Sect. 4.

to the number on the back of the ballot paper given to any voter at such station. Every officer, clerk, and agent in attendance at the counting of the votes shall maintain and aid in maintaining the secrecy of the voting, and shall not attempt to ascertain at such counting the number on the back of any ballot paper, or communicate any information obtained at such counting as to the candidate for whom any vote is given in any particular ballot paper. No person shall directly or indirectly induce any voter to display his ballot paper after he shall have marked the same, so as to make known to any person the name of the candidate for or against whom he has so marked his vote.

Every person who acts in contravention of the provisions of this section shall be liable, on summary conviction before two justices of the peace, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months, with or without hard labour.

Every officer, etc., is required by Sched. 1, r. 54, post, to make a declaration of secrecy in the form contained in Sched. 2.

An information was laid against the respondent under the above section, charging that he, being a personating agent duly appointed and in attendance at a certain polling station in connection with a municipal election, did not then and there maintain the secrecy of the voting in such station, but did then and there communicate before the poll was closed to a certain person or persons certain information as to the names and numbers on the register of voters of certain electors who had and had not applied for ballot papers or voted at that election. It appeared that the respondent having been appointed personating agent, as stated in the information, attended at the polling booth with a copy of the burgess-roll, and remained there some hours, placing a mark against the name of each voter who obtained a ballot paper, and then before the close of the poll left the station, taking with him his copy of the burgessroll, which he left in the committee room of the candidate by whom he was employed. There was no proof that the copy of the burgess-roll was seen by any person while in the room. Held, that there was not sufficient evidence to warrant a conviction under the above section, as there was no proof that the information as to the voters was actually communicated to any person, and it was not enough that the means of acquiring such information were afforded to any one. Stannanought v. Hazeldine, 4 C. P. D. 191 ; 48 L. J. M. C. 89 ; 40 L. T. (N.S.) 589; 27 W. R. 620 ; 43 J. P. 352.

Use of school and public_room for poll.

6. The returning officer at a parliamentary election may use, free of charge, for the purpose of taking the poll at such election, any room in a school receiving a grant out of moneys provided by Parliament, and any room the expense of maintaining which is payable out of any local rate, but he shall make good any damage done to such room, and defray any expense incurred by the person or body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, having control over the same on account of its being used for the purpose of taking the poll as aforesaid.

The use of any room in an unoccupied house for the purpose of taking the poll shall not render any person liable to be rated or to pay any rate for such house.

This section does not apply to municipal elections. See the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, Sched. 3, Part III. r. 1, post. It does, however, apply to elections of county councillors, and the schools and rooms above mentioned may be used at such elections for the purpose of taking the poll and hearing objections to nomination papers, and counting votes. See the Local Government Act, 1888, s. 75, sub-s. (16) (g), ante, p. 146.

Sect. 6.

Duties of Returning and Election Officers.

powers and

8. Subject to the provisions of this Act, every returning officer General shall provide such nomination papers, polling stations, ballot duties of boxes, ballot papers, stamping instruments, copies of register of returning voters, and other things, appoint and pay such officers, and do such other acts and things as may be necessary for effectually conducting an election in manner provided by this Act.

It is the duty of the returning officer at an election of county councillors to provide polling stations, etc., under this section. See the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, Sched. 3, Part III. r. 3, post. As to the providing of nomination papers, see the same Act, Sched. 3, Part II. r. 6.

As to the liability of a returning officer for mistakes in the printing of the names on the ballot papers, see Wilson v. Ingham, noted under s. 13, infra. The remainder of this section is not applicable to elections of county councillors.

officer.

order in

9. If any person misconducts himself in the polling station, or Keeping of fails to obey the lawful orders of the presiding officer, he may station. immediately, by order of the presiding officer, be removed from the polling station by any constable in or near the station, or any other person authorized in writing by the returning officer to remove him; and the person so removed shall not, unless with the permission of the presiding officer, again be allowed to enter the polling station during the day.

Any person so removed as aforesaid, if charged with the commission in such station of any offence, may be kept in custody until he can be brought before a justice of the peace.

Provided that the powers conferred by this section shall not be exercised so as to prevent any elector who is otherwise entitled to vote at any polling station from having an opportunity of voting at such station.

A candidate has a general right to be present in a polling station, and he cannot be excluded under this section, though he has not undertaken the duties of an agent, unless he misconducts himself. Clementson v. Mason, L. R. 10 C. P. 209; 44 L. J. C. P. 171; 32 L. T. (N.s.) 325; 39 J. P. 360.

Sect. 10.

Powers of presiding officer and administra

10. For the purpose of the adjournment of the poll, and of every other enactment relating to the poll, a presiding officer shall have the power by law belonging to a deputy returning officer; and any presiding officer and any clerk appointed by the returning tion of oaths, officer to attend at a polling station shall have the power of asking the questions and administering the oath authorized by law to be asked of and administered to voters, and any justice of the peace and any returning officer may take and receive any declaration authorized by this Act to be taken before him.

etc.

Liability of officers for

misconduct.

30 & 31 Vict c. 102.

As to the adjournment of the poll it is provided by the 5 & 6 Will. 4, c. 36, s. 8, that when the proceedings at an election are interrupted or obstructed by any riot or open violence the lawful deputy of any returning officer shall not finally close the poll but shall adjourn the taking the poll at the particular polling place or places at which such interruption or obstruction shall have happened until the following day, etc.

As to the questions which may be put to voters, see the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 59, post.

As to the declaration of secrecy, see Sched. 1, r. 54, post.

11. Every returning officer, presiding officer, and clerk who is guilty of any wilful misfeasance, or any wilful act or omission in contravention of this Act shall, in addition to any other penalty or liability to which he may be subject, forfeit to any person aggrieved by such misfeasance, act, or omission a penal sum not exceeding one hundred pounds,

Section 50 of the Representation of the People Act, 1867 (which relates to the acting of any returning officer, or his partner or clerk, as agent for a candidate), shall apply to any returning officer or officer appointed by him in pursuance of this Act, and to his partner or clerk.

This Act imposes a duty on the presiding officer at a polling station during an election to deliver to the voters voting papers bearing the official mark appointed under the Act for the election, and to be present during such election at the polling station, so that the voters, before depositing their voting papers in the ballot box, can show to him the official mark on the back of such papers, in accordance with the statute. For breach of these duties, being merely ministerial, an action will lie by a party aggrieved, e.g., who has thereby lost the election through votes given to him being void for the official mark without malice or want of reasonable care on the part of the defendant. If a clerk be appointed by the returning officer to assist at the polling station, the presiding officer may, by the Act, depute to such clerk so much of his duties as he thinks fit, with certain specified exceptions. For the Acts of commission or omission of the clerk in the performance of the duties so delegated, the presiding officer will not be responsible, inasmuch as he does not appoint the clerk, and the relation of master and servant does not exist between them. Per BOVILL, C.J., and GROVE, J. :-The Act does not impose on the presiding officer the duty of ascertaining, before the voter deposits a voting paper in the ballot box, whether the official mark is on such paper. Per KEATING and BRETT, JJ. :—The statute does impose such duty on the presiding officer.

Pickering v. James, L. R. 8 C. P. 489; 42 L. J. C. P. 217; 29 L. T. (N.s.) 211; 21 W. R. 786; 37 J. P. 679.

The view taken by the last-mentioned judges was followed by Lord COLERIDGE, C.J., HAWKINS and MATHEW, JJ., in Ackers v. Howard, 16 Q. B. D. 739; 55 L. J. Q. B. 273; 54 L. T. (N.s.) 651 ; 54 W. R. 609; 50 J. P. 519.

The 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102, s. 50, provides that no returning officer nor his deputy, nor any partner or clerk of either of them, shall act as agent for any candidate in the management and conduct of his election. . . . and if he so act he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Sect. 11.

NOTE.

of disclosure

12. No person who has voted at an election shall, in any legal Prohibition proceeding to question the election or return, be required to state of vote. for whom he has voted.

A similar provision is contained in the Municipal Corporations Act, 1882, s. 104, ante.

13. No election shall be declared invalid by reason of a non- Non-compliance with compliance with the rules contained in the First Schedule to this rules. Act, or any mistake in the use of the forms in the Second Schedule to this Act, if it appears to the tribunal having cognizance of the question that the election was conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the body of this Act, and that such noncompliance or mistake did not affect the result of the election.

At a municipal election for three councillors six burgesses were nominated and one of them twice. In the ballot paper the name of each burgess nominated was printed, and that of the petitioner, who was twice nominated, was twice printed, his description as given by the nominators somewhat differing, so that there appeared to be seven candidates on the ballot paper in which the petitioner's name appeared, as No. 5 and No. 6, and there was nothing to indicate on the ballot paper that Nos. 5 and 6 were the same person but the similarity of the name. Of the voters who voted for petitioner some put their crosses against both names, Nos. 5 and 6. By adding the numbers together, after rejecting the eight who put their crosses to both Nos. 5 and 6, the petitioner had a majority over the respondent Pulsford, who was declared to be elected. Held, that although the ballot paper was wrong in form, as the petitioner's name ought not to have appeared twice in it, the mistake did not affect the result of the election, and was therefore cured by s. 13 of the Ballot Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 33), and that the votes against the petitioner's Lames, Nos. 5 and 6, might be counted together, there being nothing to prevent it bnt the irregular form of the ballot paper. Northcote v. Pulsford, L. R. 10 C. P. 476; 44 L. J. C. P. 217; 32 L. T. (N.s.) 102; 23 W. R. 700; 39 J. P. 487.

But where a ballot paper contained by mistake the name of a candidate who had withdrawn and a number of votes were given for that candidate which might have affected the result, the election was declared void; and the court held that under such circumstances the returning officer might be liable to pay the costs of the election petition. Wilson v. Ingham, 64 L. J. Q. B. 775; 72 L. T. (N.s.) 796; 43 W. R. 621 ; 59 J. P. 614.

And see generally as to the effect of this section, Woodward v. Sarsons, L. R. 10 C. P. 733 ; 44 L. J. C. P. 293; 32 L. T. (N.S.) 867; 39 J. P. 776, and the other cases cited in the notes to r. 36 of Sched. 1, post.

Sect. 14.

Use of municipal

14. Where a parliamentary borough and municipal borough the whole or any part of the same area, any ballot boxes or occupy fittings for polling stations and compartments provided for such ballot boxes, parliamentary borough or such municipal borough may be used in any municipal or parliamentary election in such borough free of charge, and any damage other than reasonable wear and tear caused to the same shall be paid as part of the expenses of the election at which they are so used.

etc., for parliamentary election and vice versa.

Construction of Act.

This section is applied to elections of county councillors by s. 75 (19) of the Local Government Act, 1888, incorporating 38 & 39 Vict. c. 84, s. 6, post. It is there provided that in any case to which s. 14 of the Ballot Act, 1872, is applicable, it shall be the duty of the returning officer, so far as is practicable, to make use of ballot boxes, fittings, and compartments provided for municipal or school board elections, and the court, upon taxation of his accounts, shall have regard to this provision.

15. This part of this Act shall, so far as is consistent with the tenor thereof, be construed as one with the enactments for the time being in force relating to the representation of the people and to the registration of persons entitled to vote at the election of members to serve in Parliament, and with any enactments otherwise relating to the subject matter of this part of this Act, and terms used in this part of this Act shall have the same meaning as in the said enactments; and in construing the said enactments relating to an election or to the poll or taking the votes by poll, the mode of election and of taking the poll established by this Act shall, for the purposes of the said enactments, be deemed to be substituted for the mode of election or poll, or taking the votes by poll, referred to in the said enactments; and any person applying for a ballot paper under this Act shall be deemed "to tender his vote," or "to assume to vote," within the meaning of the said enactments; and any application for a ballot paper under this Act, or expressions relative thereto, shall be equivalent to "voting" in the said enactments and any expressions relative thereto; and the term "polling booth," as used in the said enactments, shall be deemed to include a polling station; and the term "proclamation," as used in the said enactments, shall be deemed to include a public notice given in pursuance of this Act.

PART III.
PERSONATION.

Definition and 24. The following enactments shall be made with respect to punishment of personation. personation at parliamentary and municipal elections :— A person shall for all purposes of the laws relating to parliamentary and municipal elections be deemed to be guilty of the