The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1900-07-05
ARTICLE vi.
SUFFRAGE AND ELIGIBILITY.

ARTICLE vi.
SUFFRAGE AND ELIGIBILITY.
Section I. Every male person born
In the United States, and every male
person who has been naturalized,
twenty.one years OF age, and possessing
the qualifications set out in this Ar
tlcle, shall be entitled to vote at any
election by the people in tho State,
except as otherwise herein provided.
(section ~ Every male person born
in the United States and every male
person who has been naturalized, 81
years of age and possessing the quail
fications set out in this article, shall
be entitled to vote at any election by
the people in the State, except as
herein otherwise provided.
(Section 2.) He shall have resided
in the State of North Carolina tor 2
years, in the county six months, and
in the precinct, ward or other election
district in which he offers to vote, four
months next preceding the election
Provided, That removal from precinct,
ward or other election district, to an
other in the same county, shall not
operate to deprive any person of the
right to vote in the precinct, ward OF
other election district, from which
he has removed until four months at
ter such removal. No person who
has been convicted or who has con-
fessed his guilt in open court upon
Indictment, of any crime, the punish
ment of which now is or may hereaf-
ter be, imprisonment in the State prison,
shall be permitted to vote unless the said
person shall be first restored to citizen
ship in the manner prescribed by law.
(Section 81 Every person offering
to vote shall be at the time a legally
registered voter as herein prescribed
and in the manner hereafter provided
by law, and the General Assembly OF
North Carolina shall enact general
registration laws to carry into effect
the provisions of this article.
(Section ~ Every person present
ing himself for registration shall be
able to read and write any section of
the Constitution in the English Ian
guage, and before he shall be entitled
to vote, shall haye paid on or before
the first day of May of the year in
which he proposes to vote his poll tax
for the previous year as prescribed by
Article 5, Section l, of the Constitu-
ton. But no male person, who was on
January l, 1857, or at any time prior
thereto, entitled to vote under the
laws of any State In the United States
wherein he then resided, aud no lineal
descendant OF any such person shall be
denied the right to register and vote
at any election in this State by reason
of his failure to possess the educational
qualification herein prescribed: Pro-
vided he shall have registered In &C
cordance with the terms of this Sec
ton prior to December l, 1908.
The General Assembly shall provide
for the registration of all persons en-
titled to vote without the educational
qualifications herein prescribed, and
shall, on or before November LIST, 1908,
provide for the making OF a perma-
nent record of such registration, and
all persons 80 registered shall forever
thereafter have the right to vote in all
elections by the people in this State,
unless disqualified under Section 2 of
this article: Provided such person
shall haye p,id his poll tax as above
required.
Section 5. That this Amendment to
the Constitution is presented and
adopted as one indivlsible plan for the
regulation of the suffrage, with the in
tent and purpose to SO connect the
different parts, and to make them so
dependent upon each other that the
whole shall stand or fall together.
Section 6. All elections by the peo-
pie shall be by ballot, and all elections
by the General Assembly shall be viva
voce.
Section Z. Every voter In North
Carolina, except as In this arti-
Gle disqualified, shall be eligible to
Office, but before entering upon the
duties of the Office, he shall take and
subscribe the following oath: H..
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