1899_public laws_508_12
CHAPTER 507 An act to regulate elections. The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact :
That before the next general election on the first Thursday in August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred, provided for in this act, there shall be an entirely new registration of all persons who shall be entitled to register in every voting precinct in the state, and only such persons as are registered shall be entitled to vote in any election held under this act. That in all cases the applicant for registration shall be sworn by the registrar before being registered and shall state and answer his age, place of residence, stating ward if he resides in an incorporated town or city, number of his house if nuinbered, and if not nuwbered then a designation of its iocality by streets; and if not the owner, then the name of the owner or renter. If not a resident of an incorporated town or city he shall then state his place of residence in the election precinct; and if he is not the owner of the house in which he lives then he shal! state the name of the person who does own the same or upon whose land he lives; the time of his residence in said county, ward or election precinct; his avocation, place of business, where and by whom employed if employed; if a new comer from whence he comes, and his postoffice address before removal; whether he has been disqualified asa voter by judgment or decree of any court, if so by what court reinstated; whether he has listed for taxation his poll for the current year in which he proposes to register, and for the year next preceding, if liable to pay a poll tax, and any. other questions which may be regarded by the registrar as material upon the question of the identity and qualification of the said applicant to be admitted to registration. | The registrar may require the applicant to prove his identity or age and residence by the testimony of at least two electors under oath. And the statements made by the appticant for registration in answer to any of these questions shall be evidence against him in any proceedings for FALSE or fraudulent registration. And the registrar shall record the full name by which he is known, his age, occupation, place of birth and place of residence of said elector, the name of the post-office, township, county or state from whence the elector has removed, in the event of a removal; by whom employed, if employed; whether he bas listed his poll for taxation for the current year in which he applies for registration and fer the year next preceding, if liable to pay a poll tax, in the appropriate column of the registration books, and the registration books containing{the said record shall be evidence against the applicant in any court of Jaw in a proceeding for FALSE or fraudulent registration. And thereupon if the said registrar shall adjudge the applicant to be duly qualified and entitled to be registered as an elector he shall register the name of the applicant, giving his race opposite to his name on the registration books: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall Beaker elector or judge of election on the day of election and when the elector presents himself to vote from challenging the right of the elector to vote. If an elector has previously been admitted to registration in any ward, township or precinct in the county in which he resides he shall not be entitied to register again in another ward, precinct or township in the same county until he produces a certificate of the registrar in the former township, ward or precinct that his name has been erased from the registration books of the ward, precinet or township from which he has removed, and the identity of any person claiming the right to be registered in any precinct of the same county by virtue of said certificate with the person named therein shall be proven by the oath of the claimant, and when required by the registrar by the oath of at least one other elector. Every person found and adjudged by the registrar qualified as an elector shall take the following oath: ] dosolemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of North Carolina; that I have been.a resident of the state of North Carolina for twelve months and of the county of _____for ninety days; that I am twenty-one years of age; that I have not registered for this election in any other ward, precinct or township; that I am the identical person I represent myself to be, and that I am a bona fide resident of #NAME? precinct. So help me, God.  And thereupon the said person shall be entitled to register. Thatif any applicant for registration who is permittedto register shall confess upon his examinalion under oath at the time he is admitted to registration that he has not listed his poll for taxation for the current year, if the time of his said application is after the time fixed by !aw for listing taxes in that year, or if he shall admit that he did not list his poll for taxation for the year next preceding, it shall be the duty of the registrar to certify said fact or facts to the clerk of the superior court of his county, and the said clerk shall hand such certificate to the solicitor for the district at the next term of the superior court, and the solicitor shall without delay draw and send to the grand jury a bill of indictment against such elector so registering for failure to list his poll tax. And if any applicant shall falsely swear he has listed his poll for taxation he shall be guilty of perjury and punished as prescribed by law: Provided, that the answer of the delinquent, that he has not listed his poll for taxation, shall not be used against him in any criminal proceeding for a failure to list his poll; but it shall be the duty of the solicitor to whom said name is certified, if he shall be satisfied that said alleged delinquent elector is liable to list his poll and that he has failed to do so as required. by law, to Send a bill of indictment against such delinquent to the grand jury for failure to list his poll.