Hours of polling. Method of counting votes. Notice of members 11. The Poll shall open not later than Twelve o'clock noon on the day appointed, and shall not remain open for a longer period than six hours.1 12. If the votes have been taken at more than one polling place, they shall be counted, not separately, but for the Parish as a whole. 13. Within three clear days after the day of Election, the Returning elected; reOfficer shall affix to the doors of the Parish Church, and of all the other turn sent to Places of Worship, and of all Public or State-aided Schools within the Board. Preliminary procedure in Parish, a list of those persons as Members of the School Board who have been returned without a Poll; or those who in case of a contest have had a majority of votes; and shall make a Return of the names of said Members to the Board of Education. 14. When for the purposes of "The Education (Scotland) Act, 1872," case of unit- the Board of Education shall have united two Parishes, the Returning ed parishes. Officer shall be appointed, and the time and place for the election of a School Board shall be fixed at a joint meeting of the Heritors and Ministers of these two Parishes. Preliminary case of 15. When two or more Parishes, or parts of Parishes, are now united procedure in and formed into a Parish quoad sacra, the Heritors who are proprietors quoad sacra of lands within said Parish to the extent of at least One hundred pounds parishes. Scots of valued rent, appearing in the Land Tax books of the County or Counties within which such Parish is situated, along with the Minister of such quoad sacra Parish, shall meet as soon as conveniently may be, and fix a time and place for the Election of a School Board, and appoint a fit and proper person to be Returning Officer at the election. Preliminary procedure in case of school dis tricts. 16. When the School Boards of two or more adjoining Parishes shall deem it expedient to separate and detach certain portions of these Parishes from the Parishes to which they respectively belong, and to unite them together and form them into a School District, the Sheriff of the County, when he intimates his consent and approbation to such arrangement, shall fix a time and place for the Election of a School Board for such School District, and shall appoint a fit and proper person to be the Returning Officer at the Election, which in all other respects shall take place according to the foregoing rules. By order of the Board of Education for Scotland. JAMES TAYLOR, Secretary. 1 The corresponding rule in the English Rules is:-The poll shall commence at such an hour not earlier than 8 A.M., and close at such an hour not later than 8 P.M., as shall be fixed by the Returning Officer; but the poll shall not be open for more than seven hours.' In England the returning officer is bound to keep the voting papers for six months. Rules and Directions for taking Votes by Ballot in Parishes 1. Preparations for Poll.-The Returning Officer shall provide a Ballot Box so constructed that a ballot paper can be introduced therein, but cannot be withdrawn without the box being unlocked; a sufficient number of printed ballot papers, containing, in the form annexed, the names of the Candidates; materials for the marking of the votes on the ballot papers, sealing wax, and a copy of the Valuation Roll of the Parish, or School District; and shall cause one compartment or more to be fitted up in the polling place, in which the voter shall be screened from observation while marking his ballot paper. Provided that in any Parish situated in the counties of Argyll, Inverness, Ross and Cromarty, and Orkney and Shetland, the Returning Officer may use written voting1 papers, in the form hereinafter prescribed. 2. Persons entitled to attend at the Polling Place.-The only persons entitled to be present within the polling place are the Returning Officer and his clerks, and the candidates, or the persons whom they shall authorize in writing under their hand to represent them. 3. Declaration of Secrecy.-Before the opening of the poll, the Returning Officer, and every person authorized to be present within the polling place, or at the counting of the votes, must have made before a Justice of the Peace the following declaration of secrecy :I solemnly promise and declare that I will not communicate, except for some purpose authorized by law, any information as to the persons who have voted or not voted, or as to the Candidates for whom any vote has been given, at the election for a School Board in this Parish [or School District.] The Returning Officer shall not permit any person who has not made the above declaration of secrecy to attend within the Polling Place.2 4. Commencement of Poll.-Before the commencement of the poll, the Returning Officer shall show the ballot box, empty, to such persons as may be present, and then lock it up and seal it. He shall then place it near him, and keep it within his view. 5. Mode of voting.-When any person comes up to vote, the Returning Officer shall ascertain that the person is entitled to vote; and if so, the Returning Officer shall deliver to the voter a ballot paper, call out his name and description, as stated in the Valuation Roll, place against the name of the voter a mark, which will denote that the voter has received a ballot paper, but not denote the particular ballot paper which he has received. The voter, having received his ballot paper, shall proceed at once to the compartment, and shall there, either in figures or by crosses, secretly insert opposite the names of the candidates for whom he votes the number of votes he gives to each. He shall then fold up his ballot paper so 1 "Voting papers "-this should be "Ballot papers." The form hereinafter prescribed is called a "Ballot paper." 2 It is not necessary to make this declaration at the polling place. A certificate, or other evidence that will satisfy the Returning Officer that the person applying for permission to enter has made the declaration before a Justice of Peace, will be sufficient. as to conceal the figures or crosses which he has inserted, put the ballot paper so folded at once into the ballot box, and immediately leave the polling place. 1 6. Order within the Polling Place.—The Returning Officer shall make arrangements for preserving order within the polling place; and shall regulate the admission of electors, so that those voting shall not be liable to be overlooked or otherwise put to inconvenience; and shall see that each voter retires immediately after giving his vote. 7. Validity of Votes.-Any ballot paper on which votes are given to more candidates than the voter is entitled to vote for, or on which anything is written or marked by which the voter can be identified, shall be invalid and not counted. 8. Proceedings at close of Poll.-Immediately after the time fixed for the close of the poll, the Returning Officer, in presence of the candidates or the persons authorized to represent them, shall break the seal, open the box, examine the ballot papers, and record the number of votes for each candidate. He shall then make up the whole of the ballot papers into a packet, and shall write on the outside of the packet a description of its contents, the date of the election, and the name of the School Board, and shall seal up and preserve the same. 9. Proceedings where there is more than one Polling Place. (a) If there be more than one polling place appointed for a Parish or School District, the Returning Officer shall appoint for each polling place a Presiding Officer, who shall conduct the taking of the votes in all respects in conformity with the foregoing rules. (b) The Returning Officer shall deliver to the Presiding Officer, along with the other necessary materials for voting, a certified list, taken from the Valuation Roll, of the persons entitled to vote at each polling place. (c) At the close of the poll, in the presence of the candidates or the persons authorized to represent them, the Presiding Officer shall seal with his own seal, and the seals of such candidates as desire to affix their seals, the ballot box in use at his polling place unopened, but with the key attached, and shall deliver the box as soon as practicable to the Returning Officer. (d) The Returning Officer shall make arrangements for counting the votes in the several ballot boxes in the presence of the candidates or the persons authorized to represent them, as soon as practicable after the close of the poll, and shall give to the candidates notice of the time and place at which he will begin to count the same. (e) Before beginning to count the votes, the Returning Officer shall, in the presence of the candidates or the persons authorized to represent them, open the ballot boxes, and then mix together the whole of the ballot papers contained in the ballot boxes. 1 There is no provision to enable illiterate voters to get assistance in recording their votes. Any explanations, therefore, should be given to such voters before they enter the polling place. FORM OF BALLOT PAPER. Parish of N.B.-Every Voter is entitled to County of votes, and may give all such votes to one Candidate, or may distribute them among the Candidates, as the Voter sees fit. Time for election of School Board. Publication of time and RULES and DIRECTIONS for the FIRST ELECTION of SCHOOL In accordance with the provisions of "The Education (Scotland) Act, 1. In each Burgh, the time fixed for the first Election of a School Board shall be not less than Twenty-one days after the meeting held by the Town Council, or the Municipal or Managing Body, as the case may be, for the appointment of a Returning Officer and for fixing the time and place of such Election. 2. Publication of the time and place fixed for the Election, and of the place of elec-person appointed to be Returning Officer, shall be made by advertisetion, and of ment in the local newspapers or otherwise. person to be Returning Officer. Polling places. Notice by Officer. 3. In a Burgh where the population or other circumstances render it necessary, the Returning Officer shall appoint a sufficient number of polling places,1 situated conveniently for the Voters, and shall prepare a List of the Voters who are to vote at each polling place. No Public House shall be used for a polling place, or for the purposes of an Election. 4. Fourteen days before the day fixed for the Election, the ReturnReturning ing Officer shall give public notice, by advertisement in the local newspapers or otherwise, of the day, hour, and place or places, for polling, and where there is more than one polling place, of the district for which each polling place is assigned, and of the number of Members to be elected to the School Board. Nomination of caudidates. Time for 5. Not less than seven 2 days prior to the day of Election, any two Electors of the Burgh3 may nominate as a Candidate any person of full age, by sending to the Returning Officer, or delivering at his office or place appointed by him, a nomination paper, subscribed by said two Electors, and stating the Christian name and surname, with the place of abode and designation, of each Subscriber, and of the Candidate nominated. And the Returning Officer, on receipt of the same, shall forthwith send notice to each Candidate of his nomination. 6. No nomination paper shall be received after Four o'clock in the nomination. afternoon of the Seventh day before the day of Election; and no person shall be a Candidate unless he has been nominated within the time and in the manner aforesaid. The Returning Officer shall have power to decide whether any nomValidity of nomination. ination is valid, and his decision shall be final. 1 By the English Rules the Returning Officer is bound to publish the number and situation of the polling places three days before the election. 2 Ten days are allowed in English boroughs. 3 The same persons are not precluded from nominating more than one candidate. |