MINORITY REPORT 
 
 OF “THE 
 
 COMMISSION 
 
 TO 
 
 Revise and Codify the 
 Election Laws of 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 MADE BY 
 
 WILLIAM COLEMAN FREEMAN 
 
 TO 
 
 The Senate and House of Representatives 
 of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl¬ 
 vania, in General Assembly at 
 the Session of 1913 
 
 SUBJECTS 
 
 Extension of Direct Primary System, 
 
 Government of Cities by Commission, 
 Woman Suffrage, Short Ballot, 
 
 Assistance to Voters, Limitation of Campaign Expenditures, 
 
 Memoranda Election Laws of Various States. 
 
 BILLS ANNEXED 
 
 Commission Form of Government for Cities, including Initiative, 
 Referendum and Recall. 
 
 Extending Method of Nomination by Direct Vote to include all 
 Elective State Officers and Preference Vote for U. S. Senator. 
 
 Presidential Preference Primary. 
 
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the Senate and House of Representatives of the Com¬ 
 monwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly: 
 
 Having had the honor to be appointed a member of 
 Commission to Codify and Revise the Election Laws 
 of Pennsylvania, by the Governor of the Commonwealth, 
 in pursuance of a joint resolution approved the thirteenth 
 day of May, A. D. 1909, I herewith present the following 
 report, dissenting herein from some of the views expressed 
 in the one presented by my colleagues. 
 
 Attached to this report are three bills, which I present, 
 trusting for the favorable action thereon of your honorable 
 bodies, providing for: 
 
 1. Commission Form of Government for Cities, Bor¬ 
 oughs and Towns, including Initiative, Referendum and 
 Recall. (See page 18.) 
 
 2. The abolition of State conventions by the extension 
 of the method of nomination by the direct vote of the 
 people so as to include the offices of Governor, Lieutenant- 
 Governor, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, 
 Auditor-General and Secretary of Internal Affairs. (See 
 page 9.) 
 
 (a) . A direct vote by the elector for his preference 
 of the candidates for the office of United States Senator, 
 is also provided by this bill. 
 
 (b) . A requirement that candidates for the office of 
 State Senator, or member of the State House of Repre¬ 
 sentatives, shall sign an anti-election statement that he 
 will, or will not, if elected, vote for that candidate for 
 
 fr 
 
 United States Senator who receives the highest number 
 A of votes, is also provided by this bill. 
 
 To 
 
 3 
 
 c* > the 
 
2 
 
 3. Presidential Preference Primary, which provides 
 for the direct expression of the choice of the people for a 
 candidate for the office of President of the United States. 
 (See page 40.) 
 
 EXTENSION OF DIRECT PRIMARY SYSTEM. 
 
 Nation-wide changes in the election laws of the various 
 commonwealths have been made in recent years. But in 
 no time have the revisions been so numerous and so marked 
 as during the past two years, when nearly one-half of the 
 States have radically altered their election laws. The new 
 acts in every instance, including other improvements, were 
 evidently drawn for the main purpose of placing the func¬ 
 tion of naming candidates for elective public place in the 
 hands of the people by means of the direct primary system. 
 
 Many have been led to suppose by its opponents that 
 the direct primary system is a fad, an experiment. As a 
 matter of fact the method is as old as the history of our 
 government, and the “town-hall meetings” as conducted 
 by our grandsires was the first expression of the direct 
 primary. 
 
 Thirty-four states now nominate by means of the 
 direct primary. Twenty-eight of these states have extended 
 the system to nomination of candidates for United States 
 Senator and twelve have included Presidential preference 
 primaries. New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, 
 Ohio, Nebraska, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, South 
 Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Washington, Wisconsin and 
 California are among the states that have made changes 
 in their election laws within the past two years. 
 
 The rapid spread of the direct primary system, its 
 great favor with the people, I submit, is a verdict in con¬ 
 firming my belief that the direct primary should not only 
 be extended to all of the elective offices in the Common¬ 
 wealth of Pennsylvania, but to the naming of the United 
 State Senators, and as a means of giving the people of the 
 Commonwealth an opportunity for the individual expres- 
 
3 
 
 sion of their preference for a candidate for President, 
 hence the bill that I have prepared and made a part of this 
 report. 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF CITIES BY A COMMISSION. 
 
 Recognizing a widespread desire on the part of a 
 number of cities in this Commonwealth to adopt commis¬ 
 sion government, after studying the various laws of other 
 States on the subject, I instructed the Secretary of the 
 Commission, William H. Hay, to draft a bill on the lines 
 of the New Jersey Act. This bill, through its provisions, 
 permits cities to adopt commission government by the vote 
 of the people. 
 
 The success of commission government in the rebuild¬ 
 ing of Galveston, Texas, attracted the attention of the 
 country to the possibilities of the system of governing cities 
 by a commission. Des Moines, Iowa, was one of the first 
 to apply it to the administration of its civic affairs. Boston, 
 Massachusetts, soon followed, and it is now in force in over 
 two hundred cities in the country. 
 
 In regard to the question of the Initiative, Referendum 
 and Recall, these institutions are provided for in the accom¬ 
 panying bill for commission form of government for cities. 
 Provision has been made therein that every city having a 
 population of one million or above shall be governed by a 
 Board of seven Commissioners; over one hundred thou¬ 
 sand, by five, and under one hundred thousand, by three 
 Commissioners. After their election the members elect 
 one of their number “Mayor.” The Board of Commission¬ 
 ers shall have and possess all administrative, judicial and 
 legislative powers and duties now exercised by the Mayor, 
 the Directors, and the City Council. The duties, according 
 to the number of Commissioners, are divided into depart¬ 
 ments, as follows: 
 
 In cities governed by a Board of Seven Commissioners: 
 
 i.* Department of Public Affairs. 
 
4 
 
 2. Department of Revenue and Finance. 
 
 3. Department of Public Safety. 
 
 4. Department of Public Works and Highways. 
 
 5. Department of Parks and Public Property. 
 
 6. Department of Health, Sanitation and Charities. 
 
 7. Department of Supplies. 
 
 In cities governed by a Board of Five Commissioners: 
 
 1. Department of Public Affairs 
 
 2. Department of Revenue, Finance and Supplies. 
 
 3. Department of Public Safety and Public Property. 
 
 4. Department of Public Works and Highways. 
 
 5. Department of Health, Sanitation and Charities. 
 
 In cities governed by a Board of Three Commissioners : 
 
 1. Department of Public Affairs, Public Safety, Pub¬ 
 lic Health and Sanitation. 
 
 2. Department of Revenue, Finance and Supplies. 
 
 3. Department of Public Works, Highways and Pub¬ 
 lic Property. 
 
 Believing, as I do, in the short ballot and in the con¬ 
 centration of responsibility in the government of munici¬ 
 palities, I am constrained to strongly urge the passage of 
 an act which will enable its adoption by cities in this Com¬ 
 monwealth which desire government by commission. 
 
 WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 I cannot concur in the action of my colleagues in 
 returning with a negative recommendation a bill to amend 
 the Constitution to provide for equal suffrage. This bill 
 was referred to the Commission by the State Senate Com¬ 
 mittee on Judiciary General. 
 
5 
 
 Twenty-eight states have legislated the right to vote 
 to women, nine of the states having equal suffrage. There 
 is sufficient demand for this legislation as to justify a 
 doubt as to the desires of the people of this Commonwealth. 
 The question of equal suffrage is one of such importance 
 that I feel we have no right to deny the people the privilege 
 of voting upon it. 
 
 States having equal suffrage, including the date of such 
 legislation, are: Wyoming, 1869; Colorado, 1893; Idaho, 
 1896; Utah, 1896; California, 1911; Arizona, 1912; Kan¬ 
 sas, 1912; Oregon, 1912, and Washington, 1910. 
 
 I therefore recommend the passage of a Constitutional 
 Amendment permitting the people of Pennsylvania to vote 
 upon this measure. In making this recommendation, I wish 
 to emphasize the fact that it is not to be taken as an expres¬ 
 sion of my personal views upon Woman Suffrage. I am 
 prompted to assume this position by a sense of fair play, 
 and a desire to see this question settled by the people. 
 
 SHORT BALLOT. 
 
 In many instances the ballot can be shortened only by 
 means of Constitutional Amendment, but the demand is 
 so widespread that it seems proper to call attention to some 
 of the things that could be thus accomplished. 
 
 State officers, such as State Treasurer, Auditor-Gen¬ 
 eral and Secretary of Internal Affairs, are business officers, 
 requiring chiefly business experience coupled with honesty. 
 Popular interest in these offices is at a minimum. Nor are 
 the people of the entire State in a position to judge of the 
 business qualifications of the candidates by their appearance 
 on the stump. How can a voter in an eastern county be 
 expected to pass upon the qualifications of a candidate for 
 State Treasurer from Pittsburgh, for example. Political 
 considerations enter too much into the selection of men to 
 fill State offices of a business character—often to the detri¬ 
 ment of the people. 
 
6 
 
 The Constitution should be so altered as to provide 
 for the appointment by the Governor of the Auditor-Gen¬ 
 eral, State Treasurer, and Secretary of Internal Affairs. 
 With this added power in the hands of the Governor, the 
 people would be even more careful in selecting the best 
 candidate for this position. I am convinced that the more 
 important the office of Governor is made, and the greater 
 the power bestowed, the more care will be exercised in 
 filling this office. And in the event of poor appointments, 
 the people may know just where to place the responsibility. 
 
 If the power to appoint State officers was vested in 
 the Governor, a safeguard could be provided, if desired, 
 through a provision for their recall by the Legislature at 
 its biennial session, or by popular vote. If by the latter, I 
 would favor the system of Party Recall. For my part, I 
 do not believe in recall except as applied to Commission 
 Form of Government for Cities, where it is a necessary 
 safeguard. 
 
 ASSISTANCE OF VOTERS. 
 
 L T nder the General Election Laws of this State, “if 
 any voter declares to the judge of election that by reason 
 of any disability he desires assistance in the preparation of 
 his ballot, he shall be permitted by the judge of election to 
 select a qualified voter of the election district to aid him in 
 the preparation of his ballot, such preparation being made 
 in the voting compartment.” Under the laws of this State 
 regulating Uniform Primaries * * * no elector shall 
 
 be permitted to receive any assistance in marking his ballot, 
 unless he shall first make an affidavit that he cannot read 
 the names on the ballot, or that by reason of physical dis¬ 
 ability he is unable to mark his ballot.” Gross abuses have 
 grown up under the provisions of the former law, and I 
 am heartily in favor of regulating the assistance of voters 
 at General Elections in a manner now applying at Uniform 
 Primaries. It has been urged that it would be too difficult 
 to enforce such limitations in assistance at General Elec- 
 
7 
 
 tions, but if separate ballot systems, which the Commission 
 has recommended shall be adopted, there can be no good 
 reason why voters should not be thus limited in their 
 assistance to cast their ballots. During the session of the 
 Legislature of 1907, I spoke in favor of a bill, then pro¬ 
 posed, applying these provisions to the General Election, 
 and in accordance with my position then taken, I urgently 
 recommend the enactment into a law of this additional 
 safeguard to honest elections. 
 
 Since then I have joined my colleagues on the Commis¬ 
 sion in recommending the enactment of a similar provision 
 contained in the report of the Commission to the Legisla¬ 
 ture of 1911, and I earnestly concur in the same recom¬ 
 mendation which is repeated in the majority report. 
 
 LIMITATION OF CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES. 
 
 I have not prepared a bill covering this subject, but I 
 desire to bring this matter to the attention of the Legisla¬ 
 ture in the hope that some law will be enacted which will 
 limit the amount of money a candidate for public office 
 may lawfully expend. Public office is not a chattel, to be 
 purchased by the highest bidder. It is a public trust. Too 
 often have men attained office, not by reason of their ability, 
 but only because of the lavish expenditure of money. And 
 while the Corrupt Practice Act defines the purposes for 
 which money may be spent, it places no limit upon the 
 amount. The amount to which a candidate should be 
 limited should be based upon a consideration of the salary, 
 and the size of the constituency. The recent act of Con¬ 
 gress, limiting the amount which candidates for the United 
 States Senate and the House of Representatives may law¬ 
 fully expend, is a step in the right direction, which should 
 enable the candidate of moderate means to compete with 
 his more wealthy rival. It now remains for the State to 
 continue the good work by placing proper restrictions upon 
 the expenditures of candidates for state, county and 
 municipal offices. 
 
8 
 
 CONDENSED MEMORANDUM OF THE ELECTION 
 LAWS OF THE VARIOUS STATES. 
 
 There will accompany the majority report, as a part 
 of the same, a comprehensive digest of the election laws of 
 the various States. I commend this digest to the members 
 of your honorable bodies as a ready means of obtaining 
 valuable information in re the election laws of our sister 
 States. The data for this digest was collected and arranged 
 by Mr. William H. Hay, the Secretary of the Commission. 
 
 A recapitulation of this digest shows the following 
 interesting facts: 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 Registration. 
 
 Personal Registration 
 and Party Enrollment, 17 States 
 Personal Registration 
 without Party Enroll¬ 
 
 ment .24 States 
 
 Other methods . 7 States 
 
 Nomination. 
 
 Uniform Primary Di¬ 
 rect .30 States 
 
 Party Primary Direct .. 4 States 
 Party Primary .14 States 
 
 Ballot. 
 
 New York Form.27 States 
 
 Massachusetts Form ... 15 States 
 
 No Legal Form .4 States 
 
 Other . 2 States 
 
 Woman Suffrage. 
 
 Equal Suffrage . 9 States 
 
 Limited Suffrage .19 States 
 
 Initiative, Referendum 
 and Recall. 
 
 Initiative .15 States 
 
 Referendum .16 States 
 
 Recall . 8 States 
 
 Preference Primary. 
 
 Presidential .12 States 
 
 Senatorial .28 States 
 
 I concurred in and voted in favor of the bills which 
 will be submitted with the report of my colleagues provid¬ 
 ing for a State-wide party enrollment; a system of selling 
 poll taxes at the polls on registration days; the separate 
 ballot system; designating a single court for filing applica¬ 
 tions for preempting party names and increasing the num¬ 
 ber of signers to the petition for the same; and provid¬ 
 ing for the payment of mileage to the inspector in coun¬ 
 try districts for returning ballot boxes after the election. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 William Coleman Freeman 
 
UNIFORM PRIMARIES 
 
 AN ACT 
 
 To amend an amendment approved April sixth, nineteen hundred and 
 eleven, of an act “Providing a uniform method of electing certain 
 party officers, and delegates to the State and National conventions, 
 and of making nomination to certain public offices; providing for 
 the payment of the expenses of the same; making certain viola¬ 
 tions thereof misdemeanors, and prescribing penalties for the 
 violations of its provisions,” approved the seventeenth day of 
 February, Anno Domini one thousand nine hundred and six, by 
 providing that all candidates for elective public offices now nom¬ 
 inated by delegates to State conventions shall be nominated by 
 direct vote or as otherwise specified; providing that the names of 
 candidates for the office of United States Senator shall be placed 
 on the official primary election ballots of their respective parties; 
 providing that candidates for the Legislature shall make and sign 
 statements regarding vote on United States Senator; providing 
 for the number of signers to the nominating petition for candi¬ 
 dates for the office of Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary 
 of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, Auditor-General, and 
 Secretary of Internal Affairs; providing that the signed consent 
 of the candidates shall accompany every petition to place his name 
 upon the primary ballot; providing that no candidate’s name shall 
 be printed upon the ballot of more than one party, except with 
 the consent of every such party, and providing for the withdrawal 
 of candidates. 
 
 Section i. Be it enacted, etc., That section two of 
 an act, entitled “An act providing a uniform method of 
 electing certain party officers and delegates to the State and 
 National conventions, and of making nominations for cer¬ 
 tain public offices; providing for the payment of the expenses 
 of the same; making certain violations thereof misdemean¬ 
 ors, and prescribing penalties for the violations of its pro¬ 
 visions, M approved February seventeenth, Anno Domini one 
 thousand nine hundred and six, which reads as follows, to 
 wit: 
 
 9 
 
10 
 
 Section 2. From and after the approval of this act 
 one primary shall be held each year, in every election dis¬ 
 trict of this Commonwealth in which nominations are to be 
 made or delegates or party officers elected as herein pro¬ 
 vided. The said primaries shall be held on the last Saturday 
 of September in all odd-numbered years, and on the second 
 Saturday of April in all even-numbered years. The primary 
 held on the last Saturday of September shall be known as 
 the Fall primary, and the primary held on the second Satur¬ 
 day of April shall be known as the Spring primary. 
 
 Delegates to State and National conventions, except 
 delegates-at-large to National conventions, which shall be 
 elected by the State convention, shall be elected at the 
 Spring primary, throughout the Commonwealth, by any 
 party or body of electors one of whose candidates, at either 
 the general or municipal election preceding polled two per 
 centum of the largest entire vote cast in the State for any 
 candidate at the last general election. Candidates for all 
 offices to be filled at the general election with the exception 
 of those nominated by National or State conventions, shall 
 be nominated at the Spring primary. Candidates for all 
 offices to be filled at the municipal election shall be nomi¬ 
 nated at the Fall primary; and such party officers as are 
 provided for by the rules of the several political parties, to 
 be elected by vote of the party electors, shall be elected at the 
 Spring primary, by any political party or body of electors 
 one of whose candidates, at either the general or municipal 
 election preceding such primary, polled two per centum of 
 the largest entire vote cast in the political district, in which 
 nominations are to be made or candidates elected, for any 
 candidate at the last general election. 
 
 No delegates to State or National conventions, or offi¬ 
 cers of parties, shall be elected, or candidates for the public 
 offices herein specified, be nominated, in any other manner 
 than as set forth in this act; Provided, That nothing herein 
 contained shall prevent the nomination of candidates for 
 borough or township offices, or other offices not herein spe- 
 
11 
 
 cifically enumerated, in the manner provided by existing 
 laws; or any association of electors, not constituting a party, 
 from nominating candidates by nomination papers, as is 
 provided by existing laws. 
 
 This act shall not apply to the nomination of candi¬ 
 dates for Presidential electors, or to the nomination of can¬ 
 didates to be voted for at special elections to fill the vacan¬ 
 cies ; but it shall not be construed to prevent the nomination 
 of Presidential electors at primaries, if the rules of the 
 respective parties so provide,” be and the same is hereby 
 amended so as to read as follows: 
 
 Section 2. From and after the approval of this act 
 one primary shall be held each year, in every election dis¬ 
 trict of this Commonwealth in which nominations are to be 
 made or delegates or party officers elected as herein pro¬ 
 vided. The said primaries shall be held on the last Saturday 
 of September in all odd-numbered years, and on the second 
 Saturday of April in all even-numbered years. The primary 
 held on the last Saturday of September shall be known as 
 the Fall primary, and the primary held on the second Satur¬ 
 day in April shall be known as the Spring primary. 
 
 Delegates to National conventions, shall be elected at 
 the Spring primary, throughout the Commonwealth, by any 
 party or body of electors, one of whose candidates at either 
 the general or municipal election preceding polled two per 
 centum of the largest entire vote cast in the State for any 
 candidate at the last general election. Candidates for all 
 offices to be filled at the general election, with the exception 
 of those nominated by National conventions, shall be nomi¬ 
 nated at the Spring primary. Candidates for all offices to 
 be filled at the municipal election shall be nominated at the 
 Fall primary; and such party officers as are provided for by 
 the rules of the several political parties, to be elected by vote 
 of the party electors, shall be elected at the Spring primary, 
 by any political party or body of electors one of whose can¬ 
 didates, at either the general or municipal election preceding 
 
12 
 
 such primary, polled two per centum of the largest entire 
 vote cast in the political district, in which nominations are 
 to be made or candidates elected, for any candidate at the 
 last general election. 
 
 No delegates to National conventions, or officers of 
 parties, shall be elected, or candidates for the public offices 
 herein specified be nominated, in any other manner than 
 as set forth in this act: Provided, That party candidates 
 for the office of United States senator shall have their names 
 placed in the official primary election ballots of their respec¬ 
 tive parties, in the manner provided in this act for State 
 officers; and also provided that nothing herein contained 
 shall prevent the nomination of candidates for borough or 
 township offices, or other offices not herein specifically 
 enumerated, in the manner provided by existing laws; or 
 any association of electors, not constituting a party, from 
 nominating candidates by nomination papers, as is provided 
 by existing laws. 
 
 This act shall not apply to the nomination of candi¬ 
 dates for Presidential electors, or to the nomination of 
 candidates to be voted for at special elections to fill the 
 vacancies, but it shall not be construed to prevent the nomi¬ 
 nation of Presidential electors at primaries, if the rules of 
 the respective parties so provide. 
 
 Section 2. That section three of said act, which reads 
 as follows: 
 
 “Section 3. On or before the ninth Saturday preced¬ 
 ing the primary, the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall 
 send to the county commissioners in each county a written 
 notice, setting forth the number of Congressmen and officers 
 of the Commonwealth not nominated by State conventions, 
 to be elected or voted for therein at the next succeeding 
 election. 
 
 On or before the same date, in even numbered years, 
 the chairman of the State Committee of each party shall 
 send to the county commissioners a written notice, setting 
 
13 
 
 forth the number of delegates to be elected in such county 
 to the State and National conventions of such party. 
 
 On or before the ninth Saturday preceding the Spring 
 primary the chairman of the county committee of each party 
 shall send to the county commissioners of such county a 
 written notice, setting forth the names of all party officers 
 to be filled by election at the ensuing primary. 
 
 On or before the ninth Saturday preceding the Fall 
 primary, the chairman of the county committee of each 
 party, shall send to the county commissioners of such county 
 a written notice, setting forth the names of all county and 
 city offices to be filled by the election at the ensuing primary. 
 
 Upon receipt of such notices, and beginning within one 
 week thereafter, such county commissioners shall publish 
 the number of delegates to be elected to the State and 
 National conventions of each party, together with the names 
 of all offices for which nominations are to be made or candi¬ 
 dates for the party offices to be elected, within the county, 
 at the ensuing primary, at least one week for three successive 
 weeks, in two newspapers of general circulation published 
 within the county, wherever such course is possible. Such 
 newspapers, so far as practicable, shall be representative of 
 different political parties,” be and the same is hereby 
 amended so as to read as follows: 
 
 Section 3. On or before the ninth Saturday preced¬ 
 ing the primary, the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall 
 send to the county commissioners in each county, a written 
 notice, setting forth the number of Congressmen and officers 
 of the Commonwealth to be elected or voted for therein at 
 the next succeeding election; this notice in a year preceding 
 the election of a United States Senator in Congress shall 
 include that office. 
 
 On or before the same date, in even numbered years, 
 the chairman of the State Committee of each party shall 
 send to the county commissioners a written notice, setting 
 
14 
 
 forth the number of delegates to be elected in such county 
 to the National conventions of such party. 
 
 On or before the ninth Saturday preceding the Spring 
 primary, the chairman of the county committee of each 
 party shall send to the county commissioners of such county 
 a written notice setting forth the name of all party offices 
 to be filled by election at the ensuing primary. 
 
 On or before the ninth Saturday preceding the Fall 
 primary, the chairman of the county committee of each 
 party shall send to the county commissioners of such county 
 a written notice, setting forth the names of all county and 
 city offices to be filled'by the election of the ensuing primary. 
 
 Upon receipt of such notices, and beginning within one 
 week thereafter, such county commissioners shall publish 
 the number of delegates to be elected to the National con¬ 
 ventions of each party together with the names of all offices 
 for which nominations are to be made or candidates for the 
 party offices to be elected, within the county, at the ensuing 
 primary at least once each week for three successive weeks 
 in two newspapers of general circulation published within 
 the county, wherever such course is possible. Such news¬ 
 papers, so far as practicable, shall be representative of 
 different political parties. 
 
 Section 3. That section five of said act which reads 
 as follows: 
 
 Section 5. The names of candidates shall be printed 
 upon the official ballot of a designated party, upon the 
 filing of petitions, signed by qualified electors of the political 
 district division within which the nomination or election is to 
 be made, setting forth that the signers thereof are members 
 of the party designated. 
 
 The said petition, in the case of candidates for Con¬ 
 gress or for State offices, shall be filed at least four weeks 
 prior to the primary, with the Secretary of the Common¬ 
 wealth; and in all other cases shall be filed, at least three 
 
15 
 
 weeks prior to the primary, with the county commissioners 
 of the respective counties. 
 
 The number of signers shall be as follows: 
 
 1. Candidates for nomination for members of Con¬ 
 gress, Judges of the various courts, and State Senator, two 
 hundred qualified electors. 
 
 2. Candidates for nomination for members of the 
 State House of Representatives, and for offices to be voted 
 for by the entire county, fifty qualified electors. 
 
 3. Candidates for nomination for all other offices, 
 for delegates to State and National conventions, and for 
 party offices, ten qualified electors/’ be amended to read as 
 follows: 
 
 “Section 5. The names of candidates shall be 
 printed upon the official ballot of a designated party upon 
 the filing of petitions signed by qualified electors of the 
 political district or division within which the nomination or 
 election is to be made, setting forth that the signers thereof 
 are members of the party designated and accompanied by 
 the signed consent of the candidate, duly acknowledged in 
 the manner provided for the acknowledgment of deeds: 
 Provided, That after a petition has been filed to place the 
 name of a candidate upon the ballot of any party, no petition 
 shall be filed to place his name upon the ballot of any other 
 party unless he shall first withdraw as a candidate of such 
 party, or unless such petition shall be accompanied by the 
 written consent of every party whose nomination he seeks, 
 signified by the certificate of the chairman of the respective 
 party committees for the political district for which said 
 nomination is to be made, that such committee consents 
 thereto. 
 
 The said petition in the case of candidates for United 
 States Senate, Congress, or for State offices, shall be filed 
 at least four weeks prior to the primary with the Secretary 
 of the Commonwealth, and in all other cases shall be filed 
 
16 
 
 at least three weeks prior to the primary with the county 
 commissioners of the respective counties. 
 
 The number of signers shall be as follows: 
 
 1. Candidates for nomination for Governor and 
 United States Senator, ioo qualified electors in each county 
 in the Commomvealth. 
 
 2. Candidates for nomination for Lieutenant-Gov¬ 
 ernor, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, 
 Auditor-General and Secretary Internal Affairs, fifty quali¬ 
 fied electors in each county of the Commonwealth. 
 
 3 Candidates for nomination for members of Con¬ 
 gress, Judges of the various courts and State Senators, two 
 hundred qualified electors. 
 
 4. Candidates for nomination for members of the 
 State House of Representatives and for offices to be voted 
 for by the entire county, fifty qualified electors. 
 
 5. Candidates for nomination for all other offices, 
 for delegates to conventions and for party offices, ten 
 qualified electors. 
 
 Candidates for the office of State Senator, or member 
 of the State House of Representatives, or for election to 
 either of such offices at any primary election next preceding 
 the election of a United States Senator in Congress, shall 
 include with his affidavit, one of the two statements herein¬ 
 after set forth in this section and subdivision, and his failure 
 to include either of such statements shall he a valid ground 
 on the part of the Secretary of State for refusal to receive 
 and file his nomination paper or papers. Such statements 
 shall be in substantially the following form: 
 
 Statement No. 1. 
 
 I further declare to the people of Pennsylvania and to 
 the people of the . (senatorial or assembly) dis¬ 
 
 trict that during my term of office, without regard to any 
 individual preference, I will akmys vote for that candidate 
 
17 
 
 for United States Senator in Congress, who shall have 
 received for that office the highest number of votes cast for 
 that position at the general election next preceding the elec¬ 
 tion of a senator in Congress. 
 
 Signature of Candidate. 
 
 Statement No. 2. 
 
 I further declare to the people of Pennsylvania and to 
 
 the people of the . (senatorial or assembly) 
 
 district, that during my term of office, I shall consider the 
 vote of the people for United States Senator in Congress as 
 nothing more than a recommendation, which I shall be at 
 liberty wholly to disregard, if the reasons for so doing seem 
 to me sufficient. 
 
 Signature of Candidate. 
 
 On the ballot used at the primary election, after or 
 under the name of each candidate for state senator, or 
 assemblyman, shall appear the words, “Signed statement 
 No. 1” or “Signed statement No. 2” according as the candi¬ 
 date included with his affidavit“Statement No. 1,” or “State¬ 
 ment No. 2.” And the wording of both f( Statement No. 1” 
 and “Statement No. 2” shall appear at length on the face of 
 the ballot in a convenient and conspicuous place. 
 
 Any person for whom a petition has been filed as afore¬ 
 said may, at any time up to ten days before the primary, 
 withdraw his name with the same effect as if such petition 
 had never been filed, by filing in the office in which such 
 petition was filed his written withdrawal, duly acknowledged 
 in the manner provided for the acknowledgment of deeds. 
 
COMMISSION GOVERNMENT FOR 
 CITIES, ETC. 
 
 AN ACT 
 
 Relating to, regulating and providing for the government of cities, 
 towns, boroughs and other municipalities within this State. 
 
 Be it enacted, etc. 
 
 1. All cities, towns, boroughs and other municipalities 
 of this State that hereinafter adopt the provisions of this 
 act shall be governed as herein set forth, and wherever the 
 word “city” or “cities” appears in this act, it shall be con¬ 
 strued to mean “town” or “towns,” “borough” or “bor¬ 
 oughs,” or other “municipality” or “municipalities.” 
 
 2. At the first election held in such city next after 
 the adoption of the provisions of this act as herein pro¬ 
 vided, there shall be elected in such cities, by the duly 
 authorized voters therein, the number of persons as herein¬ 
 after provided to be commissioners of such city, each of 
 whom shall have been a citizen and resident of such city 
 for at least two years immediately preceding his election 
 as such commissioner, who shall serve as such commissioner 
 until the third Tuesday in May in the fourth year follow¬ 
 ing such election and until their successors are elected and 
 shall have duly qualified and every fourth year thereafter, 
 at the regular municipal election in such city, there shall be 
 elected the number of persons as hereinafter provided as 
 commissioners with like qualifications to serve for the 
 term of four years and until their successors have been 
 elected and duly qualified. Should any vacancy occur 
 among such commissioners the remaining commissioners 
 shall, within thirty days thereafter, elect a properly qualified 
 person to fill such vacancy to serve for the unexpired term. 
 
 18 
 
19 
 
 The term of office of such commissioners first elected under 
 the provisions of this act shall commence on the first Tues¬ 
 day following such election, and the term of office of all 
 succeeding commissioners shall commence on the third 
 Tuesday of May next ensuing after their election, at twelve 
 o’clock, noon, and, upon the organizing of the commis¬ 
 sioners in any such city, elected under this act, the City 
 Council or other governing body or bodies theretofore act¬ 
 ing as governing body or bodies in such city and having 
 any other function shall be ipso facto abolished, and the 
 terms of all councilmen, civil service commissioners, and all 
 other officers, whether elective or appointive, whose offices 
 shall conflict with the provisions of this act, shall immedi¬ 
 ately cease and determine, providing, however, that nothing 
 herein contained shall be construed to effect in any way, 
 the term of office of any policeman, fireman, or other 
 employe of any police or fire department, veteran of any 
 war, or other official or employe now protected by any 
 tenure of office act. 
 
 Section 3. Every city, having by the last preceding 
 State or National census, one million population or above, 
 shall be governed by a board of commissioners consisting 
 of seven commissioners, and every city having, by the last 
 census, one hundred thousand or over population, shall be 
 governed by a board of commissioners consisting of five 
 commissioners, and every city, borough or town, having, 
 by the last preceding census, under one hundred thousand 
 population, shall be governed by a board of commissioners 
 consisting of three commissioners chosen as provided by 
 this act, each of whom shall have the right to vote on all 
 questions coming before the board of commissioners; pro¬ 
 vided, however, that the number of the commissioners in any 
 city may be increased from three to five or decreased from 
 five to three by an ordinance adopted by the board of com¬ 
 missioners in accordance with all the provisions of this act. 
 A majority of the members of the board of commissioners 
 
20 
 
 shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of a 
 majority of all the members shall be necessary to adopt 
 any motion, resolution or ordinance, or pass any measure 
 unless otherwise provided for in this act. Every resolution 
 or ordinance shall be reduced to writing and read before 
 the vote is taken thereon, and the vote upon every such 
 motion, resolution or ordinance shall be by yeas and nays, 
 and shall be recorded. At the first meeting, after their 
 election, the said commissioners shall choose one of their 
 number to preside at all meetings of the board of commis¬ 
 sioners, and he shall be designated “Mayor,” but he shall 
 have no power to veto any measure. Every resolution or 
 ordinance passed by the board of commissioners must be 
 in writing and signed by a majority of all the commissioners. 
 
 Section 4. The board of commissioners shall have 
 and possess all administrative, judicial and legislative powers 
 and duties now had and possessed and exercised by the 
 Mayor and City Council and all other executive or legisla¬ 
 tive bodies in said city, and have complete control over 
 the affairs of the city adopting the provisions of this act. 
 The executive, administrative and legislative powers, 
 authority and duties in such city shall be distributed accord¬ 
 ing to census requirements enumerated in Section 3 of 
 this act as follows: The executive, administrative and leg¬ 
 islative powers, authority and duties in such city allotted 
 seven commissioners into seven departments; in cities 
 allotted five commissioners, into five departments, and in 
 cities allotted three commissioners, three departments, in 
 order as follows: 
 
 1. Department of Public Affairs. 
 
 2. Department of Revenue and Finance. 
 
 3. Department of Public Safety. 
 
 4. Department of Public Works and Highways. 
 
 5. Department of Parks and Public Property. 
 
 6. Department of Health, Sanitation and Charities. 
 
 7. Department of Supplies. 
 
 m 
 
21 
 
 In cities governed by a board of five commissioners: 
 
 1. Department of Public Affairs. 
 
 2. Department of Revenue, Finance and Supplies. 
 
 3. Department of Public Safety and Public Property. 
 
 4. Department of Public Works and Highways. 
 
 5. Department of Health, Sanitation and Charities. 
 
 In cities governed by a board of three commissioners: 
 
 1. Department of Public Affairs, Public Safety, Pub¬ 
 lic Health and Sanitation. 
 
 2. Department of Revenue, Finance and Supplies. 
 
 3. Department of Public Works, Highways and Pub¬ 
 lic Property. 
 
 Section 5. The board of commissioners shall deter¬ 
 mine the powers and duties to be performed by each depart¬ 
 ment and assign such powers and duties to the appropriate 
 departments, and they shall prescribe the powers and duties 
 of all officers and employes and they may assign particular 
 officers and employes to one or more departments and may 
 require any officer or employe to perform duties in two 
 or more departments and make such other rules and regula¬ 
 tions as may be necessary or proper for the efficient and 
 economical conduct of the business of the city. 
 
 The Mayor shall be the director of the Department of 
 Public Affairs, and the board of commissioners shall, at 
 the first regular meeting, after the election of its members 
 designate by majority vote one commissioner to be director 
 of the Department of Revenue and Finance, one to be 
 director of the Department of Public Safety, one to be 
 director of the Department of Public Works and Highways, 
 one to be director of the Department of Parks and Public 
 Property, one to be director of the Department of Health, 
 Sanitation and Charities, one to be director of the Depart¬ 
 ment of Supplies, except that upon the organization of a 
 board of five or three commissioners, but five or three 
 departments shall be designated as above provided, and, 
 but five or three directors voted for, and such designation 
 
22 
 
 may be changed whenever it appears that the public service 
 would be benefited thereby. 
 
 The board of commissioners shall, at the first meeting, 
 or as soon as may be after organization, create such sub¬ 
 ordinate boards and appoint such officers as it may deem 
 necessary for the proper and efficient conduct of the affairs 
 of the city. Any board created may be abated, or any 
 officer or employe appointed by the board of commissioners 
 may be removed from office at any time for cause, after 
 public hearing, and such board of commissioners shall be 
 the sole judge of the sufficiency of the cause of such 
 removal. 
 
 The Mayor and board of commissioners shall have 
 suitable offices and their total compensation shall be as 
 follows: In such cities having by the last preceding State 
 or national census, more than one million population, the 
 Mayor’s salary shall be not more than fifteen thousand 
 dollars, annually, and that of each commissioner shall be 
 not more than twelve thousand dollars annually; in cities 
 having, by the last census, a population of over five hundred 
 thousand, and not exceeding one million, the Mayor’s annual 
 salary shall not be more than twelve thousand dollars, and 
 that of each commissioner shall not be more than ten thou¬ 
 sand dollars; in cities having from one hundred thousand to 
 five hundred thousand population, the Mayor’s annual salary 
 shall be not more than eight thousand dollars and that of 
 each commissioner shall be not more than six thousand dol¬ 
 lars ; in cities, boroughs and towns having from fifty to one 
 hundred thousand population, the Mayor’s annual salary 
 shall not be more than four thousand dollars and that of 
 each commissioner shall not be more than twenty-five hun¬ 
 dred dollars; in cities, boroughs and towns having twenty- 
 five to fifty thousand population, the Mayor’s annual salary 
 shall not exceed twenty-five hundred dollars, and that of 
 each commissioner shall not be more than two thousand 
 dollars; in cities, boroughs and towns having a population 
 from twelve to twenty-five thousand, the Mayor’s annual 
 
23 
 
 salary shall not be more than two thousand dollars and 
 that of each commissioner shall not be more than fifteen 
 hundred dollars; in cities, boroughs and towns having a 
 population of from five to twelve thousand, the Mayor’s 
 annual salary shall not be more than fifteen hundred dollars 
 and that of each commissioner shall not be more than one 
 thousand dollars; in cities, boroughs and towns having a 
 population of from twenty-five to fifty hundred, the Mayor’s 
 annual salary shall not be more than one thousand dollars 
 and that of each commissioner shall not be more than seven 
 hundred and fifty dollars; in cities, boroughs and towns 
 having a population of one thousand to two thousand five 
 hundred, the Mayor’s annual salary shall not exceed seven 
 hundred and fifty dollars and that of each commissioner 
 shall not exceed more than five hundred dollars; in cities, 
 boroughs and towns having a population from five hundred 
 to one thousand, the Mayor’s annual salary shall not be 
 more than five hundred dollars and that of each commis¬ 
 sioner shall be not more than two hundred and fifty dollars; 
 in cities, boroughs and towns having a population from one 
 hundred to five hundred, the Mayor’s annual salary shall 
 not be more than one hundred dollars and that of each 
 commissioner not more than seventy-five dollars. 
 
 The salary and compensation of all other officers and 
 employes of the city shall be fixed by the board of com¬ 
 missioners and shall be payable monthly or at shorter 
 periods, as they shall determine; provided, however, that 
 the compensation of the commissioners shall be fixed by an 
 ordinance adopted by the board of commissioners imme¬ 
 diately after the organization of the board, in accordance 
 with all the provisions of this act. The compensation so 
 fixed shall not be increased during the term for which such 
 commissioners are elected. 
 
 Section 6. The board of commissioners shall desig¬ 
 nate the time of holding regular meetings, which shall be 
 at least once a week, and special meetings may be called 
 
24 
 
 from time to time by the mayor or by two commissioners. 
 All meetings of the commissioners, whether regular or 
 special, shall be open to the public, and any citizen may have 
 access to the minutes upon application to the city clerk. 
 
 The Mayor shall be President of the board and shall 
 preside at its meetings and supervise all departments and 
 report to the board for its action all matters requiring the 
 attention of the board on any department. Director of 
 the Department of Revenue and Finance shall be Vice- 
 President of the board, and, in case of vacancy in the office 
 of Mayor, shall perform the duties of that office. 
 
 Section 7. Every ordinance or resolution appropri¬ 
 ating money, ordering any street improvement, or sewer, 
 or authorizing the making of any contract or granting any 
 franchises, or the right to occupy or use the streets, high¬ 
 ways, bridges or public places of the city for any purpose, 
 shall be complete in the form in which it is finally passed 
 and remain on file with the Mayor, for public inspection 
 at least two weeks before the final passage or adoption 
 thereof. No franchise, or right to occupy or use the streets, 
 highways, bridges or public places in any city shall be 
 granted, renewed or extended except by ordinance; and 
 every ordinance shall be published in said city before being 
 finally passed upon and must receive the approval, by vote, 
 of one or more than a majority of all the members before 
 being finally adopted. 
 
 Section 8. No officer or employe elected or appointed 
 in any such city shall be interested, directly or indirectly, 
 in any contract or job for work or materials, or the profits 
 thereof, or services to be furnished or performed for the 
 city, and no such officer or employe shall be interested, 
 directly or indirectly, in any contract or job for work or 
 materials, or the profits thereof, or services to be furnished 
 or performed, for any person, firm or corporation, operat¬ 
 ing interurban railway, street railway, gas works, water 
 
25 
 
 works, electric light or power plant, heating plant, telegraph 
 line, telephone exchange, or other public utility within the 
 territorial limits of said city. No such officers or employes 
 shall accept or receive, directly or indirectly, from any 
 person, firm or corporation operating within the territorial 
 limits of said city, any interurban railway, street railway, 
 gas works, electric light or power plant, heating plant, tele¬ 
 graph line, telephone exchange or other business using or 
 operating under a public franchise, any frank, free pass, 
 free tickets, or free service, or accept or receive, directly or 
 indirectly, from any such person, firm or corporation, any 
 other service upon terms more favorable than is granted 
 to the public generally. And for the violation of these 
 provisions the offender shall be punished as now provided, 
 or may be provided hereafter by law or ordinance. 
 
 Such prohibition of free transportation shall not apply 
 to policemen or firemen in uniform, nor shall any free 
 service to city officials heretofore provided by any franchise 
 or ordinance be affected by this section. 
 
 Section 9. All cities adopting the provisions of this 
 act shall be and are hereby vested with the general powers 
 and authority to enact and enforce by imposition of reason¬ 
 able fines or by imprisonment or both, all ordinances neces¬ 
 sary for the protection of life, health and property; to 
 declare and prevent and summarily to abate nuisances to pre¬ 
 serve and enforce the good government and general welfare, 
 order and security of such city, and shall have all powers 
 necessary for its government not in conflict with the laws 
 applicable to all cities of this State or the provisions of the 
 Constitution. 
 
 All ordinances or resolutions heretofore passed in any 
 such cities, not inconsistent with the rights and powers 
 herein granted, shall remain in full force and effect until 
 altered or repealed by the commissioners in the manner 
 herein provided. 
 
26 
 
 Section io. All officers and employes in any such 
 city shall be elected or appointed with reference to their 
 qualifications and fitness, and for the good of the public 
 service, and without reference to their political faith or 
 party affiliations. It shall be unlawful for any candidate 
 for office, or any officer in any such city, directly or indi¬ 
 rectly, to give or promise any person or persons any offices, 
 position, employment, benefit or anything of value for the 
 purpose of influencing or obtaining the political support, 
 aid or vote of any person or persons under the penalty of 
 being disqualified to hold the office to which he may have 
 been elected or appointed. 
 
 Every elective officer, in any such city, shall, within 
 ten days after qualifying, file with the county councilman, 
 and publish at least once in a newspaper printed and pub¬ 
 lished in such city, and if no newspaper is printed or 
 published in such city, then in a newspaper of general 
 circulation in such city, his sworn statement of all his 
 election and campaign expenses, and by whom such funds 
 were contributed. Any violation of the provisions of this 
 section shall be a misdemeanor and a ground for removal 
 from office. 
 
 Section ii. The board of commissioners shall, each 
 month, publish in at least one newspaper in such city, or 
 print in pamphlet form, a detailed itemized statement of 
 all the receipts and expenses of the city and a summary of 
 its proceedings during the preceding month, and shall file 
 and furnish printed copies thereof to all persons who shall 
 apply therefor at the office of the Mayor. At the end of 
 each year the board of commissioners shall cause a full 
 and complete examination of all the books and accounts 
 of the city to be made by competent accountants, and shall 
 publish the result of this examination in the manner above 
 provided for the publication of monthly expenditures. 
 
 Section 12. If, at the beginning of the term of office 
 of the first board of commissioners elected in such city 
 
27 
 
 under the provisions of this act, the appropriations for the 
 expenditures of the city government for the then current 
 fiscal year have been made, the said board of commissioners 
 shall have power, by ordinance, to revise, repeal or change 
 such appropriations, and to make additional appropriations. 
 
 Section 13. The system of public instruction in any 
 city adopting the provisions of this act shall in no way be 
 affected by this act. 
 
 Section 14. In every such city there shall be held a 
 primary election for nomination for commissioners to be 
 elected under the provisions of this act, and the first primary 
 election for such nominations shall be held on the fourth 
 Saturday following the election at which the voters shall 
 have voted to adopt the provisions of this act, and thereafter 
 the primary election for such nomination shall be held on 
 the second Saturday in April in the fourth succeeding year 
 and on the second Saturday in April in the fourth year 
 thereafter. 
 
 The election officers conducting the last general annual 
 election shall be the officers of the primary election as well 
 as the officers of the general municipal election, and the 
 primary and municipal elections shall be held at the same 
 places and conducted in the same manner, so far as possible, 
 and the polls shall be opened and closed at the same hours 
 as provided by the general primary and election laws. 
 
 The names of candidates for commissioners shall, at 
 least ten days prior to the primary election, be filed with 
 the county commissioners in the manner and form and 
 under the conditions hereafter set forth and the petition 
 of nominations shall consist of individual certificates equal 
 in number to at least one-half of one per centum of the 
 entire vote at the last preceding general election, but in no 
 event less than twenty-five, and said petition shall read 
 substantially as follows: 
 
28 
 
 I, the undersigned, a qualified elector of the city of 
 
 ., residing at., certify that 
 
 I do hereby join in a petition for the nomination of. 
 
 ., whose residence is at ., 
 
 for the office of commissioner, to be voted for at the 
 
 primary election to be held in such city on the., 
 
 19. ., and I further certify that I know this candidate to be 
 a qualified elector of said city and a man of good moral 
 character, and qualified, in my judgment, for the duties 
 of such office, and I further certify that I have not signed 
 more petitions or certificates of nominations than there 
 are places to be filled in the above office. 
 
 (Signed) . 
 
 Being duly sworn, deposes and says, that he is the 
 person that signed the foregoing certificate; that the state¬ 
 ments contained therein are true and correct. 
 
 (Signed) . 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me . 
 
 It shall be the duty of the county commissioners to 
 furnish, upon application, a reasonable number of forms 
 of individual certificates of the above character. 
 
 Each certificate must be a separate paper and must 
 contain the name of but one signer thereto, and no more, 
 and shall contain the name of but one candidate, and no 
 more. Each signer must not, at the time of signing the 
 certificate, have signed more certificates for candidates for 
 that office than there are places to be filled in such office, 
 and in case an elector has signed two or more conflicting 
 certificates, all such certificates shall be rejected. 
 
 When such a petition of nomination is presented for 
 file to the county commissioners, they shall forthwith exam¬ 
 ine the same and ascertain whether it conforms to the 
 provisions of this section, and if not found in conformity 
 thereto, they shall designate the defect and return the 
 petition to the person signing it, which may again be 
 presented when properly amended. 
 
29 
 
 Immediately upon the expiration of the time of filing 
 certificates, statements and petitions for candidates, the 
 county commissioners shall cause to be published for three 
 successive days in all the daily newspapers published in 
 such city, in proper form, the names of the persons as they 
 are to appear upon the primary ballots, and if there be no 
 daily newspapers, then in two issues of any other news¬ 
 papers that may be published in said city; and the county 
 commissioners shall thereupon cause the primary ballots 
 to be printed, authenticated with a facsimile of their signa¬ 
 ture. Upon the said ballot, arranged in alphabetical order, 
 shall appear the names of the candidates for commissioners 
 with a square at the left of each name, and below the names 
 of such candidates in cities of one million population or 
 over shall appear the words “Vote for seven,” and in cities 
 of less than one million population shall appear the words 
 “Vote for five,” and in cities of less than one hundred 
 thousand population, shall appear the words “Vote for 
 three.” The ballots shall be printed upon plain, substantial 
 white paper, and shall be headed: 
 
 Candidate for Nomination for Commissioners of City 
 at the primary election, but shall have no party designation 
 indicative of the source of the candidacy or of the support 
 of any candidate or mark whatever. Place a cross in the 
 square preceding the names of the persons you favor as 
 candidates for the respective positions. 
 
 Having caused said ballot to be printed, the county 
 commissioners shall cause to be delivered at each polling 
 place a number of said ballots equal to twice the number 
 of votes cast in such polling precinct at the last general 
 election. The persons who are qualified to vote at the 
 general municipal election shall be qualified to vote at such 
 primary election, and challenges can be made by not more 
 than two persons, to be appointed at the time of opening 
 the polls by the judges of election; and the law applicable 
 to challenges made at a general or municipal election shall 
 be applicable to challenges at such primary election. Judges 
 
30 
 
 of election shall, immediately upon the closing of the polls, 
 count the ballots and ascertain the number of votes cast in 
 such precinct for each of the candidates, and make return 
 thereof to the county commissioners upon proper blanks, 
 to be furnished by the county commissioners within six 
 hours of the closing of the polls. On the day following the 
 said primary election the county commissioners shall can¬ 
 vass said returns so received from all the polling precincts, 
 and shall immediately make and file in the office of the 
 county commissioners the result thereof. Said canvass of 
 the county commissioners shall be publicly made. 
 
 Section 15. And in every city of one million popu¬ 
 lation or more, seven commissioners, and in cities of less 
 than one million population, five commissioners, and in 
 cities less than one hundred thousand population, three com¬ 
 missioners shall be elected, at an election to be held on 
 the fourth Tuesday following the primary election, follow¬ 
 ing the election at which the voters shall have voted to 
 adopt the provisions of this act, and on the second Tuesday 
 in April in each fourth year thereafter. The number of 
 candidates equal to twice the number of places to be filled, 
 receiving the highest number of votes at the primary elec¬ 
 tion, shall be the candidates, and the only candidates whose 
 names shall be placed upon the ballot at the succeeding 
 municipal election, and the number of candidates equal to 
 twice the number of places to be filled, receiving the highest 
 number of votes for commissioners, or all such candidates, 
 if less than twice the number of places to be filled shall be 
 the candidates, and the only candidates, whose names shall 
 be placed upon the ballot for commissioners at such munici¬ 
 pal election, and the ballot at such municipal election shall 
 be in the same general form as for said primary election, 
 so far as possible, and at all elections in such city the 
 election precincts, voting places, methods of conducting 
 election, canvassing the votes and announcing the results, 
 shall be the same as herein provided for the selection of 
 
31 
 
 candidates at the primary election, and the number of 
 candidates equal to the number of places to be filled receiv¬ 
 ing the highest number of votes shall be elected as commis¬ 
 sioners as herein provided. 
 
 RECALL. 
 
 Section 16. The holder of any elective office may 
 be removed at any time by the electors qualified to vote 
 for a successor of such incumbent. The procedure to 
 affect the removal of an incumbent of an elective office 
 shall be as follows: A petition signed by the electors 
 entitled to vote for a successor to the incumbent sought to 
 be removed, equal in number to at least twenty-five per cent, 
 of the entire vote at the last preceding general election 
 demanding an election of a successor of the person sought 
 to be removed, shall be filed with the county commissioners 
 which petition shall contain a general statement of the 
 grounds for which the removal is sought. 
 
 The signatures to the petition need not all be appended 
 to one paper, but each signer shall add to his signature his 
 place of residence, giving the street and number. One of 
 the signers of each such paper shall make an oath before 
 an officer competent to administer oaths that the statement 
 therein made is true as he believes, and that each signature 
 to the paper appended is the genuine signature of the person 
 whose name it purports to be. Within ten days from the 
 date of filing such petition the county commissioner shall 
 examine, ascertain whether or not said petition is signed 
 by the requisite number of qualified electors, and he shall 
 attach to said petition his certificate, showing the result of 
 said examination. If, by the county commissioner’s cer¬ 
 tificate, the petition is shown to be insufficient, it may be 
 amended within ten days from the date of said certificate. 
 
 The county commissioner shall, within ten days after 
 such amendment, make like examination of the amended 
 petition, and if this certificate shall show the same to be 
 insufficient, it shall be returned to the person filing the 
 
32 
 
 same, without prejudice to the filing of a new petition to 
 the same effect. If the petition shall be deemed to be 
 sufficient, the county commissioner shall submit the same 
 to the board of commissioners without delay. 
 
 If the petition shall be found to be sufficient the board 
 of commissioners shall, if the officer sought to be removed 
 shall not resign within five days after the date on the 
 county commissioner’s certificate, order and fix a date for 
 holding the said election, not less than thirty days or more 
 than forty days from the date on the county commissioner’s 
 certificate to the board of commissioners that a sufficient 
 petition is filed. 
 
 The board of commissioners shall make, or cause to 
 be made, publication of notice and all arrangements for 
 holding such election, and the same shall be conducted, 
 returned and the result thereof declared in all respects as 
 are other city elections. The successor of any officer so 
 removed shall hold office during the unexpired term of his 
 predecessor. Any person sought to be removed may be a 
 candidate to succeed himself, and unless he requests other¬ 
 wise in writing, the county commissioner shall place his 
 name on the official ballot without nomination. In any 
 such removal election, the candidate receiving the highest 
 number of votes shall be declared elected. At such election, 
 if some other person than the incumbent receives the highest 
 number of votes, the incumbent shall thereupon be deemed 
 removed from the office upon the qualification of his suc¬ 
 cessor. In case the person who receives the highest number 
 of votes should fail to qualify within ten days after receiv¬ 
 ing notification of election, the office shall be deemed vacant. 
 If the incumbent receives the highest number of votes, he 
 shall continue in office. The same method of removal shall 
 be cumulative and additional to the methods heretofore 
 provided by law. No person who has been recalled from 
 an elective office, or who has resigned from such office 
 while recall proceedings were pending against him shall be 
 appointed to any office within one year after such recall or 
 resignation. 
 
33 
 
 No recall petition shall be filed against any officer until 
 he has actually held his office for at least twelve months, 
 and but one recall petition shall be filed against the same 
 officer during his term of office. 
 
 INITIATIVE. 
 
 Section 17. Any proposed ordinance may be sub¬ 
 mitted to the board of commissioners by petition signed by 
 electors of the city equal in number to the percentage herein¬ 
 after required. The signatures, verification, authentication, 
 inspection, certification, amendment and submission of such 
 petition shall be the same as provided for petitions under 
 the last section. 
 
 If the petition accompanying the proposed ordinance 
 be signed by electors equal in number to fifteen per centum 
 of the votes cast at the last preceding general election, and 
 contains a request that the said ordinance be submitted to 
 a vote of the people if not passed by the board of commis¬ 
 sioners, such board of commissioners shall either: 
 
 (a) . Pass said ordinance without alteration within 
 twenty days after attachment of the county commissioner’s 
 certificate to the accompanying petition, or, 
 
 (b) . Forthwith, after the county commissioner shall 
 attach to the petition accompanying such ordinance, his 
 certificate of sufficiency, the board of commissioners shall 
 call a special election, unless a general municipal election 
 is fixed within ninety days thereafter, and at such special 
 or general municipal election, if one is so fixed, such ordi¬ 
 nance shall be submitted without alteration to the vote of 
 the electors of the city. 
 
 But if the petition is signed by not less than ten nor 
 more than fifteen per centum of the electors, as above 
 defined, then the board of commissioners shall, within 
 twenty days, pass said ordinance without change, or submit 
 the same at the next general city election occurring not 
 more than thirty days after the county commissioner’s 
 certificate of sufficiency is attached to said petition. 
 
34 
 
 The ballots used when voting upon said ordinance shall 
 contain these words: “For the ordinance” (stating the 
 nature of the proposed ordinance) and “Against the ordi¬ 
 nance” (stating the nature of the proposed ordinance). 
 If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the pro¬ 
 posed ordinance shall vote in favor thereof, such ordinance 
 shall thereupon become a valid and binding ordinance of 
 the city; and any ordinance proposed by petition, or which 
 shall be adopted by a vote of the people, cannot be repealed 
 or amended except by a vote of the people. 
 
 Any number of proposed ordinances may be voted 
 upon at the same election in accordance with the pro¬ 
 visions of this section, but there shall not be more than 
 one special election in any period of six months for such 
 purpose. 
 
 The board of commissioners may submit a proposi¬ 
 tion for the repeal of any such ordinance or for amend¬ 
 ment thereto, to be voted upon at any succeeding general 
 city election, and should such proposition so submitted 
 receive a majority of the votes cast thereon at such election, 
 such ordinances shall thereby be repealed or amended accord¬ 
 ingly. Whenever any ordinance or proposition is required 
 by this act to be submitted to the voters of the city at any 
 election, the county commissioner shall cause such ordi¬ 
 nance or proposition to be published once in at least one 
 of the newspapers published in said city; such publication 
 to be not more than twenty nor less than five days before 
 the submission of such proposition or ordinance to be 
 voted on. 
 
 REFERENDUM. 
 
 Section 18. No ordinance passed by the board of 
 commissioners except when otherwise required by the gen¬ 
 eral laws of the State or by the provisions of this act, 
 except an ordinance for the immediate preservation of 
 the public peace, health or safety, which contains a state¬ 
 ment of its urgency and is passed by a two-thirds vote of 
 
35 
 
 the board of commissioners, shall go into effect before ten 
 days from the time of its final passage; and if during said 
 ten days, a petition signed by electors of the city equal in 
 number to at least fifteen per centum of the entire vote 
 cast at the last preceding general municipal election, pro¬ 
 testing against the passage of such ordinance, be presented 
 to the board of commissioners, the same shall thereupon 
 be suspended from going into operation, and it shall be 
 the duty of the board of commissioners to reconsider such 
 ordinance; and if the same is not entirely repealed, the 
 board of commissioners shall submit the ordinance, as is 
 provided by sub-section B of section seventeen of this act, 
 to the vote of the electors of the city, either at the general 
 election or at a special municipal election to be called for 
 that purpose; and such ordinance shall not go into effect 
 or become operative unless a majority of the qualified 
 electors voting on the same shall vote in favor thereof. 
 Said petition shall be in all respects in accordance with the 
 provisions of said section seventeen, except as to the per¬ 
 centage of signers, and be examined and certified to by the 
 county commissioner in all respects as therein provided. 
 Any ordinance or measure that the board of commissioners 
 or the qualified electors of the city shall have authority to 
 enact, the board of commissioners may of its own motion 
 submit to the electors for adoption or rejection at a general 
 or special municipal election, in the same manner and with 
 the same force and effect as is provided in this act for 
 ordinances or measures submitted on petition. At any 
 special election called under the provisions of this act, there 
 shall be no bar to the submission of other questions to a 
 vote of the electors in addition to the ordinances or measures 
 herein provided for, if said other questions are such as may 
 legally be submitted to such election. If the provisions 
 of two or more measures approved at the same election 
 conflict, then the measure receiving the highest affirmative 
 vote shall control. 
 
36 
 
 ADOPTION REQUIREMENTS. 
 
 Section 19. This act shall take effect immediately, 
 but its provision shall remain inoperative in any city of 
 this State until assented to by a majority of the legal voters 
 thereof voting at an election to be held in such city, which 
 election shall be called by the county commissioner upon 
 the request or petition in writing of twenty per centum of 
 the legal voters voting at the last general election. Upon such 
 petition or request in writing being filed with the county 
 commissioner, the said county commissioner shall forthwith 
 call an election to be held on the third Tuesday following 
 the date of the filing of such petition with him, and shall 
 cause public notice of the time and place of holding the 
 same to be given by advertisement signed by himself and 
 set up in at least twenty different places in such cities and 
 published in at least one newspaper printed and published 
 in such city, and if no newspaper is printed or published 
 in such city, then in a newspaper circulated therein, for 
 at least six days previous to the time of such election; and 
 said county commissioner shall provide ballots for each 
 voter at such election, to be printed upon plain, substantial 
 white paper, which shall contain these words: 
 
 “For the adoption or the rejection of the city of (here 
 name of city) of the provisions of an act of one thousand 
 nine hundred and eleven, entitled, ‘An act relating to, reg¬ 
 ulating and providing for the government of cities, towns, 
 boroughs and other municipalities within this State/ ” 
 Upon said ballots shall appear the phrase “For the adop¬ 
 tion,” and the phrase “Against the adoption,” with a square 
 at the left of each phrase, and below shall appear the 
 words “Vote for or against”; “Place a cross in one square.” 
 
 Such election shall be held at the usual places of hold¬ 
 ing the annual election in such city. The polls shall remain 
 open during the usual hours, and every such election shall 
 be conducted by the same election officers for the time being 
 in the manner prescribed by law regulating elections, and 
 
37 
 
 such officers shall report to the county commission of such 
 city a true and correct statement in writing under their 
 hands of the results of such election, and it shall be the 
 duty of the county commissioner to certify and report the 
 same to the city council, or other legislative body, of such 
 city or municipality, at its first meeting thereafter, and 
 the same shall be entered at large in the minutes of said 
 body. Whereupon, if it is found that the majority of the 
 votes cast are in favor of the adoption of this act, this act 
 shall in all respects become and be operative in such city, 
 and binding upon the inhabitants thereof and upon all per¬ 
 sons and property to be affected thereby; provided, how¬ 
 ever, that the votes cast in favor of the adoption of this 
 act is equal to at least thirty per centum of the votes cast 
 for members of the General Assembly at the last general 
 election immediately preceding the submission of this act 
 as aforesaid; and, immediately after the election and organi¬ 
 zation of the board of commissioners provided herein, it 
 shall abrogate, repeal and annuli all acts or parts of acts 
 then existing, whether general or special, in anywise affect¬ 
 ing the government of such cities which are contrary to or 
 inconsistent with the provisions of this act. 
 
 If a majority of the votes cast are not in favor of the 
 adoption of this act, then the provisions of this act shall 
 remain inoperative and no further proceedings shall be 
 taken until after the beginning of the last year of the term 
 of the Mayor, or equivalent officer, elected at the election 
 following the rejection of this act, after which date, upon 
 the presentation of another petition or request, as provided 
 for herein, the same procedure shall be had and the question 
 of the adoption or rejection of the provisions of this act 
 again submitted in the manner herein set forth, and with 
 the same force and effect. 
 
 REVERSION TO THE CHARTER. 
 
 Section 20. Any city which shall have operated for 
 more than six years under the provisions of this act, may 
 
38 
 
 abandon such organization hereunder and may resume its 
 charter by proceeding as follows: 
 
 Upon the petition of not less than twenty-five per 
 centum of the electors of such city, a special election shall 
 be called at which the following proposition shall be sub¬ 
 mitted: “Shall the city of (name of city) abandon its 
 organization under the provisions of an act of one thou¬ 
 sand nine hundred and eleven, entitled, ‘An act relating 
 to, regulating and providing for the government of cities 
 within this State,’ and resume or adopt a charter under 
 another act ?” 
 
 If a majority of the votes cast at such special election 
 be in favor of such proposition, the officers elected at the 
 next succeeding regular municipal election shall be those 
 prescribed by the charter, and upon the qualification of 
 such officers such city shall become a city under the charter, 
 but such change shall not in any manner or degree effect 
 the property, right or liability of any nature of such city, 
 but shall merely extend to such change in its form of 
 government. 
 
 Section 21. If any proviso, clause or section of this 
 act shall be attacked in any court and shall be declared 
 invalid or unconstitutional, the rest of this act shall stand, 
 and the proviso, clause or section declared invalid or uncon¬ 
 stitutional shall be exscinded from this act. 
 
39 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE PRIMARY ACT. 
 
 Section i. 
 
 Section 2. 
 
 Section 3. 
 
 Section 4. 
 
 Section 5. 
 
 Section 6. 
 Section 7. 
 
 Section 8. 
 
 Section 9. 
 
 Section 10. 
 Section 11. 
 Section 12. 
 
 Table of Contents. 
 
 Date and purposes of presidential primary election. 
 
 (1) Expression of presidential preference. 
 
 (2) Election of delegates to national conventions. 
 
 The election on presidential preference. 
 
 (1) Method of securing nomination papers. 
 
 (2) Provision for withdrawal of name from ballot. 
 
 (3) Position and order of candidates’ names on ballot 
 
 Delegates to national party conventions. 
 
 (1) Notification of number to be elected. 
 
 (2) All delegates to be elected at large. 
 
 (3) Certification of number by secretary of state. 
 
 Manner of nominating and electing delegates. 
 
 (1) The securing of nomination papers. 
 
 (2) Conditions for nomination as a group. 
 
 (a) The same presidential preference. 
 
 (b) The representation of all districts of the 
 state. 
 
 (3) Conditions for election as a group. 
 
 (a) Endorsement by candidate or campaign com¬ 
 mittee. 
 
 (b) Limitation of candidate’s name to a single 
 group. 
 
 (4) Statement of presidential preference. 
 
 Arrangement of candidates’ names on ballot. 
 
 (1) Position under name of presidential candidate pre¬ 
 ferred. 
 
 (2) No preference column. 
 
 (3) Blank column. 
 
 (4) Provision for order of names. 
 
 (5) Voting square within which to vote for entire group. 
 
 Delegate’s statement regarding support of party's 
 preference. 
 
 The appointment of alternates to convention. 
 
 (1) Number to be selected and restrictions on selection. 
 
 (2) Duties of alternate. 
 
 Registration required for April primary election. 
 
 (1) Names on old register. 
 
 (2) Names added since previous election. 
 
 (3) Statement of party affiliation necessary. 
 
 (4) Qualifications for signing nomination papers. 
 
 Form of ballot for April primary election. 
 
 (1) Sections of primary laws governing ballot. 
 
 (2) Heading of ballot. 
 
 (3) Sample form of ballot. 
 
 Cross reference to direct primary law. 
 
 Short name of act. 
 
 Repeal of acts inconsistent with this act. 
 
PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCES 
 PRIMARY 
 
 AN ACT 
 
 To provide for the expression by the qualified electors of the several 
 political parties of their choice for nomination by their party for 
 President of_ the United States and to provide for the election of 
 the delegates of said political parties to their respective National 
 conventions, and to call an election in conformity with the pro¬ 
 visions of this act. 
 
 Section i. Be it enacted, etc., That on the second 
 Saturday of April, 1916, and of every fourth year there¬ 
 after, there shall be held a primary nominating election to 
 be known as the April presidential primary election, at 
 which the qualified electors of the several political parties 
 shall have opportunity, on separate party ballots provided 
 for that purpose, to express their preference as to the nomi¬ 
 nees of their respective parties for president of the United 
 States, and also to elect the delegates of their respective 
 parties to their respective National conventions for the 
 nomination, of their party candidates for president and 
 vice-president of the United States. 
 
 Section 2. The names of the candidates for nomina¬ 
 tion as president of the United States shall be printed upon 
 the ballots, upon the filing of nomination papers substan¬ 
 tially as provided in an act providing a uniform method of 
 electing certain party officers, etc., approved 1906 and here¬ 
 inafter referred to in this act as the “uniform primary 
 act”; provided that nomination papers for each of the said 
 candidates must be signed by not less than one per centum 
 of the voters of his party in each congressional district of 
 the State; and further provided, that no candidate for 
 nomination for president need sign or file any petition, 
 
 40 
 
41 
 
 affidavit, declaration, statement or paper of any kind to get 
 his name upon the ballot, but that in the event that any 
 person who is presented as a candidate for nomination for 
 president by filing of nomination papers as herein provided 
 for, shall, on or before the thirty-fifth day before the date 
 of the presidential primary election, announce by an affi¬ 
 davit, declaration, or statement filed in the office of the 
 secretary of the commonwealth, that he is not a candidate 
 for nomination for president, and that he does not wish his 
 name to be printed upon the ballot for said election, the 
 said secretary of the commonwealth shall not certify or 
 transmit the name of such candidate to the respective county 
 commissioner, and such name shall not be printed upon the 
 ballots. The names of the several candidates for nomina¬ 
 tion for president together with the blank space for writing 
 the name of such a candidate, and the headings for the same 
 shall appear at the top and center of the ballot immediately 
 below the instructions to voters, and shall be printed in 
 heavy face eight point, capital type. The order in which 
 the names of the candidates for presidential nominees shall 
 be printed upon the ballot, shall be the . order in which the 
 nomination papers of such candidates are filed with the 
 secretary of the commonwealth; and such names shall be 
 printed one after the other in a horizontal line, each name 
 being followed by a voting square, the space for the name 
 and voting square together being headed by the words “For 
 Presidential Nominee,” printed in heavy face ten point 
 gothic type, and occupying no less than two and a half inches 
 of horizontal space. This space shall be left blank above 
 the “No Preference Column” provided for in section 5 of 
 this act. Below the words “For Presidential Nominee” 
 heading the blank space hereinbefore provided for, shall be 
 the words “Blank Space” in six point gothic type. Above 
 the words and spaces herein described shall be printed in 
 heavy face twelve point gothic type the word “vote for One 
 as Your Choice for Presidential Nominee.” 
 
42 
 
 Section 3. The chairman of the State Central Com¬ 
 mittee of each of the political parties qualified to participate 
 in the election provided for in this act shall notify the sec¬ 
 retary of the commonwealth on or before the ’first day of 
 March of each bissextile or leap year as to the number of 
 delegates to represent the State in the next National conven¬ 
 tion of his said party. If the State chairman, or any of 
 them, fail to file such notice, it shall be the duty of the 
 secretary of the commonwealth to ascertain the said number 
 of delegates from the call for said National convention 
 issued by the National Committee of each party whose 
 chairman has failed to notify him as aforesaid. The dele¬ 
 gates who shall represent each political party at its National 
 convention shall all be elected by the voters of the State at 
 large. The secretary of the commonwealth shall, on or 
 before the tenth day of March of the year of the April 
 presidential primary election, certify to the county com¬ 
 missioner of each county, or city and county, the number of 
 delegates to be so elected by each of the political parties 
 qualified to participate in the said election. Any political 
 party shall be qualified to participate in the April presiden¬ 
 tial primary election which is qualified to participate in the 
 September primary election according to the provisions of 
 the “direct primary law.” 
 
 Section 4. The names of persons to be voted upon 
 as delegates to the respective National conventions of the 
 several political parties shall be printed upon the ballots 
 of their respective parties upon the filing of nomination 
 papers substantially in the form provided in uniform pri¬ 
 mary act; provided, that in the case of each party, nomina¬ 
 tion papers for candidates for delegates must be signed by 
 not less than one per centum of the voters of said party in 
 each congressional district of the State; and provided, also, 
 that when the number of names of candidates printed upon 
 the same nomination paper exceeds the number of congres¬ 
 sional districts in the State, but is less than twice the number 
 
43 
 
 of such districts, the names of such candidates, thus grouped 
 together shall be so selected that not more than three and not 
 less than one of such candidates shall reside in any one 
 congressional district, and that when the number of names 
 of candidates printed upon the same nomination paper 
 exceeds twice the number of congressional districts in the 
 State, the names of such candidates thus grouped together 
 shall be so selected that not more than four and not less 
 than two of such candidates shall reside in any one con¬ 
 gressional district; and if not so selected said names shall 
 not be grouped together on the ballot, but shall appear as 
 individuals. 
 
 Candidates for delegate grouped together on the same 
 nomination paper and selected as aforesaid shall be similarly 
 grouped, in the same order of names, upon the ballots of 
 their party; provided, that such group of candidates for 
 delegate has the endorsement of that candidate for presiden¬ 
 tial nominee for whom the members of said group have filed 
 a preference, or the endorsement of such a State political 
 organization created in support of the candidacy of said 
 presidential nominee as shall not be repudiated by him as 
 lacking authority to make such endorsement; said endorse¬ 
 ment, either of the candidate or the organization supporting 
 him, to be filed with the secretary of the commonwealth. 
 No candidates for delegates thus endorsed shall have their 
 names printed upon the ballot in a group, but such candi¬ 
 dates must appear as individuals; and further provided, that 
 the name of no candidate shall appear more than once on 
 the ballot, and that any candidate whose nomination paper 
 is filed in more than one group, or in the same group dif¬ 
 ferently arranged, shall have his name printed on the ballot 
 as a part of the group which has received the endorsement 
 as herein recited; provided, that one of the groups in which 
 his name occurs has received such endorsement. 
 
 Each candidate for election as delegate to his National 
 party convention must file with the secretary of the com¬ 
 monwealth not later than the time of filing of nomination 
 
44 
 
 papers containing his name, an affidavit substantially as 
 provided in the “uniform primary act,” and may also 
 include with his affidavit the statement “I personally prefer 
 
 - as nominee of my party for president of 
 
 the United States” (filling in the blank by inserting his 
 choice for such nominee). But his failure to include such 
 statement shall not be a valid ground on the part of the sec¬ 
 retary of the commonwealth for refusal to receive and file 
 the nomination papers containing his name. 
 
 Section 5. The names of the candidates for delegate 
 in any political party shall be arranged upon the ballots of 
 such party in parallel columns each column standing directly 
 underneath the space headed by the words, “For Presiden¬ 
 tial Nominee,” and the various candidates for delegate 
 appearing in these columns as determined by their prefer¬ 
 ence for president, according to the provisions of section 4 
 of this act. The left-hand column shall be headed in heavy 
 
 face ten point gothic type, “Candidate Preferring-” 
 
 (the blank being filled out by the surname of the first can¬ 
 didate for presidential nominee on the ballot, as determined 
 by section 2 of this act). The second column shall be 
 similarly headed, except that the surname of the candidate 
 for presidential nominee shall be for the name second in the 
 list of candidates for presidential nominee, and so on for as 
 many candidates for presidential nominee as are printed at 
 the top of the ballot in the list of such candidates. To the 
 right of the last column headed by the surname of a candi¬ 
 date for presidential nominee shall be a column headed “No 
 Preference Column,” in which shall appear the names of 
 all candidates for delegate who have expressed no preference 
 for presidential nominee or who have expressed a preference 
 for a candidate for presidential nominee other than the can¬ 
 didates for presidential nominee printed at the top of the 
 ballot. Above this “No Preference Column,” neither the 
 words “For Presidential Nominee” nor the space for the 
 name of such nominee shall appear. To the right of this last 
 
45 
 
 column shall be a column headed “Blank Column/’ which 
 shall contain as many blank spaces as there are delegates to 
 be elected by the political party concerned. In case there 
 are no names of candidates for delegate to be placed in a 
 “No Preference Column,” such “No Preference Column” 
 shall be omitted from the ballot, and the “Blank Column” 
 as herein provided for shall be placed to the right of and 
 contiguous to the last column headed by the surname of a 
 candidate for presidential nominee. In the event that two 
 or more candidates for Presidential nominee whose names 
 are printed upon the same ballot have the same surname, 
 the distinguishing names or initials of such candidates shall 
 be prefixed to their respective surnames on said ballot, fol¬ 
 lowing the words “Candidates Preferring.” 
 
 The names of the various candidates for delegates shall 
 be printed in eight point roman capital type, under their 
 respective preferences for presidential nominee or in the 
 no preference column, as heretofore provided in this act. 
 The names of each group on the ballot shall be numbered 
 in heavy face eight point type, the order of names for each 
 column upon the ballot shall be the same as the order in 
 which such names were filed with the secretary of the 
 commonwealth; provided, that above the individual names 
 in each column shall appear the group of names, if any, 
 which has received the endorsement referred to in section 4 
 of this act. 
 
 A blank column one-half inch wide shall be left upon 
 the ballot opposite each group of names and to the right 
 of the column of voting squares for the individual names 
 and separated from it by a light dotted line, which blank 
 column shall contain a square in which may be stamped a 
 cross (X) which shall be counted as a vote for each and 
 every name in the group opposite. Lengthwise along this 
 blank column shall be printed “A cross (X) stamped in 
 this square shall be counted for each name of the group to 
 the left.” The line separating any name from any other 
 name not in a group or from any group of names shall be 
 
46 
 
 heavier than any line separating the individual names in 
 such group, and shall extend across the blank column pro¬ 
 vided for in this paragraph. Below the top line of this 
 extension shall be printed in small heavy face type the 
 words “top of group,” and above the bottom line of the 
 extension, the words “end of group.” 
 
 Section 6. Each candidate for election as delegate to 
 his National party convention may include with his affidavit 
 the statement hereinafter set forth in this section; but his 
 failure to include such statement shall not be valid ground 
 on the part of the secretary of the commonwealth for 
 refusal to receive and file his nomination paper or papers. 
 Such statement, if any be made, shall be in substantially the 
 following form: 
 
 DELEGATE’S STATEMENT. 
 
 I hereby declare to the voters of my political party in 
 the State of Pennsylvania that if elected as delegate to their 
 National party convention, I shall, to the best of my judg¬ 
 ment and ability, support that candidate for president of the 
 United States who shall have received the highest number 
 of votes cast throughout the entire State by the voters of 
 my party for said office, at the April presidential primary 
 election. 
 
 Signature of candidate for delegate. 
 
 Section 7. The delegates to each National party con¬ 
 vention elected at the April presidential primary election, 
 shall, before leaving the State to attend the convention, meet 
 together and select alternates to the convention. The number 
 of alternates to be selected shall be no greater than one for 
 each delegate, and each alternate must be selected from the 
 congressional district of the delegate for whom he is an 
 alternate; and the method of selection shall be as determined 
 upon by majority of the whole number of delegates who 
 
47 
 
 have been elected to the convention. The duties of an alter¬ 
 nate shall be those usually appertaining to that position, and 
 as prescribed by each party in the call for its National con¬ 
 vention. The alternate of any such delegate as may be 
 unable to attend the convention, shall attend the convention 
 in its place, and shall otherwise discharge the duties of said 
 delegate. 
 
 Section 8 . For purposes of the April presidential 
 primary election, the original affidavits of registration used 
 in the last general election in any county or city and county 
 in this State, shall be qualified to vote at such election, and 
 shall receive the ticket of that political party only with which 
 he has declared himself affiliated. Any person qualified by 
 the provisions of this section to vote at any April presiden¬ 
 tial primary election shall also be qualified to sign the nomi¬ 
 nation papers of any person to be voted upon at such primary 
 election. 
 
 Section 9. The ballot to be used at the April presi¬ 
 dential primary election shall be prepared according to the 
 provisions of sections 2, 4 and 5 of this act, and also accord¬ 
 ing to such provisions of the “uniform primary act” as 
 are applicable to this act and not in conflict with its 
 provisions; providing, that the words at the top of the ballot 
 shall be “Official Presidential Primary Election Ballot,” and 
 that the instructions to voters shall be as follows: “To 
 vote for a person whose name appears on the ballot, stamp 
 a cross (X) in the right square of the person for whom you 
 desire to vote; or if you wish to vote for all of a group of 
 persons, stamp a cross (X) in the square opposite such 
 group, which shall be counted for each name of the group. 
 A group consists of candidates for delegate nominated on 
 the same nomination paper. To vote for a person whose 
 name is not printed on the ballot, write his name in the 
 blank space provided for that purpose.” There shall be 
 printed in heavy face, twelve point, gothic type, across the 
 
3 0112 061896863 
 
 48 
 
 page above the column of candidates for delegates, the 
 words, “For Delegates to National Convention Vote for 
 
 -, either as individuals or by group, but do not 
 
 vote for more than-” (the blanks being filled 
 
 in by the number of delegates to be elected by the political 
 party concerned). 
 
 Section io. The provisions of the “Uniform Pri¬ 
 mary Law” shall govern the April presidential primary 
 election in so far as said provisions are applicable to said 
 election and are not inconsistent with or in conflict with the 
 provisions of this act. 
 
 Section i i . This act shall be known as the Presiden¬ 
 tial Primary Act. 
 
 Section 12. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent 
 with or in conflict with the provisions of this act are hereby 
 repealed.