of a voter are
that he must have been a resident of
the State for two years and of the cleo
ton district or incorporated CITY or
town In which he offers to vote for one
year, that he is duly registered, that
he has never been convicted Of bribery,
burglary, theft, arson, obtaining money
or goods under false pretenses, perjury,
forgery, embezzlement or bigamy, and
that he has paid on or before the first
day OF February of the year in which
he shall offer to vote all taxes which
may have been legally required of him,
and which he has had an opportunity
of paying according to law, for the two
preceding years and shall furnish salts
factory evidence to the officers holding
the election that he has paid said taxes.
Ministers in charge of an organized
church shall be entitled to vote after
six months residence in the election
district, II otherwise qualified. A uni
form poll tax of two dollars is imposed
on every male inhabitant of the State
between twenty-One and sixty years,
to be used in aid of the common schools.
Deaf, dumb, blind persons and those
MANNED by loss of hand or foot are OK
empt from poll taxes.
In addition to the foregoing qualif-
cations every elector shall be able to
read any section of the constitution of
that State: or he shall be able to un-
derstand the same when read to him,
or give a reasonable interpretation
thereof.
Registration is declared to be an es-
sential and necessary qualification to
vote at any and all elections. All cleo
ton officers are to hold office for terms
of four years. The Governor is ineli-
gible to immediate reelection for a
second term.
The election ordinance provides that
the ballots shall contain the m of
all candidates who have been put in
nomination not less than fifteen Gays
previous to the day Of election. The
printer shall be sworn under penalties
OF law to keep secret said ballots. The
size, print aud quality of the official
ballot is left to the sound Judgment of
the officers charged with printing said
ballots.
For the elections tho sheriff of each
county shall procure a sufficient num-
Der OF voting compartments, shelves
and tables for the use Of electors, which
shall be so arranged that it shall be
impossible for II voter at one table,
shelf or compartment to see another
voter who is preparing his ballot. The
number OF such voting shelves, tables
or compartments shall not be less than
one for every hundred electors at each
voting precinct. Each shelf, table and
compartment shall be kept furnished
with a card of instruction posted in
each compartment, and proper supplies
and c~onveniences for marking the bal
lots.
The deputy commissioners of cleo
tiOn having the official ballot in charge
shall remain at q place convenient to
the tables, shelves and compartments,
and when requested by each of the vot-
ers shall hand him an official ballot.
On receiving it the voter shall go into
n OF the compartments and prepare
his ballot by marking with ink in tho
appropriate margin or place, across (X)
opposite the name of the candidate of
his choice, for each office to be filed.
Before leaving the compartment the
voter shall fold his ballot without dis
I'pJ ihS VIC NO No UllcEcUH duu UnCn
$ it in the manner provided by law.
He a take 10 minutes to make his
ballot if other voters are not waiting,
o longer than 5 minutes in case
others are waiting. No ballots can be
taken from n polling place before the
close OF tho polls. Blind persons are
to be helped by the person or persons
having the official ballots in charge.
Ii more names are marked than there
are persons to be elected tho ballot will
not be counted. AS to education it is
made the duty Of the Legislature to es-
tablish u uniform system of free public
schools, by taxation or otherwise, for
all children between 5 and 81 wears,
and, us o o rs practicable to establish
schools OF higher grades. The COM
mon school fund shall consist of the
poll tax and an additional sum from
the general fund in the State Treasury
sufficient to maintain the common
schools for the term of four months in
each scholastic year. But any county
or separate school district may levy an
additional tax to maintain its schools
for q longer time than the four months
term. a public school shall be main
tanned in each school district in the
county at least four months during
each scholastic year. Separate schools
shall be maintained for children of the
white and cOlOred races.