ELECTION. 



granted fraudulently, to qualify him to 

 vote ; and every person who shall prepare 

 or execute such conveyance, or shall give 

 his vote under it, shall forfeit 40/. 10 

 Anne, c 25. No person shall vote for 

 a knight of the shire, without having been 

 in the actual possession of the estate for 

 which he votes, or in the receipt of the 

 rents or profits to his o w n use, above twelve 

 calendar months, unless it come to him by 

 descent, marriage, marriage settlement, 

 devise, or promotion to a benefice or of- 

 fice. 18 Geo. II. c. I. No person con- 

 victed of perjury shall be capable of vot- 

 ing at an election. No person shall vote 

 in respect of an annuity or rent-charge, 

 unless registered with the clerk of the 

 peace twelve calender months before ; 

 such annuity or rent-charge must issue 

 out of freehold estate. No person shall 

 vote for a knight of a shire, in respect of 

 any messuages, lands, ortenements, which 

 have not been charged to the land-tax six 

 calendar months before. 20 Geo. III. c. 

 17. No person shall vote for any estate 

 holden by copy of court-roll. 31. Geo. 

 II. c 14. 



In mortgaged, or trust-estates, the mort- 

 gagor, or -cestuy yue trust, shall vote, and 

 not the trustee or mortgagee, unless they 

 be in actual possession. All conveyances 

 to multiply voices, or to split votes, shall 

 be void ; and no more than one voice shall 

 be admitted for one and the same house 

 or tenement. 



The right of election in boroughs is va- 

 rious, depending entirely on the several 

 charters, customs, and constitutions of 

 the respective places. By 2 Geo. II. c. 

 24, this right of voting, for the future, 

 shall be allowed according to the last de- 

 termination of the House of Commons 

 concerning it. 



And no pers"n, claiming to vote in right 

 of his being a freeman of a corporation 

 (ofter than such as claim by birth, mar- 

 riage, or servitude) shall be allowed, un- 

 less behave bi-en admitted to his freedom 

 twelve calendar months before, 3 Geo. III. 

 c. 15. Ali undue influence whatever up- 

 on the electors is illegal, and strongly 

 prohibited. A* soon as the time and place 

 of election w'ului counties or boroughs 

 are fixed, all soUiers quartered in the 

 place are to remove at least one day be- 

 fore the election, to *he distance of two 

 miles or more, and nox to return till one 

 day after the poll be euled ; except in 

 the liberty of Westminster, or other resi- 

 dence of the royal family, in respect of 

 liis Majesty's guards, and in fortified 



places. 8. Geo. II. c. 30. By the 7lh and 

 8th Will. c. 4. to prevent bribery and cor- 

 ruption, no candidate, after teste of the 

 writ of summons, or after a place becomes 

 vacant in parliament time, shall, by him- 

 self, or by any other ways or means on his 

 behalf, or at his charge, before his elec- 

 tion, diectly or indirectly, give, or pro- 

 mise to give, to any elector, any money, 

 meat, drink, provision, present, reward, 

 or entertainment, to or for any such elec- 

 tor in particular, or to any county, city, 

 town, borough, port, or place in general, 

 in order to his being elected, on pain of 

 being incapacitated. To guard still more 

 against gross and flagrant acts of bribery, 

 it is enacted by 2 Geo. II. c. 24, explained 

 and enlarged by 9 Geo. II. c. 38, artfl 16 

 Geo. III. c. 11, that if any money, gift, 

 office, employment, or reward, be given, 

 or promised to be given, to any voter at 

 any time, in order to influence him to give 

 or withhold his vote, as well he that takes, 

 as he that offers, such a bribe, forfeits 

 500/. and is for ever disabled from voting 

 and holding any office in any corporation, 

 unless, before conviction, he will discover 

 some other offender of the same kind, 

 and then he is indemnified for his own 

 offence. 



If the election shall not be determined 

 upon view, with consent of the freeholders 

 there present, but a poll shall be demand- 

 ed, the same shall commence on the day 

 on which such demand is made, or on the 

 next day at farthest (if it be not Sunday, 

 and then on the day after) and shall be 

 proceeded in from day to day (Sundays 

 excepted) until finished, and shall not 

 continue more than fifteen days (Sundays 

 excepted) ; and the poll shall be kept 

 open seven hours at least each day, be- 

 tween eight in th'e morning and eight in 

 the evening, 25 Geo. III. c. 84. The 

 sheriff" shall allow a cheque-book for every 

 poll-book for each candidate, to be kept 

 by their inspectors at the place of taking 

 the poll, 19 Geo. II. c. 28. By the 34 Geo. 

 III. c.73, in order to expedite the business 

 at elections, the returning officers are en- 

 abled, on request of the candidates, to 

 appoint persons to administer to voters 

 the oaths of allegiance, supremacy, the 

 declaration of fidelity, the oath of adjura- 

 tion, and the declaration or affirmation of 

 the effect thereof, previously to their com- 

 ing to vote ; and to grant the voters cer- 

 tificates of their having taken the said 

 oath ; without which certificate they shall 

 not be permitted to vote, if they are re- 

 quired to take the oaths. 



