1071. No fees for certificate of registration. SEC. 1071. No fees must be charged for registration or certificates thereof. 1072. Compensation of officers of election. SEC. 1072. The compensation of members of boards of election and clerks must be fixed and audited by the board of supervisors, and paid out of the county treasury. 1073. Supervisors to have blanks prepared. SEC. 1073. The necessary printed blanks for poll-lists, tally-lists, lists of voters, oath, and returns, together with envelopes in which to inclose returns, must be furnished by the board of supervisors to the officers of each election precinct at the expense of the county. CHAPTER II. QUALIFICATIONS AND DISABILITIES OF ELECTORS. 1083. Qualifications of voters. SEO. 1083. Every native male citizen of the United States, every male person who shall have acquired the right of citizenship under or by virtue of the treaty of Querétaro, and every male naturalized citizen thereof, who shall have become such ninety days prior to any election, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the state one year next preceding the election, and of the county in which he claims his vote ninety days, and in the election precinct thirty days, and whose name shall be enrolled on the great register of such county, shall be a qualified elector thereof. [Amendment, approved April 16, 1880; Amendments 1880, 77 (Ban. ed. 307); took effect from passage.] Conforms to fifteenth amendment of the constitution of the United States; and to Const. Cal., art. 2, sec. 1. Property qualification inhibited: Const. Cal., art. 1, sec. 24. 1084. Who not entitled to vote. Citizenship: See sec. 51. Residence for voting purposes: See sec. 1239; Donnelly v. Potter, 55 Cal. 474. Great register: See secs. 1094 et seq. SEC. 1084. No native of China, no idiot, insane person, or person convicted of any infamous crime, and no person hereafter convicted of the embezzlement or misappropriation of public money, shall ever exercise the privilege of an elector. [Amendment, approved April 16, 1880; Amendments 1880, 78 (Ban. ed. 367); took effect from passage.] The original section, altered as above, to conform to the constitution of California of 1879, art. 2, sec. 1, read as follows: "SEC. 1084. No idiot or insane person, or person convicted of any infamous crime, is entitled to the privilege of an elector." CHAPTER III. REGISTRATION OF ELECTORS. 1094. Great register-Re-registration. SEC. 1094. There must be kept, in the office of the county clerk of each county, a great register; whenever deemed necessary, the board of supervisors of any county may, by order, require a re-registration of the voters of said county, which said order shall be published in at least one newspaper published in said county for not less than six months preceding the next ensuing general election. Such re-registration shall conform in all respects to the provisions of this code concerning original registration, except that any person applying for re-registration shall be entitled thereto upon showing that his name was enrolled and uncanceled on the former great register. [Amendment, approved March 30, 1878; Amendments 1877-8, 27; took effect sixtieth day after passage.] The foregoing amendment was not to apply to any special election or registration law applicable to the city and county of San Francisco alone; but to be construed as if passed prior thereto. Original section contained, substantially, the first above clause only. Constitutionality of registration laws.— The constitution prescribes who shall exercise the elective franchise; the legislature has the power to establish means whereby those who are entitled to this privilege may be ascertained. The registry is simply the evidence of the possession of the right to vote, of the fact that those whose names it contains have shown that they have the qualifications required by the fundamental law of the state. It is no restriction upon the right itself that men should be asked to furnish evidence of it. And consequently registration laws have been declared constitu1095. Names of electors to be entered. tional in numerous instances: Byler v. Asher, 47 Ill. 101; Edmonds v. Banbury, 28 Iowa, 267; Auld v. Walton, 12 La. Ann. 129; Hyde v. Brush, 34 Conn. 454; State v. Baker, 38 Wis. 71; Patterson v. Barlow, 60 Pa. St. 54; Monroe v. Collins, 17 Ohio St. 665. But, under the guise of registration laws, the right of voting cannot be unnecessarily impaired or embarrassed: The same citations; Commonwealth v. Maxwell, 27 Pa. St. 444; Page v. Allen, 58 Id. 351. See the note to Capen v. Foster, 23 Am. Dec. 642, where this subject is considered somewhat in extenso. See statutes at end of this chapter. A naturalized citizen on the former great register, his name thercon being uncanceled, is entitled to re-registration without the affidavit prescribed in section 1096, subdivision 3: Cohen v. Harvey, 56 Cal. 70. SEC. 1095. In the great register the clerk must, as hereinafter provided, enter the names of the qualified electors of the county whose names are not already thereon. 1096. Substance of entry. SEC. 1096. Such entry must show: 1. The name, at length; 2. The age, omitting fractions of years; 3. The country of the nativity; 4. The place of residence (giving the ward or precinct); 5. If naturalized, the time and place of naturalization; and, 6. The date of the entry; -Of each person. Each name must be numbered in the order of its entry. Section 1096 is drawn from Stats. 1868, 647. 1097. Conditions of entry upon register. SEC. 1097. No person's name must be entered by the clerk unless: 1. Upon a certificate of registration in another county, showing that such registration has been canceled, and upon proof by the affidavit of the party that he is an elector of the county in which he seeks to be registered. 2. Upon the returns of the assessor of the county. 3. If a naturalized citizen, upon the production of his certificate of naturalization, which certificate must be issued ninety days prior to the succeeding election, or upon his own affidavit that it is lost or out of his possession, which affidavit must state the place of his nativity and the time and place of his naturalization, together with his affidavit that he has resided in the United States for five years, and in this state for one year next preceding the time of application, and that he would be an elector of the county at the next succeding election; provided, however, if such naturalized citizen shall have been previously registered as a qualified elector in any of the counties or city and counties of this state, his name must not be entered by the clerk unless he produces a certificate of such registration, issued by the party authorized by law to issue such certificate, which certificate shall be prima facie evidence of his naturalization. 4. If born in a foreign country, upon his affidavit that he became a citizen of the United States by virtue of the naturalization of his father while he was residing in the United States and under the age of twenty-one years, and that he is or would be an elector of the county at the next succeeding election. 5. Upon the production and filing of a certified copy of the judgment of a superior court directing such entry to be made. 6. In other cases, upon the affidavit of the party that he is or would be an elector of the county at the next succeeding election. 7. In every case the affidavit of the party must show all the facts required to be stated in the entry on the register, except the date and number of the entry. [Amendment, approved March 13, 1883; This section, subdivision 3, does not apply in case of a re-registration, provided for in section 1094: Cohen v. Harvey, 56 Cal. 70. So held prior to this last amendment. Registration in another county: Sec. 1104. tions. Naturalization laws: See U. S. R. S., secs. 2165-2174. The superior courts of this state have the power to naturalize and to issue papers therefor: Art. 6, sec. 5. This power is judicial in its character: Ex parte Knowles, 5 Cal. 300; and see In the Matter of Martin Conner, 39 Id. 97; Orosco v. Gagliardo, 22 Id. 83. "The theory of this section is [say the code 1098. Assessor's roll of electors. Statutes and Amendments 1883, 284.] commissioners]: 1. That no person's name must be entered upon the great register who is not at the time entitled to vote at some precinct in the county; 2. That before any person can be registered he must make and file with the clerk an affidavit showing that he is entitled to vote in the county, and also all the facts to be entered on the great register. This affidavit remains a record in the clerk's office, upon which perjury may be assigned should it be discovered that the affidavit was false in any particu lar; it is a lasting and satisfactory record of the proof upon which the registration was made." Subsequent amendments have not altered this section in these particulars. SEC. 1098. The assessor of each county must keep a roll of electors, on which, and upon like proof as is required for entry upon the great register, he must enroll the name of any elector of the county making application to him for that purpose. 1099. What enrollment must show. SEC. 1099. Such enrollment must show the same facts as are required to be shown by the entry upon the great register. 1100. Duty of clerk or assessor relative to certain proofs produced before him. SEC. 1100. The clerk or assessor must, upon every certificate of naturalization presented to him as evidence of citizenship, indorse and subscribe a statement of the time of presentation and of his action thereon. "The object of this section is to prevent the use of the same certificate by different persons:" Commissioners' note. 1101. Assessor must make monthly returns of his enrollment. SEC. 1101. At the end of every month the assessor must return to the county clerk a certified copy of all entries made upon his roll of electors during such month, and all affidavits made for the purpose of procuring such enrollment. 1102. Duty of clerk upon receipt of the return. SEC. 1102. Upon the receipt of such return, the clerk must at once enter upon the great register the names contained and the statements made in such return. 1103. Affidavits must be filed in clerk's office. SEC. 1103. The clerk must file and preserve all affidavits returned to him by the assessor or used before him for the purpose of obtaining registration. 1104. Persons not to be registered in different counties at same time. SEC. 1104. No person must cause himself to be registered or enrolled in one county when his registration in another remains uncanceled. "The object of this section is to compel persons before registering in one county to have their registration in another county canceled, so 1105. Cancellation of entry. that he may not in such other county be personated by another, and a fraudulent vote polled:" Commissioners' note. See Pen. Code, sec. 42. SEC. 1105. There must be left opposite each name in the great register a blank for cancellation. Cancellation is made by writing in such blank the word "canceled," and a statement of the reasons therefor. 1106. When entry must be canceled. SEC. 1106. The clerk must cancel the entry in the following cases: 1. At the request of the party registered; 2. When he knows of the death or removal of the person registered; 3. When the insanity of the person registered is legally established; 4. Upon the production of a certified copy of a judgment of the conviction of any elector of any infamous crime, or of the embezzlement or misappropriation of any public money in full force against the person registered, or upon information of such conviction obtained as hereinafter provided; 5. Upon the production of a certified copy of a judgment directing a cancellation to be made; 6. Upon a certificate of the board of election of any precinct, sent up with the election returns, stating the death or removal, within their own knowledge, of the person registered; 7. When it appears by the returns made by the board and clerks of election that the respective party did not vote during the next preceding two years at any general or special election; 8. The clerk shall cancel upon the great register every name found thereor which is found upon the register of deaths provided for in section three thousand and seventy-nine of this code; 9. Every judge before whom proceedings were had which result in any male person being declared incapable of taking care of himself and managing his property, and for whom a guardian of his person and estate is accordingly appointed, or which result in such person being committed to a state insane asylum as an insane person, shall file with the county clerk a certificate of that fact, and thereupon the clerk shall cancel the name of such person upon the great register, if found thereon; 10. The county clerk shall also, in the first week of September, in each year, examine the records of the courts having jurisdiction in cases of infamous crimes, and the embezzlement or misappropriation of public money within his courty, and cancel upon the great register the names of all persons appearing thereon who shall have been convicted of an infamous crime, or of the embezzlement or misappropriation of public money, in such court, and which conviction shall have been carried into effect. [Amendment, approved April 16, 1880; Amendments 1880, 78 (Ban ed. 368); took effect from passage.] 1107. Clerk must give certificate of registration. SEC. 1107. Upon the application of the party, in person or in writing, the clerk must give him or his agent a certified copy of the entries upon the great register relating to such party. Object of the section. "If a party desires to register in another county, the word 'canceled' is entered upon the great register, and the copy shows that entry, thus making the certificate available for his purpose. If he takes a certificate without that word, it is primary [prima facie] evidence that he is entitled to vote at some place in the county. In a subsequent part of this title it is provided that persons whose names are placed on the great register after the printed lists are made out may, nevertheless, vote, upon producing and filing with the election board a certificate of his registration. These are some of the uses of the foregoing section:" Commissioners' note. 1108. Persons refused registration may proceed by action. SEC. 1108. If the clerk refuses to enter the name of any qualified elector of the county upon the great register, such elector may proceed by action in tho superior court to compel such entry. [Amendment, approved April 3, 1880; Amendments 1880, 20 (Ban ed. 109); took effect immediately; also approved April 16, 1880; Amendments 1880, 79 (Ban. ed. 367); took effect from passage.] Change of "district" to "superior" court. "This section affords those who have applied for registration and have been rejected an opportunity to test the right claimed in the courts. The old law provided that in such cases they might proceed by mandamus; but it is, to say the least, very doubtful whether in that proceeding any court could review the action of 1109. Cancellation by action. the clerk upon the weight of the evidence. If so, there was no need of any provision, for mandate would lie without such a provision. To avoid all difficulty upon so important a question, we give the applicant an opportunity to try the whole matter in court, subject to the same rules as govern other actions: Commissioners' note. SEO. 1109. Any person may proceed by action in the superior court to compel the clerk to cancel any entry made on the great register illegally, or that ought to be canceled by reason of facts that have occurred subsequent to the time of such entry; but if the person whose name is sought to be canceled be not a party to the action, the court may order him to be made a party defendant. [Amendment, approved April 3, 1880; Amendments 1880, 20 (Ban. ed. 109); took effect immediately; also approved April 16, 1880; Amendments 1880, 79 (Ban. ed. 369); took effect from passage.] Similar change as in last section; the last clause being added by an amendment in 1874. "Section 1106, ante, makes it the duty of the clerk to cancel the registration upon the happening of certain events, such as death, removal from the county, conviction for a felony, etc.; but he may willfully neglect the performance of his duty, or may not be possessed of the facts. The section above gives to any person, at any time, the right to purge the great register. Committees of political parties may always examine the register, and may take steps, under the provisions of this section, to purge it of names not legally thereon, or to test the legality of any entry made in it. It 1110. Parties plaintiff to such actions. is not in the power of humanity to enact laws that will effectually accomplish the purpose intended, and sometimes stringent provisions in statutes impose greater wrongs than would flow from the evil such statutes were intended to avert; but it seemed to the commissioners that under the provisions of this chapter it is within the power of the citizens of the county to keep their great register what it was intended to be-a list of the voters of the county. No law that could be framed would be entirely effectual for that purpose, unless the citizens of the county at all times manifest an interest in preserving the purity of the elective franchise:" Commissioners' note. SEC. 1110. In an action under the authority of section eleven hundred and eight, as many persons may join as plaintiffs as have causes of action. "This section avoids the expense of a separate action in each case:" Commissioners' note. 1111. Parties defendant. SEC. 1111. In an action under the authority of section eleven hundred and nine, the clerk and as many persons as there are causes of action against may be joined as defendants. thereon in one proceeding. This will make the remedy more effectual because cheaper:" Commissioners' note. "This section enables any person taking proceedings to purge the great register to join all persons whose names are claimed to be illegally 1112. Costs, when recoverable against clerk. SEC. 1112. Costs cannot be recovered against the clerk in any action under the authority of this chapter unless it is alleged in the complaint, and established on the trial, that the clerk knowingly and willfully violated a plain duty. |