Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-11
REGISTRATION IS
COMPLICATED
DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAYS
APRIL 22 WAS LAST DAY
CHARTER GOVERNS ELECTION
official Replies at Length to Inquiry
Of the County Clerk Regarding
Special Initiative
Call
CHARTER GOVERNS ELECTION

Questions of law regarding the rules
and regulations governing the coming
initiative election have been pouring
into the county clerks office for the
past few days. and yesterday in answer
to a letter from County Clerk Keyes,
asking for information on the subject,
District Attorney Fredericks made the
following reply:
Dear Sir:
"I have your letter of the 9th inst.
in which you say: please inform me
at what date in your opinion regis
tration Closes and what is the last day
for tranfers for the ensuing city cleo
tion.'
"I understand that this question re-
fers to an election to be held June 2.
1906 in the city of Los Angeles under
the Initiative provision of it's charter.
The city of Los Angeles is acting under
a freeholders' charter, which pre-
walls over general laws in municipal
affairs. The holding of such an cleo
ton is q municipal affair and, there
fore, the provisions of the charter gov
ern the matter of registration for said
election and not the Municipal cleo
ton Act of 1899.
Law in the Case
Section 2O4 of said charter, as
amended in 1905, reads: Section 2O4:
The qualifications of an elector at any
election held in pursuance of this char
ter shall be the same as those pre-
scribed by the laws of this state for
an elector at a general state election
in force at the time of such election;
provided that when any such municipal
election is held after the completion of
the register for any general state elec-
ton all persons who are on the last
such register completed and also all
persons who have registered since the
completion thereof and before the clos
ing of registration for such municipal
election, shall be entitled to vote at such
municipal election. Registration and
transfers of registration for any such
municipal election shall cease for the
same period before the holding thereof,
as is or may be provided in the case OF
general state elections
What Political Code Says
"Section 1894 of the Political Code
governs registration for general state
elections and provides that such reg
istration shall begin on the last day of
January of such years and shall be in
progress at all times except during the
forty days Immediately preceding any
election, when it shall cease as to elec
tors residing in the territory within
which such election is to be held; but
transfers may be made from one pre-
cinct or ward to another in the same
county or city and county at any time
except within twenty-five days immed-
lately preceding any such election
Under these provisions of the law
/ am of the opinion that the last day
upon which new registrations could be
made emitting the person registered toI
vote at the election in question would
be the forty-first day before said cleo
ton, that is April 22d, 1905, and any
registration made later than April 22d
must be excluded.
"The last day for tranfers of reg
istration from one precinct to another
was the twenty-sixth day before said
election day, May 7th, 1905, and any
transfers made after that day must
be excluded.
Yours very truly,
u. D. FREDERICKS
District Attorney.