elections, and said police officers so detailed, shall be subject to the orders of the Commissioner of Election. Board of Supervisors. 2949. [Sec. 11.] In all parishes, the parish of Orleans excepted, the Board of Supervisors of election of each parish shall consist of three persons, viz.: the Assessor and Registrar of Voters of each parish, one elected by the Police Jury, and one appointed by the Governor who shall be president of the board. In the parish of Orleans the Board of Supervisors of election shall consist of three members as follows: one appointed by the Governor who shall be president of the board, one to be the Registrar of Voters of the parish of Orleans, and the other to be the Civil Sheriff. (Amd. Act 99, 1908, p. 153.) Commissioners and Clerk. 2950. [Sec. 12.] In the parish of Orleans it shall be the duty of the Board of Supervisors at least thirty days prior to any election to appoint three commissioners and one clerk to preside over the election at each polling precinct. Said commissioners shall be qualified voters in the ward of which such polling precincts form part, and shall be appointed from lists to contain not less than six names, furnished by each of the several political parties and nominating bodies. The commissioners shall be so apportioned as to equally represent all the political parties authorized under this act to make nominations in so far as practicable. Watchers. 2951. [Sec. 13.] Each of the several political parties (or nominating bodies) having candidates (upon the official ballot) shall be entitled to one watcher in each voting precinct, and said watchers shall be appointed for each election by the several political parties (or nominating bodies) and shall be commissioned by the Board of Supervisors. Said watchers shall remain without the (guard rail) during the polling of the vote, except when casting their individual votes, and shall not be permitted to electioneer, engage in any political discussions, or in any manner interfere with, detain or obstruct any voters. Said watchers shall be allowed to enter (the space within the guard rail) only after the closing of the polls, and there remain thereafter, within (said guard rail) during the canvass and count of the vote. Watchers shall take no part in such canvass and count, nor have any voice in the conduct thereof. Pay of Commissioners, Clerk and Sheriff. 2952. [Sec. 14.] The Commissioners of Election shall attend at the times and places designated in their respective precincts, at all elections. The commissioners and clerks shall receive three dollars for each day's actual service and the deputy sheriffs attending the election shall receive five dollars and no mileage for each day's actual service not exceeding three days, to be paid by the parish or municipality. Commissioners to Maintain Order. 2953. [Sec. 15.] Commissioners shall possess full authority to maintain regularity and order and to enforce obedience to their lawful commands during an election and during the canvass of the votes after the closing of the polls, and shall have full authority to preserve the peace and good order at and around the polling place, and keep access thereto, open and unobstructed, and may require any police officers, constables or other persons present to communicate their orders and directions, and to assist in the performance of the duties in this section enjoined. May Commit. 2954. [Sec. 16.] The Commissioners of Election shall preserve order and decorum at elections and shall have power to commit to prison any disorderly person for a time not to extend beyond the hour of closing the polls, provided that said person shall be permitted to vote before being committed to prison. Is this section constitutional? Canvass of Ballots. 2955. [Sec. 17.] The canvass and count of the ballots, as provided in this act, shall be begun immediately upon the closing of the polls, and shall be proceeded with, without interruption or delay, until completed, during all the count, three tally sheets shall be kept thereof, the said tally sheets shall have the tallies marked in red lines from the beginning to the end of the page and the total number of tallies shall be written in figures immediately after the end of the tally, and in letters so as to prevent any alteration thereof. Any commissioner or other person who shall interfere with, delay or attempt to delay the count of the ballots, shall be guilty of a felony, and punished as provided for in Sec tion 44, of this act and any person who shall steal or attempt to steal, or aid or abet in stealing the ballot box, tally sheets, poll lists or other apparatus or papers of the election, shall be deemed guilty of a felony and punished as provided in Section 44, of this Act. Declaration of Result. 2956. [Sec. 18.] Prior to the public declaration of the vote at an election, which shall be made at each precinct as soon as the count has been completed, no statement shall be made by any commissioner, of the number of ballots cast, the number of voters present, the number of votes given for any person or for any officer, the name of any person which has been voted on, or of any other fact tending to show the state of the polls. Any commissioner who violates any of the provisions of this act shall be punished as provided for in Section 44, of this act, but no such violation shall in any way invalidate any returns of the votes cast, duly made by the commissioners, or effect the title of any person who is duly declared to be elected to any office. Any election Commissioner who intentionally makes or attempts to make a false canvass of the ballots cast, or any false return of the result of any election, or any person who induces, or attempts to induce, any such commissioner so to do, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in Section 44, of this act, and shall be further disqualified from voting at any election or holding any office of honor, trust or profit in this State. Penalty for False Returns of Vote on Constitutional Amendment, etc. 2957. [Act 243, 1914, p. 474.] Whenever there shall appear on the official ballot to be voted for at general elections held under the general election laws of the State, a proposition or an amendment to the State Constitution, or a proposition for a tax levy or any proposition appearing on the official ballot proposed by the General Assembly, or on a petition of citizens, it shall be the duty of commissioners and clerks of election, to tabulate and correctly count and make returns the votes cast thereon the same as in the case of a candidate, and any violation of this Act shall be deemed a misdemeanor and punishable by fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars and not more than Five Hundred Dollars, and imprisonment in the Parish Prison or Police Jail for not less than six months nor more than One year. Penalty for Stealing or Mutilating Election Documents. 2958. [Sec. 19, Act 152, 1898, p. 270.] Every Commissioner of election, or other officer or persons having the custody of any record or register of votes, or copy thereof, oath, return of votes, certificates, poll list, or any paper, document or evidence of any description in this act directed to be made, filed or preserved, who is guilty of stealing, wilfully destroying, mutilating, defacing, falsifying or fraudulently removing or secreting the whole or any part thereof, or who shall fraudulently make any extra entry, erasure or alteration therein, except as allowed and directed by the provisions of this act, or who permits any other person so to do, shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, be punished in accordance with Section 44 of this act. And every person, not an officer, who is guilty of any of the aforesaid acts, or who advises, procures or abets the commission of the same, or any of them shall upon conviction thereof, be punished in accordance with Section 44, of this Act. Bar-rooms to Be Closed. 2959. [Sec. 20.] All bar-rooms, cabarets and coffeehouses and places where liquors are kept, within one mile of any ward or precinct where an election is being held, shall be and remain closed during the day of an election until twelve o'clock p. m., and no liquors shall be sold or given away on election day within the above specified limits. Commissioners of election are hereby authorized to enforce this provision and to call upon and direct the police officers to discharge their full duties in every particular. Under Sec. 2, Act 289, 1910, p. 490, the penalty is a fine of not more than $100, or imprisonment of not more than sixty days, or both. No Liquor in Polling Place. Whoever, in a polling place has in his possession any intoxicating liquor, shall be deemed guilty of disorderly conduct and the Commissioner shall order such person to remove such liquor, or to withdraw himself from such place, and on his refusing or neglecting to obey such order, shall direct any police officer or other person present to take him from the place and confine him in some convenient place until the election is completed. The person so refusing shall, for every such offense, be punished as provided in Section 44, of this Act. Duties of Commissioners. 2960. [Sec. 21.] It shall be the duty of the commissioners at each polling place to keep duplicate lists of the persons voting at such polling place, which lists shall be numbered from one to the end; and said lists so to be kept and numbered as aforesaid, shall be signed and sworn to as correct by them immediately upon closing the polls and before leaving the place or opening the ballot box. As soon as the votes have been counted and the enevelopes sealed, as herein provided, the official tally sheet or sheets shall be signed and sworn to by the commissioners, and the said officers shall make triplicate compiled statements of the number of votes cast for each candidate for national, State, parochial or municipal offices, and the offices for which they were voted, the number of ballots contained in the box, the number of ballots rejected, and the reasons therefor. These compiled statements shall also be sworn to by said commissioners, the oath to be administered by the deputy sheriff, or one of the commissioners, or by any qualified voter. One of the aforesaid tally sheets, together with the poll books and one of the said compiled statements shall be delivered to the Board of Supervisors of each parish. The Commissioners of Election shall forward to the Secretary of State one of the compiled statements of the vote at their respective boxes or polling places, with the name or names of the candidates voted for, one tally sheet and one of the duplicate poll-lists, which returns of the Commissioners shall be retained by the Secretary of State for at least six months. The third tally sheet, together with ballots and a poll list of the persons voting, shall be returned to the ballot box, which shall thereupon be sealed by the said Commissioners, and the said ballot box containing the ballots and tally sheets and poll lists, as aforesaid, shall be delivered to the clerk of court to be by him safely preserved for a period of six months. Duty of Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors of each parish shall, within three days after the closing of the polls, repair to the court-house of the parish and there, in the presence of at least three voters, and as many others as may desire to be present make a true compiled statement as shown by the face of the sworn returns of the Commissioners in triplicate, of the result of said election, and make public proclamation of such result, which compiled |