MISCELLANEOUS LAWS TITLE ABSENTEES VOTING PROVISIONS AN ACT to provide for method of voting by persons absent, etc., at special, general or primary elctions, etc., defining methods and procedure, etc. Absentees Voting, etc. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana, That any qualified elector of the State of Louisiana, having duly registered, who expects, in the course of his or her business or duties to be absent from the parish in which he or she is a qualified elector, on the day of holding any special, general or primary election at which any presidential preference is indicated, or any candidates are chosen or elected, for any Congressional, State, District, Parish, Ward, Town, City, Village, Precinct, or Judicial offices, or at which questions of public policy are submitted, may vote at such election as hereafter provided. Voter to Make Application to Clerk of Court Sec. 2. That any elector as defined in the foregoing section, expecting to be absent from the Parish of his residence on the day of such an election, may, not more than ten days, nor less than two days prior to the date of such an election, make application to the Clerk of the District Court of the Parish in which the applicant may reside, for an official ballot, of the election to be held, except in the Parish of Orleans, he shall apply to the Civil Sheriff of said Parish, and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to furnish the Clerks of the District Courts for each respective Parish and the Civil Sheriff of the Parish of Orleans, fifteen days prior to any special, primary or general election, a sufficient number of printed ballots for each Precinct in the Parish of the election to be held together with printed instructions relative to the election to be held in accordance with the provision of this Act. In all municipal elections, it shall be the duty of the officials in charge of the printing of the tickets for the said municipal elections to furnish the said officer of the Parish in which said municipal election is to be held, a sufficient number of ballots to meet the demands of all applicants who desire to vote under the provisions of this Act. Affidavit and Application for Ballot Sec. 3. That every application for such a ballot shall be made on a bank to be furnished by the said officer charged with the duty of furnishing ballots to applicants as aforesaid and said application shall be substantially in the following form: Affidavit and Application for Ballot. To be voted at the...election of the... precinct of the... ward in the City or Town of............Parish of............and State of Louisiana. State of Louisiana. Parish of.............................. I, do solemnly swear that I am a resident of the... precinct of the town of, or of the... Ward in the City of residing at............in said City or Town in the Parish of..., and State of Louisiana. That I have lived at said address for. .......months past; that I am a duly qualified registered voter, that I am affiliated with the................ party and entitled to vote in such precinct at the.. .election; that my business duties are....... .for......... (employer).......of...........Street in the City of.........and State of Louisiana, and that in the course of my business or duties, I expect to be absent from the said Parish of my residence at the City of... ..., State of.......... .on the day of holding such election, and that I will have no opportunity to vote in person on that day. I hereby make application for an official ballot or ballots to be voted by me at such election if I am absent from the said Parish of my residence. Subscribed and sworn to by.. ....., who is personally known to me, before me this....day of............A. D...................................... Civil Sheriff Parish of Orleans............or Clerk of District Court for Parish of....State of Louisiana. (Penalty Clause Set Out in Full.) Provided, that if application be made for primary election ballot, such application shall designate the name of the political party with which the applicant is affiliated. Manner of Voting Sec. 4. That immediately upon receipt of such application, and after the elector has made affidavit and complied with the law in regard to the execution of his application for a ballot, and in the Parish of Orleans, has presented his Registration Certificate to the Civil Sheriff of said Parish, or his chief deputy, the said officer in charge of the ballot shall post the name of the applicant giving the street address, ward and precinct number on a list to be kept by the said officer in a conspicuous place accessible to the public at the entrance of his office and after the said name has been posted, deliver to the applicant the ballot or ballots necessary to enable said elector to cast his vote at said election, and that said elector shall then retire out of the presence of the said officer and to some point or place in said office and make out his ballot in secret, and after said ballot has been properly marked by applicant indicating his choice or preference of the candidates to be voted on in said election or the proposition sub mitted in said election, and after said ballot or ballots have been properly folded so as to not disclose how said ballot was marked he shall in the presence of the said officer deposit same in an envelope to be furnished him by the said officer, and after same shall have been sealed by him in the presence of said officer he shall subscribe to an affidavit substantially in the following form which shall be printed on the back of the envelope containing the applicant's ballot. State of Louisiana I, ..., do solemnly swear that this envelope contains the ballot or ballots as marked by me indicating my choice of the candidates or propositions to be submitted at the election to be held on the............ day of.A. D....................................., and I hereby authorize the commissioners of the election for the...... precinct of the City, Town or Ward of the Parish off, State of Louisiana, on the day of holding said election between the hours governing same, to open the envelope and deposit the within ballot or ballots in the ballot box at said precinct and record my name on the poll list the same as though I was present in person and voted at said election. I further swear that I marked the enclosed ballot in secret. Subscribed and sworn to before me.......... Clerk of District Court or Civil Sheriff, Parish of Orleas, this the............day of............ A. D... I hereby certify that the affiant whose name appears above after receiving the ballot or ballots from me, retired out of my presence and in secret marked such ballot, and after folding said ballot exhibited same so as to show the words "Official Ballot," and then after placing said ballot in the envelope, closed and sealed said envelope in my presence without my seeing or knowing how the applicant voted and that the affiant was not solicited or advised by me to vote for or against any candidate or proposition. Provided, that in case the ballot enclosed is to be voted at a primary election, the affidavit shall designate the name of the political party with which the voter is affiliated, otherwise such designation shall not be required. In addition to the above, the said officer handing out the ballot shall provide printed slips, giving full instructions regarding the manner of marking or preparing the said ballot, in order that same may be properly voted, and shall furnish or exhibit one of said printed slips to each of said applicants at the same time the ballot is delivered to the applicant. The Civil Sheriff of the Parish of Orleans or his chief deputy or the Clerk of the District Court of any Parish is hereby authorized to administer oaths in all cases necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. In the Parish of Orleans, the Civil Sheriff or his Chief Deputy shall endorse upon the applicant's registration certificate, “Voted...... under Act of the Special Session of 1921" and shall sign his name thereto before accepting the sealed envelope containing the ballot from said applicant. Delivery of Ballots to Commissioners Sec. 5. That it shall be the duty of the said officer to receive the envelopes containing the ballots to those making application to vote who expect to be absent on the day of election, and to keep an accurate list of all persons preparing said ballots, and the said envelopes containing said ballots, together with the applications shall be kept by the said officer to be delivered to the commissioners of election of the respective precincts or wards. At the time said officer delivers to the Deputy Sheriff appointed as a returning officer to carry the election paraphernalia to the commissioners of election at the voting precinct, all ballots to be voted at any precinct, shall be included and shall be enclosed in a large carrier envelope and certified to on the back of said envelope or package as follows: This package contains the application and ballots of... absent electors who desire to vote and cast their ballot at the election to be held on the...day of............................A. D..............., at precinct number.......................---, of the City, Ward or Parish of......... ; that this package is not to be opened until the day of election. Duty of Commissioners Sec. 6. At the close of the regular balloting and at the close of the polls, the commissioners of election of each voting precinct shall proceed to count each absent voter's ballot, separately, and as the envelope containing the absent voter's ballot is taken from the large carrier envelope the name, address and precinct number shall be announced as shown on the back of the envelope, the envelope shall then be opened and the signature on the application compared with the signature on the back of the envelope, and if same corresponds, and the commissioners find that the applicant is a registered and qualified voter, and that he or she shows not to have appeared in person and voted at said election, the ballot shall be removed from said envelope, and without unfolding or permitting the same to be unfolded or examined and having observed and found the ballot to be regular as far as can be observed from its official endorsements, shall deposit the same in the proper ballot box or boxes and enter the absent voter's name in the poll book or poll list the same as if he or she had been present and voted in person. In case such affidavit or the certificate of the officer before whom the same is taken is found to be insufficient or that the signatures do not correspond or that the applicant is not a duly qualified elector in such precinct, or that the ballot envelope is open, or has been opened and resealed, or that said voter is present and has voted within the Parish where he represents himself to be a qualified elector on the day of such election at such precinct and ward, such previously cast vote shall not be allowed, but without opening the absent voter's envelope the Commissioners of such election shall mark across the face thereof, "Rejected," giving the reason therefor. In case the ballot envelope contains more than one ballot of any kind, said ballot shall not be counted, but shall be marked "Rejected,” giving the reason therefor. The absent voter's envelopes and affidavits and the absent voter's envelope with its contents unopened, when such absent vote is rejected shall be retained and preserved in the manner as now provided for the retention and preservation of official ballots rejected at such election. Challenging Votes Sec. 7. The challengers of the respective parties or candidates shall be permitted to be present during the casting of the absent voter's ballots and the vote of any absent voter may be challenged for cause the same as if he were present and voted in person, the commissioners of the election or a majority thereof shall have power and authority to hear and determine the legality of such ballot; provided, however, that if a challenge to any absent voter's right to vote is sustained, notice of the same must be given by the commissioners of election by mail addressed to the voter's place of residence. Deceased Voter Sec. 8. Whenever it shall be made to appear by due proof to the commissioners of election that any elector who has marked and forwarded his ballot as provided in this Act has died prior to the opening of the polls on the date of the election, then the ballot of such deceased voter shall be returned by the commissioners of election in the same manner as provided for rejected ballots above; but the casting of the ballot of a deceased voter shall not invalidate the election. Penalty Sec. 9. If any person shall wilfully swear falsely to any such affidavit, he shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of perjury and shall be punished in such case as is by law provided. If any person who, having procured an official ballot or ballots as hertofore provided, shall wilfully neglect or refuse to cast or return same in the manner heretofore provided, or shall wilfully violate any provision of this Act, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars, nor more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned in the parish jail not to exceed one year, or both. If the Civil Sheriff of Parish of Orleans or his chief deputy cr any District Clerk or |