OF CITIES AND TOWNS. break, alter or renew at its pleasure, and generally shall have all the privileges and franchises incident to a corporation or body politic. corporation Section 3. The officers of the said corporation shall officers of the consist of a Mayor, a Council to be composed of two Members from each ward or district of the City and a President of Council who shall be ex-officio a member and presiding officer of the Council, a Treasurer, and an Assessor. No person shall be eligible to any of the above offices who is not a citizen of the State and a resident of the City. The Mayor and the President and Members of Council must have resided in the City for two years next before their election and at the time of their election be qualified voters of the City, and Members of Council must be residents of the ward or district which they represent. The Council by ordinance may provide for such other officers as may be deemed necessary. biennially Section 4. The mayor, the president of Council, the Elected members of Council, the treasurer, the assessor, and an Inspector of Election in each ward or district, shall be elected bi-ennially by ballot on the second Tuesday of April in each year after the general election and shall continue in office for a term of two years or until their successors are legally qualified. Term City of New wards or districts Section 5. For the purpose of holding such election, Castle to be the City of New Castle shall be divided into four wards divided in or districts, corresponding within the City to the present election districts as now laid out under the general election laws, with voting places as now provided for by said general election laws. The inspector elected in each district at the preceding election shall hold the election in such district. In case of his death, removal from the Inspectors of district, inability to serve, or absence on the day of election, the mayor shall appoint an inspector to hold the elections Assistant OF CITIES AND TOWNS. election. Two assistant inspectors shall be appointed in be appointed each district, one each by the City executive committees of the two leading political parties; and upon failure to so appoint, the inspectors respectively shall appoint said assistant inspectors, one of whom shall be of the opposite political party from the said inspector. Each assistant inspector shall appoint a clerk. Notice of time and place of holding the election Hours when poles are open Notice of the time and places of holding such election shall be given by advertisement made and signed by the mayor and posted in at least three of the most public places in each of the said districts at least a week before the day of said election. The election officers in each district shall open the polls on the day of election between the hours of twelve and one o'clock in the afternoon and close the same at seven o'clock in the afternoon. In case it is impossible to hold the election at the voting place designated by the advertisement, the inspectors shall procure some other suitable and convenient place in the district. The election officers before entering upon their duties shall swear and subscribe to the following oath before the mayor of the City or a Justice of the Peace, or, in their absence, to be administered by the inspector to the assistants and by one of the assistants to the inspector: Form of onth I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will this day in election officers conducting the City election of New Castle, determine and act in every particular with impartiality and faithfulness, and that I will cause to the best of my ability a true return of the election to be made, so help me God. (or so I affirm)." Officers to be voted for There shall be voted for in each ward or district, a mayor, a president of Council, a treasurer, an assessor, who shall be residents of the City and qualified voters therein, and two members of council and an inspector of OF CITIES AND TOWNS. to vote Peace to fur tion books istration books election, who shall be residents of the ward or district and qualified voters therein. At every such election every male citizen of the age of twenty-one years and up- Those qualified wards having resided in the City of New Castle one year next before the election, and none others, shall be entitled to vote; provided however that no person shall vote whose name does not appear upon the last list of registered voters of the City of New Castle as hereinafter provided. The Clerk of the Peace of New Castle County shall furnish to the registration officers for the several Clerk of the districts of New Castle Hundred in the year of any gen- nish registraeral election, when he furnishes the registration books as now provided by law, two separate and similar books in which the said registration officers shall register all persons who are entitled to be registered who reside in the City of New Castle. One of these registration books for the City of New Castle shall be returned by the reg- Return of registration officers of New Castle Hundred to the Clerk of the Peace of New Castle County as the other registration books are returnable, and the other registration book shall be returned to the Council of the City of New Castle within thirty days after the last day of registration. The registration officers shall be under the same regula- Kegulations for tions and liabilities for the registration of the citizens of the City of New Castle as for the general registration for the Hundred. The Council of the City of New Castle shall sit as a Board of Registration on the third and fourth Tuesday and Wednesday evenings of March of Council to sit each year in which a city election is to be held, between Registration the hours of seven and nine o'clock, for the purpose of adding to the said list of registered voters any unregistered person who shall apply and who shall have, since such general registration, acquired a residence necessary to qualify him as a voter at the city election, and to transfer those registered voters who have moved from one district to another, and the clerk of Council shall place the names of voters so registered or transferred election officers as a Board of Books to be turned over by cil to election inspectors on OF CITIES AND TOWNS. by the Council on the books of registered voters for the several districts. The said registration books so turned Clerk of Coun- Over to the Council of New Castle, with the additions and transfers made by the Council as above provided for, shall in every year of election under this act be turned over by the clerk of Council on the day of such election to the several inspectors who have been duly elected or appointed to hold such election in the several districts. election day Counting of ballots Certificates of election In triplicate Ballots to be kept six months by Mayor Tie vote Thoseelected When the election shall be closed, the inspector and his assistants in each district shall at once openly and publicly open the box containing the ballots and proceed publicly and openly to read and count the ballots in the presence of each other and in the presence of such electors as shall think proper to be present, and the reading and counting of such votes shall be continued without interruption or adjournment until completed, when the result shall be publicly announced by the inspector. The election officers in each district shall forthwith prepare certificates under their hands setting forth the persons voted for and the number of votes cast for each. Such certificates shall be in triplicate; one copy to be retained by the inspector, one copy to be delivered to the clerk of Council, and the other copy to be delivered to the mayor of the City. All ballots after being counted shall be placed in the ballot box and sealed by the election officers and delivered to the mayor who shall place the same in a good and safe place to be kept for six months. In case of a tie vote in any district for the office of member of Council or inspector, the inspector holding the election shall cast the deciding vote. At such election the persons receiving a plurality of votes cast throughout the said City for mayor, president of council, treasurer, and assessor, respectively, shall be deemed and declared elected, and the two persons in each OF CITIES AND TOWNS. ward or district receiving the highest number of votes cast in such district for members of Council, and the person in each ward or district receiving the highest number of votes in such district for inspector of election, shall be deemed and declared elected. At eight o'clock in the evening on the day following Canvass of any election held under the provisions of this Act, the the vote several inspectors shall meet at the mayor's office and canvass the returns from the several districts. After ascertaining which candidates have received the greatest number of votes and have been elected to the various offices, they shall make out three certificates of election for each office, furnish one to the candidate elected, one to the clerk of Council, and one to the mayor of the City. In case two or more persons receive the same number of votes for the office of mayor, president of council, treasurer, or assessor, they shall proceed to select one of said candidates for such office by a vote of said inspectors. to Clerk of After each election the inspectors shall return to the Return books clerk of Council the books of registered voters furnished Council them. In case of contest being made against seating any per- Contest son in any office mentioned in this Act, the Council shall decide such contest by a majority vote of all the members of the Council. for Inspectors The pay for inspectors for holding the election shall Compensation be five dollars, for assistant inspectors three dollars, and for clerks two dollars, to be paid by the Council. Not more than five dollars shall be paid as rental for any one place to hold said election, such rental to be paid by the Council. Section 6. As soon as conveniently may be after the Mayor to take oath |