and one of the other inspectors shall then administer the same to the chairman. The oath to be administered shall be as follows:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New York, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of inspector of election according to the best of my ability."

Such oath or affirmation shall be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, and attached to or entered upon the poll books used at such election, and subscribed by the person taking the same, and certified by the person administering the same.

Immediately upon the organization of such board of inspectors the commanding officers to whom shall have been delivered any official war ballots, poll books and envelopes shall deliver the same to the inspectors of election of such election and shall take a receipt therefor, which receipt shall be forwarded by mail by such commanding officer to the secretary of state. The said inspectors shall produce and have at the polls, before any votes are taken by them, a box for the reception of the ballots to be voted at such election. Before proceeding to take any votes they shall open said box and publicly exhibit the inside thereof, and the same shall be entirely empty. They shall then close and securely fasten the same and the said box shall not be opened again until the close of the polls at such election. Each such box shall have an opening in the top thereof for the reception of voted ballots.

The chairman of the board of inspectors shall have charge of the ballot box during the election and shall receive from the qualified voters their envelopes containing ballots and shall deposit them in the ballot box. He shall designate two other inspectors, of opposite political faith, if possible, to keep the poll books of such election. The remaining inspector shall have charge of the official ballots and envelopes and shall deliver the same to the qualified voters entitled to vote at such election.

Derivation: L. 1898, ch. 674, § 10.

510. Conduct of elections.

The election shall be by ballot. Before any person shall receive an official ballot or be permitted to vote, he shall make and subscribe the oath printed upon the official envelope, as provided by this article, and any member of said board of inspectors is hereby authorized to administer and attest such oath. If any voter shall refuse to take the oath so tendered he shall not be allowed to vote; but if he shall take the oath tendered him his vote shall be accepted. Upon taking the oath required, the voter shall give to the inspectors keeping the poll books, who shall each enter upon the poll book kept by him, his name and residence by street and number, if any, county and city or town. He shall also give such other information as is required to be entered in such poll book. When such voter gives such information to such inspectors, the inspector having charges of the ballots and envelopes shall write in the proper blank spaces upon such official envelope the name and residence by street and number, if any, of such voter, and

the county, and the city or town in which he claims to reside, and shall deliver such ballot or ballots and such envelope, to such voter. Such voter shall then retire to some convenient place and shall prepare his ballots and envelope for voting.

The voter may write or paste upon his ballot the name of any person for whom he decires* to vote for any effice* for which such voter may lawfully vote at such election. Any such voter may paste upon such ballot a printed ballot of his own selection or preparation, to be known as a paster ballot, containing the titles of all the offices to be filled and the names of the candidates therefor for whom he desires and is entitled to vote at such election. Such paster ballot may be gummed and the voter may paste the whole or any part of such paster ballot upon the official ballot. Any name so written or pasted upon the official ballot shall be deemed the choice of the voter. All pasters shall be of white paper and printed in type uniform with that required to be used upon the official ballot and printed in plain black ink A paster shall be so attached to the ballot that when the ballot is folded no printed portion of such paster shall be visible.

After preparing his ballot and before delivering the same to the chairman of the board of inspectors, the voter shall fold his ballot in such a way that the contents of the ballot shall be concealed and inclose the same in such envelope which he shall securely seal. He shall then deliver such envelope to the chairman of the board of inspectors; but before such envelope shall be deposited in the ballot box the chairman shall declare from such envelope the name of such voter and his residence by street and number, if any, county and city or town, and if such voter is entitled to vote and such enevelope* is securely sealed and his name and the other matter hereby required is recorded upon the poll books, the inspector keeping such poll books shall announce the same as correct and shall record such voter as voting. The chairman shall thereupon deposit such envelope containing such ballot or ballots in the ballot box. Any voter so having voted, shall not again be entitled to vote at such election, though present on election day in the election district where he resides.

If, for any cause, the official ballots, poll books and envelopes shall not be provided as required by law at any polling place, upon the opening of the polls for any election thereat, or if the supply of official ballots or envelopes shall be exhausted before the polls are closed, unofficial ballots, poll books and envelopes printed or written, made as nearly as practicable in the form of the official ballot, poll books and envelopes may be used.

Derivation: L. 1898, ch. 674, § 11.

§ 511. Count of the votes.

As soon as the polls of an election are closed, the inspectors of election thereat shall publicly destroy all official envelopes and ballots not voted; and shall then publicly open such ballot boxes and count and ascertain the number of voters voting and not adjourn or postpone the count until it shall be fully completed. The board of inspectors shall

*So in original.

commence the count by comparing the two poll books used at such election, correcting any mistakes therein, and by counting the envelopes containing ballots found in the ballot boxes without opening them, and by comparing the envelopes containing ballots found in such box with the number shown by the poll books to have been deposited therein. The inspectors shall number each voter whose name is recorded in such poll books as having voted beginning with the first name entered therein and numbering the same in consecutive order and shall fill out and sign the certificate required to be made by them as to the whole number voting at such election. If the envelopes containing ballots found in such box shall be more than the number of such envelopes so shown by the poll books to have been deposited therein, the inspectors shall compare the names upon such envelopes with the names recorded in such poll books and all such envelopes so found in said ballot box purporting to have been deposited therein by a voter whose name is not duly entered in such poll books as herein provided, shall with their contents be immediately destroyed, without opening the same; and if more than one such envelope shall be found in said ballot box purporting to have been deposited therein by the same voter, then all such envelopes and their contents purporting to have been deposited in such ballot box by such voter shall be destroyed. No such envelope that has not the official indorsement as herein provided shall be counted.

At the completion of the count the inspectors shall certify the correctness of the same upon the poll books and shall publicly announce the result of such count. The inspectors shall thereupon inclose all such envelopes containing ballots without opening the same, in a sealed package with one of said poll books, and shall direct them to the secretary of state, at Albany, New York, and shall forward the same by mail or express to him as soon as possible after such election. The other of such poll books shall be sealed in an envelope directed to the governor of the state of New York, at Albany, New York, and shall be forwarded forthwith to him by mail or express, but by different hands, if possible, from those carrying such envelopes containing ballots and such poll books, so directed to be forwarded to the secretary of state, receipts therefor, respectively, being taken by the chairman of the boards of inspectors.

Derivation: L. 1898, ch. 674, § 12.

§ 512. Returns not to be rejected because of informality of election. No mere informality in the manner of carrying out or executing the provisions of this article shall invalidate the election held under the same or authorize the rejection of the returns thereof; and the provisions of this article shall be liberally construed for the purposes herein expressed or intended.

Derivation: L. 1898, ch. 674, § 13.

§ 513. Disposition of envelopes and ballots.

Upon the receipt by the governor of the poll books of the votes cast at any such election, he shall deliver the same to the secretary of state.

The secretary of state shall upon receipt of the packages notify the chairman or any member of the state committees of the parties which at the last election for governor cast the highest and the next highest number of votes for such office, that at a day and hour named therein at his office he will open the packages and compare the poll books with the envelopes containing ballots received by him and with the poll books, if any, received from the governor. Such notice shall be served personally or by mail directed to the last known place of residence of such person. He shall forthwith prepare from said poll books and envelopes a separate statement for each county under his official seal in which shall appear all the information hereby required to be entered in such poll books, concerning the voters residence in such county. He shall affix his seal of office to each such envelope and shall transmit such statement with all the envelopes containing ballots of such voters resident in such county, to the clerk of each such county, except that in any county within the city of New York such statement and envelopes shall be transmitted to the board of elections, or such other persons or board as may hereafter be lawfully constituted to receive election returns, taking his or their receipt for such statement and the number of such envelopes.

Such county clerk, or in the counties within the city of New York the board of elections or other person or body lawfully constituted to receive election returns, shall forthwith give written notice of such receipt by them, to the board of inspectors of election of each district to which such statements and envelopes respectively relate, by inclosing such notice in a properly sealed wrapper addressed to the chairman of such board at his post-office address and by prepaying the postage thereon. Each county clerk and said board of elections, said person or other body lawfully constituted to receive election returns, after the receipt of such statement and envelopes, shall notify the chairman or any member of the county committees of the parties which at the last election for governor cast the highest and next highest number of votes for such office in the state, that at a day and hour named therein at his or their office he or they will open the packages containing such statement and envelopes. Such notice shall be served personally or by mail directed to the last known place of residence of such person.

It shall be the duty of such county clerk and said board of elections or said other person or body lawfully constituted to receive election returns, to prepare a statement in like form for each election district in said county in which any such voter shall reside, and to transmit or deliver such statement with the envelopes containing ballots of voters resident in such election district to one of the inspectors of election of said district, taking his receipt therefor, on the day before the board of inspectors of election of said district shall convene for the purpose of canvassing such votes, as herein provided, who shall deliver the same to such board. All statements provided by this article shall be public records.

The inspectors in any election district wherein any such ballots are to be canvassed, shall convene at the place where the election was held, on the sixth Tuesday after the election day at ten o'clock in the forenoon to canvass such votes. It shall be the duty of each board of

inspectors of election immediately upon their convening as herein provided to open said polls; and the chairman thereof or, in his absence, such other member as shall be chosen to act as chairman, as provided by law, shall publicly read aloud the indorsement contained upon each such envelope, and if such voter shall be a qualified voter in such election district, the chairman or acting chairman shall then carefully open said envelope and without unfolding or inspecting the contents of such ballot or ballots, shall deposit the same in the ballot box or boxes provided therefor. If any such envelope shall contain more than one ballot for the same officers, amendment or question, all ballots therein shall be rejected. Said inspectors shall file all such envelopes with their return in the office of the county clerk of the county where the said election district is situated. If upon investigation made before the deposit of said ballot it shall be determined that such voter is not a qualified voter in said election district, his said ballot or ballots shall be destroyed without unfolding or inspecting the same, and the said envelope shall be filed as above provided.

Derivation: L. 1898, ch. 674, § 14, as amended by L. 1899, ch. 641, § 1. Consolidators' note. The expression police board" and "board of police" are made "board of elections" in four places, the supervision of elections in New York city by the police department having been transferred in 1901 to the board of elections.

Canvass of votes cast by absent soldiers.

285.

514. Canvass by inspectors of election.

Report of Atty.-Gen., (1898)

After all such ballots shall have been cast, said inspectors of election shall immediately proceed to canvass the same, and make a statement and return thereof as provided by law, and forthwith forward the same to the county clerk, by one of their number.

Derivation: L. 1898, ch. 674, pt. of § 15, as amended by L. 1899, ch. 68, § 1.

§ 515. Canvass by county board.

The county board of canvassers or such other board as performs like duties, shall convene on the seventh Thursday after the election day, at their usual place of meeting, at one o'clock in the afternoon for the purpose of canvassing such statements and returns.

At such meeting of the county or other canvassing board the said board shall proceed to canvass such statements and returns of the respective election district boards of inspectors and shall from such statements and returns, together with the statements and returns theretofore made of such election, make new and separate statements of the votes cast in such county or any part thereof, and shall complete their canvass and make the statements provided for by section four hundred and thirty-seven of this chapter, and they shall not, until such meeting, determine the result of the election, anything now provided by law to the contrary notwithstanding. But nothing herein shall prevent any county board of canvassers from proceeding as provided by this chapter except as to such final determination. Such meeting or meetings of thee govd of county canvassers shall be deemed a continuation of its rege shall deliv.