election a certificate duly signed by the said board of the fact that his name was upon such register and has been erased therefrom because of such removal, and his name shall thereupon be erased from such register. Upon presentation of such certificate by the elector to the board of inspectors of the election district in which he resides, his name shall be placed upon the register for such district. The inspectors must note upon the register opposite the name of such elector the fact of such removal, specifying the election district from which he has removed. They shall carefully attach such certificate to the register.

No elector shall cause his name to be placed upon the register of an election district for any election other than a general election, while his name shall appear upon the register of another district to be used at such election.

Any person who shall violate this provision is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in a State prison for not less than two nor more than five years.

In all election districts other than in cities or in villages of five thousand inhabitants or more, the board of inspectors in preparing for an election other than a general election shall add to the register for the last preceding general election the names of such electors as they know are or are satisfied by proof will be on the day of such election entitled to vote thereat, and shall strike therefrom the names of all persons who are known or are proven to their satisfaction to have ceased to be qualified electors of such election district.

Derivation: Election Law, § 33, pt. of subd. 3, as renumbered by L. 1899, ch. 630, § 7.

Amended by L. 1911, ch. 649. In effect July 13, 1911.

Consolidators' note.-On the presentation of a certificate of removal from one district to another, subdivision 3 required the inspectors to note on the register "the fact of such certificate of removal;" the intent is to require notation of the fact of removal, and "certificate of" has been omitted.

Registration for special election by elector who has moved. An elector who has removed from the election district in which he registered for the last general election, and who now lives in an election district in which a special election is to be held in order to become entitled to vote at his new residence should apply to the board of inspectors of the district from which he removed. Rept. of Atty.-Gen. (1907), 482.

§ 161. Registration for town or village elections.

No registration of voters shall be required for town or village elections, except as provided in the village law, and except that when a town or village election is held at the same time with a general election all voters in such town or village to be entitled to, vote at such town or village election must be registered as provided by law for the registration of voters for any general election in such town or village.

Derivation: Election Law, § 33, pt. of subd. 3, as renumbered by L. 1899, ch. 630, § 7; also § 34, subd. 11, as added by L. 1902, ch. 405, § 2. Amended by L. 1910, ch. 424, in effect June 8, 1910.

Cross-references. -Town meetings and elections. See part 8, post, Village elections. See part 9, post.

Registration is not required as a prerequisite for voting at a special town meeting held pursuant to an order of a court or judge for the resubmission of questions under section 13 of the Liquor Tax Law. Rept. of Atty.-Gen., Feb. 8, 1912.

§ 162. Qualifications of voters.

A person is a qualified voter in any election district for the purpose of having his name placed on the register if he is or will be on the day of the election qualified- to vote at the election for which such registration is made. A qualified voter is a male citizen who is or will be on the day of election twenty-one years of age, and who has been an inhabitant of the state for one year next preceding the election, and for the last four months a resident of the county, and for the last thirty days a resident of the election district in which he offers his vote. If a naturalized citizen, he must, in addition to the foregoing provisions, have been naturalized at least ninety days prior to the day of election.

Derivation: Election Law, § 34, subd. 1.

Amended by L. 1913, ch. 821; L. 1915, ch. 678, in effect May 22, 1915. Cross-References. - Qualifications generally. See N. Y. Const., art. 2, $1 (part 2, post). As to persons excluded from right of suffrage, see N. Y. Const., art. 2, § 2 (part 2, post). Certain occupations and conditions not to affect residence of voters. N. Y. Const., art. 2, § 3 (part 2, post). Voting after conviction of infamous crime. Penal Law, § 765 (part 5, post). Buying or selling votes. Penal Law, §§ 768-770 (part 5, post). Voting by inhabitant of another State or country and illegal voting generally. Penal Law, § 765 (part 5, post). Furnishing money or entertainment to induce attendance at polls. Penal Law, § 767 (part 5, post). For United States statutes relating to citizenship, naturalization, the elective franchise and crimes against the elective franchise, see part 3, post. When women qualified to vote. Town Law, § 55 (part 8, post).

Avoting residence as distinguished from the place where one actually and habitually dwells, is not recognized by the law. It is the fixed and permanent home of the elector from which the Election Law contemplates that the elector will register and vote. People ex rel. Driscoll v. Bender (1913), 82 Misc. 671, 674. The residence of a person for the purpose of registering depends, not upon a mere exercise of his will, but upon his purpose as evidenced by his conduct. There is no such thing as a voting residence as distinguished from an actual residence, and the word "residence" as used in the Election Law and in the Constitution is synonymous with "domicile." A man's residence for the purpose of voting is his domicile his permanent home, although, it seems, a man may have two homes and two residence, and may elect which shall be his residence for the purposes of his political rights, but he cannot be a political resident of both domiciles. So a person who owns a saloon where he originally resided but from which he has removed, and who has established a domicile for himself and family in another place, cannot continue to register from the saloon, although he may occasionally go to the saloon and sleep in it. But a person who owns a house in which he originally resided and which he now rents to tenants, can continue to register from such house, although he is employed as caretaker of a cemetery and occupies the caretaker's house within the cemetery grounds, for the latter residence is not permanent and depends upon the duration of his employment. A person who has once had a domicile may retain the same for voting purposes until he gains a new domicile elsewhere. Matter of Rooney (1916), 172 App. Div. 274, 159 N. Y. Supp. 132. Right to vote is subject to regulations lawfully prescribed by the Legislature. People ex rel. Nichols v. Board of Canvassers (1892), 129 N. Y. 401. Women are not qualified generally. People v. Barber (1888), 48 Hun, 193. Nor qualified to vote for school commissioner. Matter of Gage (1894), 141 N. Y. 112. The age of twenty-one is completed on the beginning of the day preceding the anniversary of a person's birth. Reports of Atty.-Gen. (1897), 301; (1898) 283. Deserter.- In construing an act of Congress, the court held that if the act deprive a deserter of the right to vote his vote could only be rejected upon proof by duly authenticated record of the conviction. Goetcheus v. Matthewson (1875), 61 N. Y. 420.

Inmate of county house. Proper place to vote. Report of Atty.-Gen. (1902), 324.

Computation of time for determining legal residence. Report of Atty.-Gen. (1904), 452.

Convicts on parole cannot vote. Report of Atty.-Gen. (1905), 490.

Location of polling-place outside of election district does not prevent voters of district voting thereat under constitutional provision that voter must vote "in the election district of which he shall at the time be a resident, and not elsewhere." People ex rel. Lardner v. Carson (1898), 155 N. Y. 491, aff'g 86 Hun, 617, 35 N. Y. Supp. 1114, 10 Misc. 237, 30 N. Y. Supp. 817.

The right of citizenship and that of suffrage are separate rights. The latter is not coextensive with the former, but is rather to be deemed a privilege which the citizen cannot exercise unless he shows himself possessed of the necessary qualifications. People ex rel. Juarbe v. Inspectors of 24th Election District (1900), 32 Misc. 584, 67 N. Y. Supp. 236.

The facts that a native of Porto Rico, never naturalized under our laws, did not preserve his allegiance to Spain, but sought to adopt the nationality of the United States and served with its army of occupation during the war, do not entitle him to be registered in the State of New York as a qualified voter, as that clause of the treaty of peace with Spain which provides that the civil right and political status of the native inhabitants of the territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be determined by Congress"

left the whole matter of the collective naturalization of Porto Ricans to Congress, and its inaction has precluded them from the privileges of full citizenship which are necessary to the rights of suffrage. People ex rel. Juarbe v. Inspectors of the 24th Election District, (1900) 32 Misc. 584, 67 N. Y. Supp.

236.

A person residing upon West Point and having no other qualification as a resident of the State except such as he gains from a residence upon West Point is not a resident of the State and not qualified to vote. Matter of Town of Highlands, (1892) 48 N. Y. St. Rep. 795, 22 N. Y. Supp. 137.

163. Gaining or losing a residence.

For the purpose of registering and voting no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence while employed in the service of the United States, nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of this state, or of the United States, or of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any almshouse, or other asylum, or institution wholly or partly supported at public expense or by charity; nor while confined in any public prison. Any person claiming to belong to any class of persons mentioned and referred to in this section shall file with the board of inspectors at the time of registration a written statement showing where he is actually domiciled, his business or occupation, his business address, and to which class he claims to belong. Such statement shall be attached to the register, and be open for public inspection, and the fact thereof shall be noted in the register opposite the name of the person so registered.

Derivation: Election Law, § 34, subd. 2.

Cross-References. Certain occupations and conditions not to affect residence of voters. N. Y. Const., art. 2, § 3 (part 2, post).

Forms.

- Of affidavit as to residence.

See Forms (part 12, post).

A soldier may acquire a residence in the locality in which he is placed by reason of his employment in the service of the United States. Matter of Cunningham (1904), 45 Misc. 206, 91 N. Y. Supp. 974.

Persons employed by the United States may gain a residence where employed. Report of Atty.-Gen. (1904), 443.

Where a person enlisted in the Spanish-American war and subsequently accepted employment under the government and actually resides in a Federal arsenal, he may continue to register for voting purposes from his former residence, where there is no question of his good faith. Nor does he lose his right to vote because he did not file with the registration officers the statement showing his actual domicile, business or occupation though, it seems, he should have complied with said section had it been called to his attention. Matter of Lewis (1916), 172 App. Div. 271, 158 N. Y. Supp. 1036.

Student of seminary of learning. One who is present in a seminary of learning for the purposes of a student only does not thereby gain a new residence in the seminary district and lose his prior one for the purpose of voting. Matter of Goodman (1895), 146 N. Y. 284.

A student at a seminary in the State of New York, who, before taking his abode at the seminary, had a residence elsewhere, is not entitled to vote in the election district in which the seminary is situated, unlss it appears that by some unequivocal act independent of his attendance at the seminary he has abandoned such other residence. Matter of McCormack (1903), 86 App. Div. 362, 83 N. Y. Supp. 847.

Letters written by a student at a seminary in the State of New York to the mayor of the city and to the board of registry in the election district in which the seminary is located, stating that it was his intention, when he became a student at the seminary, to make it his actral and legal residence, but which did not suggest any facts showing such a change of residence other than his abode at the seminary, are insufficient to show a change of residence. Matter of McCormack (1903), 86 App. Div. 362, 83 N. Y. Supp. 847.

Residence for the purpose of voting is neither gained nor lost by a sojourn in a seminary of learning, and the fact that a student enters a seminary to be educated for a certain calling and to remain there after graduation until assigned to duty, Instead of a fixed course for four years, as is usual in institutions of learning, does

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not entitle him to vote in the election district in which such seminary is situated. Matter of Barry (1900), 164 N. Y. 18, 8 Ann. Cas. 148, aff'g 95 N. Y. St. Rep. 124, 61 N. Y. Supp. 124.

It is essential to entitle a student, whose legal residence has been previously elsewhere, to vote in the election district in which the seminary which he is attending is situated, that the intent to change his residence be manifested by things which are independent of his presence as a student in the new locality. Matter of Garvey (1895), 147 N. Y. 117, 60 N. Y. St. Rep. 393, aff'g and rev'g in part 84 Hun, 611, 32 N. Y. Supp. 689.

A student at a theological seminary is entitled to vote at the place where the seminary is located, where he notifies the proper authorities at the place of his former residence that he has changed his residence and requests his name to be taken from the list of voters, and notifies the proper religious authorities that he has changed his ecclesiastical residence. Matter of Garvey (1895), 147 N. Y. 117, 69 N. Y. St. Rep. 393, aff'g and rev'g in part 84 Hun, 611, 32 N. Y. Supp. 689.

The fact that a theological student at a seminary sells books and is a lay reader, or that he teaches, is insufficient to qualify him to vote where the seminary is located. Matter of Garvey (1895), 147 N. Y. 117, 69 N. Y. St. Rep. 393, aff'g and rev'g in part 84 Hun, 611, 32 N. Y. Supp. 689.

The statute contemplates a bona fide residence on the part of the student. Although the statute is complied with if a student at the time of registration files a written statement or declaration showing where he is actually domiciled, his business or occupation, his business address, and to which class he claims to belong, he should, in order to establish his good faith and honesty of intention of becoming a resident, declare his intention a certain length of time before the date of registration. Rept. of Atty.-Gen., Apr. 26, 1909.

Person at institution supported at public expense or charity. The home for aged men in the town of Colonie, county of Albany, is an institution supported wholly or partly by charity, within the meaning of section 3 of article 2 of the Constitution as amended in 1895. Such amendment is not retroactive and does not deprive an inmate of such institution who gained a residence to vote in the district prior to January 1, 1895, of his right to vote therein. Matter of Batterman (1895), 14 Misc. 213, 71 N. Y. St. Rep. 515, 35 N. Y. Supp. 593.

The Home for Aged Men and Couples" in the city of Utica, N. Y., is the residence of its members for the purpose of voting. Matter of Merrill (1917), 99 Misc. 353.

An inmate of an institution supported wholly or partly by charity who has gained a legal voting residence in the district prior to the taking effect of the Constitution of 1894 is not deprived of his right to vote by the provisions of section 3 of article 2 of said Constitution. Matter of Griffiths, (1896) 16 Misc. 128, 38 N. Y. Supp. 953.

A soldier kept in the Soldiers' Home maintained in a town by the State is a person kept in an "asylum," and does not, when becoming an inmate of the home for the sole purpose of enjoying its benefits, thereby lose his former residence, which remains his domicile for citizenship. Matter of Smith, (1904) 44 Misc. 384, 89 N. Y. Supp. 1006.

A person permitted to remain in Bellevue Hospital, which is supported at the public expense, during the pleasure of the superintendent of the institution, who has no authority to employ unpaid help, under an arrangement by which such person is to get his board and lodging and an occasional suit of dead men's clothes, is "kept" in the hospital within the meaning of this section. People ex rel. McShane v. Hagen, (1900) 48 App. Div. 203, 62 N. Y. Supp. 816, aff'd 164 N. Y. 570.

The removal to the Soldiers' Home at Bath by a legal voter whose legal residence is in New York city neither gives him a new voting residence at Bath nor deprives him of his old voting residence at New York city; he is temporarily absent therefrom and is legally entitled to vote there on his return. Silvey v. Lindsay, (1887) 107 N. Y. 54, 11 N. Y. St. Rep. 185, rev❜g 42 Hun, 116, 5 N. Y. St. Rep. 157.

Inmates of an institution partly supported by charity do not gain a residence. Report of Atty.-Gen., (1904) 378.

Prisoners. The constitutional provision against gaining a residence while confined in a public prison applies to a person committed to such prison, even if the commitment was made upon his own application, notwithstanding the fact that he had no family and no home and made the application for the commitment to gain a home and work in the prison. People v. Cady, (1894) 143 N. Y. 100, 60 N. Y. St. Rep. 474.

In general.—The question as to the place at which aħ elector is entitled