An Act to regulate the election of delegates representing the District of Columbia to national political conventions, and for other purposes
PL 84-376 (H.R.191), enacted 08/12/1955

69 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 376-AUG. 12, 1955 
699 
Public Law 376 
CHAPTER 862 
^^ 
A C T 
August 12, 1955 
To regulate the election of delegates representing the District of Columbia to 
[H.R« 191] 
national political conventions, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the following po?itic^ pm-ties.° 
officials of political parties in the District of Columbia shall be elected 
Election, 
as provided in this Act: 
(1) National committeemen and national committeewomen; 
(2) Delegates to conventions of political parties nominating can-
didates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the United States; 
(3) Alternates to the officials referred to in clauses (1) and (2) 
above, where permitted by political party rules; and 
(4) Such members and officials of local committees of political 
parties as may be designated by the duly authorized local committees 
of such parties for election at large in the District of Columbia. 
DEFINITIONS 
SEC, 2. For the purposes of this Act— 
(1) The term "District" means the District of Columbia. 
(2) The term "qualified elector" means a citizen of the United 
States (A) who does not claim voting residence or right to vote in any 
State or Territory, and who has resided in the District continuously 
since the beginning of the one-year period ending on the day of the 
next election, or, if such period has not begun, resides in the District; 
(B) who is, or will be on the day of the next election, twenty-one 
years old; (C) who has never been convicted of a felony in the United 
States, or if he has been so convicted, has been pardoned; and (D) 
who is not mentally incompetent as adjudged by a court of competent 
jurisdiction. 
(3) The term "Board" means the Board of Elections for the District 
of Columbia provided for by section 3. 
CREATION 
or 
BOARD 
OF 
ELECTIONS 
SEC. 3. There is hereby created a Board of Elections for the District 
of Columbia, to be composed of three members appointed by the Com-
missioners of the District of Columbia. 
The first terms of offices on 
the Board shall expire, as designated by the Commissioners, one at 
the close of December 31 of each of the first three years which begin 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
Subsequent terms of each 
such office shall be three years beginning January 1 following the ex-
piration of the preceding term of such office. 
Any person appointed 
to fill a vacant office shall be appointed only for the unexpired term 
of such office. 
Until his successor is appointed and has qualified, a 
member may continue to serve even though the term of the office to 
which he was appointed has expired. 
QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS 
SEC. 4. (a) No person shall be a member of the Board unless he 
qualifies as an elector and resides in the District. 
No person may be 
appointed to the Board unless he has resided in the District continu-
ously since the beginning of the three-year period ending on the day 
he is appointed. 
Members of the Board shall hold no other paid 
office or employment in the District government and shall hold no 
active office, position or employment in the Federal Government. 
Not 
more than two members shall be members of the same political party. 
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PUBLIC LAW 376-AUG. 12, 1955 
[69 S T A T . 
(b) Each member of the Board shall be paid compensation of $25 
per day while performing duties under this Act. 
Except as provided 
in subsection (a) no person shall be ineligible to serve or to receive 
compensation as a member of the Board because he occupies another 
office or position or because he receives compensation (including re-
tirement compensation) from another source. The right to compen-
sation from another source otherwise secured to such a person under 
the laws of the United States shall not be abridged by the fact of his 
service or receipt of compensation as a member of the Board, or as an 
employee of the Board. 
FUNCTIONS o r BOARD 
SEC. 5. (a) The Board shall— 
(1) maintain a permanent registry, keeping it accurate and 
current; 
(2) conduct registrations and elections; 
(3) print, distribute, and count ballots, or provide and operate 
suitable voting machines; 
(4) divide the District into appropriate voting precincts, each 
of which shall contain at least three hundred and fifty registered 
persons; 
(5) operate polling places; 
(6) certify nominees and the results of elections; and 
(7) perform such other duties as are imposed upon it by this 
Act. 
(b) The Board, and persons authorized by it, may administer 
oaths to persons executing affidavits pursuant to sections 7 and 8. 
It may provide for the administering of such other oaths as it con-
siders appropriate to require in the performance of its functions. 
(c) The Board may prescribe such regulations as it considers neces-
sary to carry out the purposes of this Act. 
(d) The Board may employ necessary personnel, at such rates of 
compensation as may be fixed by the Commissioners of the District 
of Columbia, without reference to the provisions of the Classification 
Act of 1949, as amended. 
BOARD 
TO 
BE 
INDEPENDENT AGENCY 
SEC. 6. (a) In the performance of its duties, the Board shall not 
be subject to the direction of any nonjudicial officer of the District. 
(b) The District government shall furnish to the Board, upon re-
quest of the Board, such space and facilities as are available in public 
buildings in the District to be used as registration or polling places, 
and such records, information, services, personnel, offices, and equip-
ment, and such other assistance and facilities, as may be necessary 
to enable the Board properly to perform its functions. 
Subject to 
the approval of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, pri-
vately owned space, facilities and equipment may be rented for the 
registration, polling, and other functions of the Board. 
REGISTRATION 
SEC. 7. (a) No person shall vote in any election in the District unless 
he is a qualified elector and, except as provided in subsection (e), is 
registered in the District. 
(b) No person shall be registered unless— 
(1) he is a qualified elector; 
Registration affi« 
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PUBLIC LAW 3 7 6 - A U G . 12, 1955 
701 
(2) he has resided in the District continuously since the begin-
ning of the nine-month period ending on the day he offers to 
register; and 
(3) he executes a registration affidavit by signature or mark 
(unless prevented by physical disability) on the form prescribed 
by the Board pursuant to subsection (c), showing his political 
affiliation, and that he meets each of the requirements specified in 
section 2 (2) for a qualified elector as well as the requirement of 
paragraph (2) of this subsection. 
(c) In administering the provisions of subsection (b) (3), the diwffOT'iS 
Board shall prepare and use a registration affidavit form in which 
each request for information is readily understandable and can be 
satisfied by a concise answer or mark. The Board may request addi-
tional information required to determine whether the registrant meets 
the requirements imposed by or referred to in subsection (b). 
(d) The registry shall be kept open except during the fifteen-day 
period ending on the first Tuesday in May of each presidential election 
year, and except as provided by the Board in the case of a spepial elec-
tion. AYhile the registry is open, any person may apply for registra-
tion or change his registration. 
(e) If a person is not permitted to register, such person, or any 
qualified candidate, may appeal to the Board, but not later than three 
days after the registry is closed for the next election. 
The Board shall 
decide within five days after the appeal is perfected whether the chal-
lenged elector is entitled to register. If the appeal is denied, the 
appellant may, within three days after such denial, appeal to the 
municipal court for the District of Columbia. The decision of such 
court shall be final and not appealable. If the appeal is upheld by 
either the Board or the court, the challenged elector shall be allowed 
to register immediately. If the appeal is pending on election day, the 
challenged elector may cast a ballot marked "challenged", as provided 
in section 0 (d). 
NOMINATIONS : CONTENTS OF BALLOTS 
SEC. 8. (a) Candidates for office participating in an election held 
pursuant to this Act shall be the persons registered under section 7 
who have been nominated for such office by a petition— 
(1) prepared and presented to the Board in accordance with 
rules prescribed by the Board, but not later than thirty days before 
the date of the election; and 
(2) signed by not less than one hundred voters, registered 
under section 7, and of the same political party as the nominee. 
(b) No person shall hold elected office pursuant to this Act unless 
he has been a bona fide resident of the District of Columbia contin-
uously since the beginning of the three-year period ending on the date 
of the next election, and is a qualified elector registered under section 7. 
(c) The Board shall arrange the ballot of each political party so 
as to enable the voters of such party— 
(1) to vote for the candidates duly qualified and nominated 
for election by such party under this Act; and 
(2) to answer in the affirmative or negative such questions 
relating to the conduct of the affairs of such party as the duly 
authorized local committee of such party may file with the Board 
in writing: Provided^ however, That the questions shall be so 
filed not later than thirty days before the date of the election. 
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PUBLIC LAW 376-AUG. 12, 1955 
[69 
S T A T . 
Challenged 
lots. 
bal-
Av a i l ability of 
regulations. 
METHOD OF- VOTING 
SEC. 9. (a) Voting in all elections shall be secret. Voting may be 
by paper ballot or voting machine. 
(b) The ballot of a perfeon who is registered as a resident of the 
District shall be valid only if cast in the voting precinct M^here the 
residence shown on his registration is located. 
(c) Each qualified candidate may have a watcher at each polling 
place, provided the watcher presents proper credentials signed by the 
candidate. No one shall interfere with the opportunity of a watcher 
to observe the conduct of the election at that polling place and the 
counting of votes. Watchers may challenge prospective voters who 
are believed to be unqualified to vote. 
(d) If the official in charge of the polling place, after hearing both 
parties to any such challenge or acting on his own initiative with 
respect to a prospective voter, reasonably believes the prospective 
voter is unqualified to vote, he shall allow the voter to cast a paper 
ballot marked "challenged". Ballots so cast shall be segregated, and 
no such ballot shall be counted until the challenge has been removed 
as provided in subsection (e). 
(e) If a person has been permitted to vote only by challenged 
ballot, such person, or any qualified candidate, may appeal to the 
Board within three days after election day. The Board shall decide 
within seven days after the appeal is perfected whether the voter was 
qualified to vote. If the appeal is denied, the appellant may within 
three days of such denial appeal to the municipal court of the District 
of Columbia. The decision of such court shall be final and not appeal-
able. If the Board decides that the voter was qualified to vote, the 
word "challenged" shall be stricken from the voter's ballot and the 
ballot shall be treated as if it had not been challenged. 
(f) If the official in charge of the polling place is satisfied that a 
qualified elector is unable to record his vote by marking the ballot 
or operating the voting machine, two officials of the polling place 
shall on the request of the voter enter the voting booth and vote as 
directed. 
The officials shall tell no one how the voter voted. 
The 
official in charge of the voting place shall make a return of all such 
voters, giving their names and disabilities. 
(g) No person shall vote more than once in any election nor in an 
election held by a political party other than that to which he has 
declared himself to be a member. 
(h) Copies of the regulations of the Board with respect to voting 
shall be made available to prospective voters at each polling place. 
ELECTIONS 
SEC. 10. (a) The elections of the officials referred to in clauses (1), 
(2), and (3) of the first section and of officials designated pursuant 
to clause (4) of such section shall be held on the first Tuesday in 
May of each presidential election year. 
Any such election shall be 
conducted by the Board in conformity with the provisions of this 
Act. 
Polls shall be open from 8 o'clock antemeridian to 8 o'clock 
postmeridian on election days. 
(b) Candidates receiving the highest number of votes in said elec-
tion shall be declared the winners. 
(c) In the case of a tie, the candidates receiving the tie vote shall 
cast lots before the Board, at 12 o'clock noon on a date to be set by 
the Board, but not sooner than ten days following the election, and 
the one to whom the lot shall fall shall be declared the winner. 
If 
any candidate or candidates, receiving a tie vote, fail to appear before 
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PUBLIC LAW 376-AUG. 12, 1955 
703 
12 o'clock noon on said day, the Board shall cast lots for him or them. 
For the purpose of casting lots any candidate may appear in person, 
or by proxy appointed in writing. 
(d) In the event that any official elected pursuant to this Act dies omcflil"' elected 
during his or her term of office leaving no person elected pursuant to 
this Act to serve the remainder of the unexpired term of office, the 
successor or successors to serve the remainder of such term shall be 
chosen pursuant to the rules of the duly authorized local committee. 
RECOUNTS AND CONTESTS 
SEC. 11. (a) If, within seven days after the Board certifies the 
results of an election, any qualified candidate at such election peti-
tions the Board to have the votes cast at such election recounted in 
one or more voting precincts, the Board shall order such recount. 
In each such case, the petitioner shall deposit a fee of $20 for each 
precinct petitioned to be recounted. 
If the cost of the recount is less 
than $20 per precinct, the difference shall be refunded. 
If the result 
of the election is changed as a result of the recount, the entire amount 
deposited by the petitioner shall be refunded. 
Such recounts shall 
be conducted in the manner prescribed by the Board by regulation. 
(b) Within seven days after the Board certifies the results of an 
election, any person who voted in the election may petition the United 
States District Court for the District of Columbia to review such elec-
tion. 
In response to such a petition, the court may set aside the results 
so certified and declare the true results of the election, or void the elec-
tion in whole or in part. 
To determine the true results of an election 
the court may order a recount or take other appropriate action, w^hether 
or not a recount has been conducted or requested pursuant to subsection 
(a). 
The court shall void an election only for fraud, mistake, the 
making of expenditures by a candidate in violation of this Act, or 
other defect, serious enough to vitiate the election as a fair expression 
of the will of the registered qualified electors voting therein. 
If the 
court voids an election it may order a special election, w^hich shall be 
conducted in such manner (comparable to that prescribed for regular 
elections), and at such time, as the Board shall prescribe. 
The deci-
sion of such court shall be final and not appealable. 
INTERFERENCE WITH REGISTRATION OR VOTING 
SEC. 12. No one shall interfere with the registration or voting of 
another person, except as it may be reasonably necessary in the per-
formance of a duty imposed by law. 
EXPENDITURES 
SEC. 13. (a) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of 
any money in the Treasury to the credit of the District of Columbia 
not otherwise appropriated, such amounts as may be necessary to carry 
out the purposes of this Act. 
(b) Subject to the penalties provided in this Act, a candidate for 
national committeeman, national committeewoman, delegate, or alter-
nate, in his campaign for election, shall not make expenditures in 
excess of $2,500. 
(c) No independent committee or party committee shall receive 
contributions aggregating more than $100,000, or make expenditures 
aggregating more than $100,000 for any campaign covered by this Act. 
(d) No person shall, directly or indirectly, make contribution in an 
aggregate amount in excess of $5,000 in connection with any campaign 
Appropriation. 
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PUBLIC LAW 377-AUG. 12, 1955 
[69 ST A T , 
for election of any national committeeman, national committeewoman, 
delegate, or alternate. 
(e) Every candidate and independent committee or party com-
mittee shall, within ten days after the election, file with the Board 
of Elections an itemized statement, subscribed and sworn to, by the 
candidate or committee treasurer, as the case may be, setting forth 
all moneys received and expended in connection with said election, 
the names of persons from whom received and to whom paid, and 
the purpose for which it was expended. 
Such statement shall set 
forth any unpaid debts and obligations incurred by the candidate 
or independent committee or party committee with regard to such 
election, and specify the balance, if any, of such election funds remain-
ing in his or their hands. 
PENALTIES 
SEC. 14. Any person who shall register, or attempt to register, under 
the provisions of this Act and make any false representations as to 
his place of residence or his voting privilege in any other part of 
the United States, or be guilty of bribery or intimidation of any voter 
at the elections herein provided for, or, being registered, shall vote 
or attempt to vote more than once in any election so held, or shall 
purloin or secrete any of the votes cast in such elections, or attempt 
to vote in an election held by a political party other than that to 
which he has declared himself to be affiliated, or, if employed in the 
counting of votes in such elections, make a false report in regard 
thereto, and every candidate, person, or official of any political com-
mittee who shall make any expenditure or contribution in violation 
of this Act, shall upon conviction thereof be fined not more than 
$500 or be imprisoned not more than ninety days, or both. The pro-
visions of this section shall be supplemental to and not in derogation 
of any penalties under other laws of the District of Columbia. 
Approved August 12, 1955. 
August 12, 1955 
[S. 2501] 
Public Law 377 
CHAPTER 863 
AN ACT 
To provide grants to assist States to meet the cost of poliomyelitis vaccination 
programs, and for other purposes. 
P o l i o myelitis 
Vaccination As-
s i s t a n c e Act of 
1955. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and Flouse of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may 
be cited as the "Poliomyelitis Vaccination Assistance Act of 1955". 
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 2. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated, to remain 
available until February 15, 1956, such sums as may be necessary for 
making payments to States which have submitted, and had approved 
by the Surgeon General, applications for grants under this Act. 
ALLOTMENTS TO STATES 
SEC. 3. (a) From the sums appropriated pursuant to section 2, the 
Surgeon General shall allot to each State which has an application 
approved pursuant to section 4— 
(1) an amount equal to 33% per centum of the number of 
unvaccinated eligible persons in such State multiplied by the 
product of (A) the cost of the poliomyelitis vaccine per eligible 
person, and (B) the State's allotment percentage; and