Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-15
PUBLIC LAWS
Passed by the Special
Session Of Legislature.
Two Chapters; Uniform Ballot
Box and RedisiTictlng.
Full Text Of Resolve Providing for
Good Road Bonds.

Following is the fun text of the Pub
lie Laws and Good Roads bond Re-
solve passed by the special session OF
the Legislature
Chapter 1.
An Act to provide for the use of Uniform
Ballot Boxes and for the Preservation
of Ballots cast at elections
Section l. Ballot boxes used for the
reception of official ballots shall be. of
uniform design; they shall be provided
for each polling place by the Secretary
of State at the expense of the state, and
shall be known as state Ballot Boxes;
each box shall be equipped with a suita-
BILE lock and key; in the top of each
box there shall be an opening through
which each ballot shall be put into the
box; such opening shall be large enough
and not larger than may be necessary
10 allow single folded ballot to be
easily passed through such opening into
the box. and shall be covered with a
slide which shall be kept shut except
when opened to receive "a ballot. Each
box shall be large enough to properly
receive and hold all ballots which may
lawfully be deposited therein at any
election.
Section 9 State Ballot Boxes shall be
used for receiving all official ballots
cast at elections. The election officers
at each polling place shall at the open
ing of the polls and before any ballots
and ascertain by personal examination,
and publicly. show that the same is
empty. and shall Immediately thereafter
lock the box and deliver the key thereof
| to the town, plantation, ward district or
precinct clerk, to be retained by hlm I'M
til the polls are closed. The ballot box
shall not, after it has been shown TO be
empty and has been locked, be removed
from public view nor opened nor any
ballot removed therefrom until the polls
are closed. If it becomes impossible to
use the State Ballot Box the voting shall
proceed in such manner as the presiding
officer shall direct and in such case the
clerk shall record the reason why such
ballot box is not used. and shall enclose
an attested copy of such record in the
package with the ballots cast. Any pre-
siding officer or town, plantation, ward,
district or precinct clerk who does not
comply with the requirements of this
section, or evades or attempts to evade
any provision of this section. or hinders
or attempts to hinder any election officer
or any town. plantation, ward, district
or precinct clerk in the performance of
] his duties under this section, shall be
punished for each offense by a fine of
not less than fifty dollars nor more than
| five hundred dollars, and by imprison-
ment for not less than three nor more
| than nine months.
Section 8. The presiding officer at each
polling-place shall have charge of the
State Ballot Box. and shall at the close
of each election return the same to the
city, town or plantation clerk. The clerk
Of each city, town or plantation shall
Boxes provided for the town, and shall
at the expense of the town provide for
their safe keeping and for Keeping them
in good order and repair. subject to the
supervision and control of the Secretary
of State.
If State Ballot Box becomes defec-
tive or is lost or destroyed, the town
clerk shall seasonably make written APP
plea ton to the Secretary of State for
another ballot box, and the. same shall
be supplied at the expense of the town.
Any presiding officer or any city. town
or plantation clerk who shall neglect
to perform any duty imposed by TINS sec
ton shall be punished as provided in
section thirty-two of chapter six of the
Revised Statutes.
Section 4. Section twenty-five of chap
ter six of the Revised Statutes is hereby
amended so as to read as follows:
Section %. No person shall take or
remove any ballot from the polling place
before the close of the polls. If any
voter spoils a ballot he may successfully
obtain others, one at time not exceed
ing three in all, upon returning each
spoiled one. The ballots thus returned
shall be Immediately cancelled. and to-
gether with those not distributed to the
voters and with the check lists used,
which shall be certified by the ballot
clerks, to be such, shall be secured,
sealed, and sent to the several city. town
and plantation clerks.
The ballots shall be sorted and counted
in open town or ward meeting in such
ample opportunity to observe the sorting
and counting and the result shall be de-
clared and recorded i'm open town or
ward meeting. When the ballots have
been so sorted and counted and the re-
suit so declared and recorded all the
ballots shall in open meeting be sealed
in a package, which said package with
the check lists sealed I'm the same man.
ner as the ballots, shall forthwith be re-
turned to the city, town or plantation
clerk In case two or more kinds of Off
cial ballots are used at any election,
each kind shall be sealed in a separate
package. All ballots and check lists shall
be sealed that the packages and check
lists cannot be opened or examined with
out first breaking the seal: and the
sealed packages of ballots east at any
state election or at any election of cleo
tors of president and vice-president of
the United States shall have an endorse
ment of substantially the following
tenor endorsed thereon or securely af-
fixed thereon: This package contains
ward of the city o, Of -, on
were sorted, counted, the result declared
and recorded and this package sealed
in open meeting in accordance with sec
Revised Statutes. Such endorsement
shall be signed by the town, plantation
or ward clerk and by majority of the
selectmen of towns and the assessors of
plantations, or by the Wardens in cities
or voting precincts. The ballots and
after any city election and all other
ballots returned to him, which he is not
required to forward to the secretary of
state according TO the provisions of sec
ton six of this act, shall be preserved
by him as n public record for six months
al Npstr Ion