oaths and certificates of the inspectors, clerks of election and canvassers, with proper notes to the same explanatory of their use and referring to the statutes, and cause the same to be distributed to the county clerks of the several counties on or before the first day of August in each year in which any such election shall be held.

157. Distribution of blanks; failure to use. [Sec. 94j, Statutes of 1898.] Such blanks shall be distributed to the proper town, city or village clerks or inspectors in each county by the county clerks at the time notices for the general elections are served upon them, and may be sent by mail when practicable. Such clerks shall furnish the inspectors of elections in their respective towns, wards, villages and election districts with such registry blanks at or before the time fixed for the first meeting for registry, and the other blanks before the opening of the polls on the day of election, and such clerks and inspectors shall use such blanks when furnished; but no election or election returns shall be invalidated in consequence of failure to use such blanks.

11-E L

PART VIII.

OF ELECTION TO FILL VACANCIES.

When vacancies filled, 158.

Notice of election, who to give, 159.

Special elections, when to be held, 160.

How special elections ordered, 161.

Notice of special election, who to give and how-Forms to be prescribed by secretary of state, 162.

Election, how held; canvass, 163.

158. When vacancies filled. [Sec. 94k, Statutes of 1898.] All vacancies in the office of representative in congress, senator or member of assembly or in any state office (except governor and lieutenant-governor) may be filled at a general or special election, or by appointment in the cases provided by law when any such vacancies shall occur within four months, and if in a state office or in that of state senator or representative in congress more than twenty days, before the general election; and when occurring earlier than said four months, if it shall not have been supplied by special election, the same shall be filled at the general election next succeeding the happening thereof. When a vacancy shall occur in any such office, except representative in congress, senator or member of assembly, within six months next before the end of the term, no election shall be held, but the same shall be filled by appointment or otherwise as provided by law.

159. Notice of election who to give. [Sec. 941, Statutes of 1898.] If a vacancy shall exist in the office of state senator, representative in congress or in any state office which by law shall be supplied at the ensuing general election, the secretary

of state shall, twenty days at least before such election, give notice in writing to the clerk of each county, when the vacancy is in a state office, or in case of such vacancy in a district then to the clerk of each county therein, specifying the cause of such vacancy, the name of the officer in whose office it occurred and the time when his term of office will expire. Upon receipt thereof the county clerk shall thereupon forthwith cause a notice containing the substance of the notice received by him. to be transmitted by mail to each town clerk and the clerk of each village in which by law separate general elections are to be held, and to one of the inspectors in each ward in any city and in each election district in his county. Such clerks and inspectors shall cause the same to be posted at least five days. before election in the manner prescribed in chapter 5.1

In their note to this section the editors of the Statutes of 1898 say: "The words in this section following the word 'village,' viz., 'in which by law separate general elections are to be held,' have no significance because all villages are now separate for election purposes; they were not so when the revisers prepared their bill, and the proper change was not made in this section because of oversight."

Who to give notice. In case of death of sheriff, under-sheriff to give notice: State v. Orvis, 20 Wis. 235.

Failure to give notice. See note to paragraph 84.

160. Special elections, when to be held. [Sec. 94m, Statutes of 1898.] Special elections may be held in the following cases: 1. When there shall have been neglect or failure to choose at a general election a representative in congress, senator, member of assembly, or any county officer who by law should have been chosen at such election.

2. When the right of office of a person elected to either of the offices last aforesaid shall cease before the commencement of the term of office for which he shall have been elected; but no such special election for any county officer shall be held after the next ensuing first Monday of January.

3. When a vacancy shall occur in the office of member of assembly before the first day of February, and in the office of a senator before said day in the second year of his term and too late to have been filled at the previous general election, or when a special session of the legislature shall be called to meet after a vacancy occurring in either.

'See paragraph 86. Ch. 5, statutes of 1898, is paragraphs 50-157 of this compilation.

4. If a vacancy which by law might have been filled at the next general election thereafter shall not have been filled, a special election therefor shall then be held except in case of county officers.

5. When in any other case a vacancy not provided for in this section shall exist, the governor, in his discretion, shall direct.

161. How special elections ordered. [Sec. 94n, Statutes of 1898.] All special elections for county officers shall be ordered by the county clerk, except that a special election for county clerk shall be ordered and noticed by the sheriff in the manner required of such clerk in other cases. The officer who orders such an election shall give notice in the manner hereinafter provided. All other special elections shall be ordered by the governor. Every such order shall specify the office to be filled, how the vacancy occurred, the name of the officer in whose office it occurred, the time when his term of office will expire, the county or district in which and the day on which such election shall be held, which day shall not be less than ten nor more than forty days from the date of such order. When made by the governor, such order shall be filed and recorded in the office of the secretary of state; when made by the county clerk, it shall be filed and recorded in the office of the sheriff, and when made by the sheriff shall be filed and rein the office of said clerk.

Order of election. "The time for holding an election, whether general or special, must be authoritatively designated in advance, either by law or by some means which the law has prescribed, otherwise the election is held without authority, and is ineffectual for any purpose:" Kenfield v. Irwin, 52 Cal. 169; People v. Hoge, 55 id. 612, 620.

A statute requiring the governor to issue his proclamation for an election to fill a vacancy is mandatory, and an essential prerequisite to such an election: McKune v. Willer, 11 Cal. 49. This was held where the vacancy was filled at a general election.

162. Notice of special election who to give, and how-Forms to be prescribed by secretary of state. [Sec. 940, Statutes of 1898.] The secretary of state shall cause a copy of each notice of election issued by him, and of each order made by the governor for a special election, to be published in the official state paper once in each week from the date of such notice or order until the election to which it shall refer; and on receipt of such

order shall cause a copy thereof forthwith to be transmitted to the county clerk of the county, or in case of a vacancy in a district embracing more than one county, then to the county clerk of each county any part of which is in such district. The county clerk, on receiving or on countersigning any order for a special election, shall forthwith give notice of such election in the manner provided for giving notices of general elections. Every town, village and ward officer or inspector of election. who shall receive any such notice shall forthwith give notice thereof in the manner required of him in case of general election. At the time of making the certificate required by section 33, or at the time of the publication of the notice required by this section, the secretary of state shall transmit to each county clerk a form of notice to be used by him under section 37,2 and also a form of the ballot to be used by him.

Notice of election. The rule in this state is that if the electors generally have knowledge that the vacanzy is to be filled at such an election, the fact that notice of it was not given by the officers charged with that duty is not material: State v. Goetze, 22 Wis. 363; State v. Orvis, 20 id. 248; State v. McKinney, 25 id. 416. See note to paragraph 29; State v. Thayer, 47 N. W. Rep. 704.

It has been said in a case where the election was a special one, held at a different time than that fixed for the general election, and where notice was given by posting but not by newspaper publication that "when a special election to fill a vacancy is ordered there is no presumption that the voters know the date fixed by the writ of elec tion, and they must be informed of it. But the esablished rule is that the particular form and manner pointed out by the statute for giving notice is not essential. Actual notice to the great body of elec tors is sufficient. The question in such cases is whether the want of the statutory notice has resulted in depriving sufficient of the electors of the opportunity to exercise their franchise to change the result of the election:" Wheat v. Smith, 7 S. W. Rep. 161.

163. Election, how held; canvass. [Sec. 94p, Statutes of 1898.] Special elections shall be held at the place, and conducted by the officers, and the result canvassed in the same. manner, and within the same time thereafter certified, in all respects as near as practicable as provided for general elections. No special election shall be held within sixty days next preceding a general election. When a special election as to any officer whose election is required by law to be at a general election is held on the same day as an annual town meeting or

1 Paragraph 62. 2Paragraph 66.