county at large and the political subdivision thereof or therein the amount so certified by the commissioner to be borne by the county at large or the political subdivision respectively. Added by L. 1917, ch. 202, in effect Apr. 17, 1917.

§ 235. Publication of notices.

All publications, advertising or posting of election notices required by law relating to general and special elections or official primaries to which this article applies and all notices of such elections or primaries as are required by law to be published, advertised or posted shall be published, advertised or posted by the commissioner of elections.

Added by L. 1917, ch. 202, in effect Apr. 17, 1917.

§ 236. Polling places, election districts, et cetera.

It shall be the duty of the commissioner of elections at least thirty days before each primary day to fix the polling places for each primary district in Niagara county and on or before the first Tuesday in September in each year to fix the polling places for registration and election in each election district in Niagara county. It shall be the duty of the commissioner to create, alter or divide the various political subdivisions of Niagara county into election districts as provided for in sections two hundred and ninety-six and four hundred and nineteen of this chapter. Whenever the commissioner shall have created, altered or divided the election districts in any political subdivision of Niagara county he shall execute a certificate giving the boundaries of the new dis-'. tricts and file it in his office and make and file a copy thereof in the office of the city or town clerk, as the case may be, and also publish a description of such boundaries once in the paper designated to publish election notices.

Added by L. 1917, ch. 202, in effect Apr. 17, 1917.

§ 237. Voting machines.

It shall be the duty of the commissioner of elections to cause the proper ballot labels to be placed on voting machines, and to cause the machines to be placed in proper order for voting and to examine all voting machines before they are sent out to the different polling places, and see that all the registering counters are set at zero (000), and lock all voting machines so that the counting machinery cannot be operated, and seal each one with a numbered metal seal. The commissioner of elections may appoint a custodian of voting machines who shall, under the direction of the commissioner of elections, have charge of and represent the commissioner

of elections during the preparation of the voting machines and serve at the pleasure of the commissioner, but not to exceed forty days for any one election. Before preparing a voting machine for an election written notice shall be mailed to the chairman of the county committees of the two political parties which polled the greatest number of votes at the last preceding election of a governor, stating the time and place where the machines will be prepared; at which time and place one representative of each of such political parties, certified by the respective chairmen of the county committees of such parties, shall be entitled to be present and see that the machines are properly prepared and placed in proper condition for use at election. The custodian of voting machines and the party representatives shall take the constitutional oath of office and shall be paid five dollars for each day so employed, which shall be paid in the same manner as the salaries of county officers are paid. It shall be the duty of such representatives to be present at the preparation of voting machines for election and to see that the machines are properly prepared and that all the registering counters are set at zero (000). When a machine has been prepared for election it shall be the duty of such representatives to make a certificate in writing, which shall be filed in the office of the commissioner of elections, stating the number of the machine, whether or not all of the counters are set at zero (000), the number registered on the protective counter, if one is provided, and the number on the metal seal with which the machine is sealed. Such representatives shall perform their duties under the direction of the commissioner. It shall be the duty of the commissioner to cause the voting machines to be delivered at the respective polling places in which they are to be used at least one hour before the time set for the opening of the polls.

Added by L. 1917, ch. 202, in effect Apr. 17, 1917.

238. Construction of article.

Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect or limit the powers of the board of supervisors of Niagara county or the town board of any town, or the village trustees of any village, in such county, as boards of canvassers for the county, towns and villages respectively. Nor shall this article apply to elections held in cities, towns or villages where elections are held at a time other than at the time of general elections. Where the provisions of this article are inconsistent with other provisions of this chapter or other statutes, the provisions of this article shall be controlling. Added by L. 1917, ch. 202, in effect Apr. 17, 1917.

ARTICLE 8.

TIMES, PLACES, NOTICES, OFFICERS AND EXPENSES OF ELECTIONS.

Section 290. Date of general election.

291. Time of opening and closing polls.

292. Filling vacancies in elective offices.
293. Notice of elections.

294. Notice of submission of proposed constitutional amendments or
other propositions or questions.

295. Publication of concurrent resolutions, proposing constitutional amendments and other propositions.

296. Creation, division and alteration of election districts.

296a. Special provision as to election districts in certain congressional
districts.

297. Abolition, consolidation or changing of election districts in towns.
298. Maps and certificates of boundaries of election districts.
299. Designation of places for registry and voting.

300. Equipment of polling places.

300a. Display of American flag.

301. Publication of list of registration and polling places.

301a. Publication of list of registration and polling places in certain towns.

302. Election officers; designation, number and qualifications.

302a. Powers and duties of canvassing inspectors limited, in a city of over one million inhabitants.

303. Appointment of election officers in cities.

304. Authentication of party lists.

305. Examination as to qualifications.

306. Party selection in the city of New York.

307. Oath of office; certificate of appointment.

308. Removals; vacancies; transfers.

309. Certificates of service; exemption from jury duty; payment.

310. Special penalties.

311. Appointment of inspectors of election in towns.

312. Appointment of clerks in towns.

313. Supplying vacancies and absences.

313a. Filling vacancies in board of canvassing inspectors in cities of

over one million inhabitants.

314. Organization of boards of inspectors.

315. Preservation of order by inspectors.
316. Ballot boxes.

317. Voting booths and guard-rails.

318. Apportionment of election expenses.

319. Fees of election officers and others.

320. Delivery of election laws to clerks, boards and election officers.

§ 290. Date of general election.

A general election shall be held annually on the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in November.

Derivation: Election Law, § 2.

Cross-References.-City elections, when to be held. (part 2, post). General election day a public holiday. $24 (part 11, post). Time of holding town meetings. holding village elections. See part 9, post.

See N. Y. Const., art. 12, § 3
General Construction Law,
See part 8, post. Time of

Sale of liquor on election days." It shall not be lawful for any person, whether having paid such tax or not, to sell, offer or expose for sale, or give away any liquor:

"c. On any day of a general or special election, or city election, or town meeting, or village election, within one-quarter of a mile of any voting place, while the polls for such election or town meeting shall be open." Pt. 30, Liquor Tax Law. See § 2.

No parade or drill of national guard on election day. "No parade or drill of the active militia shall be ordered on any day during which an election shall be held, except in case of riot, invasion or insurrection, or imminent danger thereof." Pt 111, Military Law. tolls be shall No tolls to charged or collected at any gate from any person going to and from a public

be charged voters

on election

days. "No

worship, a funeral, school, town meeting or election, at which he is a voter to cast his vote.TM. Pt. § 130, Transportation Corporation Law.

Shall be considered as Sunday for such purposes as the presenting, protesting, etc., of bills of exchange, bank checks and promissory notes. Nego. tiable Instruments Law, § 145.

Sheriffs' and county clerks' offices not to be open on election day. §§ 165, 184, County Law.

Sale of property in foreclosure of mortgage by advertisement not to be held on election day. Code Civ. Pro., § 2393.

Courts may sit on election day, the Election Law having repealed Laws 1842, chapter 130, which prohibited such sitting.

Issuance and service of legal process not prohibited on election day. Didsbury v. Van Tassell, (1890) 56 Hun 423, 10 N. Y. Supp. 33.

§ 291. Time of opening and closing polls.

The polls of every general election, and, unless otherwise provided by law, of every other election shall be opened at six o'clock in the forenoon and shall close at six o'clock in the afternoon. There shall be no adjournment or intermission until the polls are closed. Electors entitled to vote who are in the polling place at or before six o'clock in the afternoon shall be allowed to vote.

Derivation: Election Law, § 3, as amended by L. 1898, ch. 335, § 1; L. 1901, ch. 654, § 1.

Amended by L. 1911, ch. 649, and L. 1913, ch. 820; L. 1918, ch. 323, in effect Apr. 24, 1918.

[L. 1918, ch. 323, § 63. The amendment to section two hundred and ninetyone of the election law, made by section thirty of this act, shall not affect the provisions of section two hundred and ninety-one-a of such law as added by chapter 50 of the laws of nineteen hundred and eighteen. .]

Under the General Municipal Law, § 191, as added by L. 1921, ch. 70, and amended by L. 1921, ch. 260, the governing board of a city or village may provide that between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October the standard time may be advanced one hour; and all official proceedings shall be so regulated.

Consolidators' note. The last two sentences of the old section, making it unlawful to sell, etc., liquor on any general or special election day within a quarter of a mile of any voting place, while the polls are open, and making a violation a misdemeanor, are here omitted. Laws 1904, ch. 205, amended a similar provision in section 31 of the Liquor Tax Law (L. 1896, ch. 112), and being the later act, superseded the provision here omitted.

Cross-references.- Duration of town meeting. Town Law, § 51 (part 8, post). Time for holding village elections. Village Law, § 28, (part 9, post). Local or special laws as to the opening of elections cannot be made by the legislature. Const., art 3, § 18, subd. 9.

Amendments, however, may be made to such local or special laws as were in existence before 1875. People ex rel. Lardner v. Carson, (1894), 10 Misc. 237, 246, 30 N. Y. Supp. 817, aff'd 86 Hun 617, 35 N. Y. Supp. 1114, 155 N. Y. 491.

Statute is directory, not imperative, as to the hours of opening and closing the polls; election not necessarily void because of a violation of statutory regulations, though inspectors might be liable to indictment therefor. People v. Cook (1853), 8 N. Y. 61, 91.

Constitutionality.-A provision that polls shall be open at six o'clock in the morning and closed at four o'clock in the afternoon is constitutional. Matter of Thirty-second Election Dist. (1888), 18 N. Y. St. Rep. 785, 3 N. Y. Supp. 107. The delivery of official ballots to electors must cease at five o'clock, and no person who has not received a ballot before that time can vote. Newcomb v. Leary, (1908), 128 App. Div. 329, 112 N. Y. Supp. 657.

Electors who have received their ballots before five o'clock should be permitted to cast them. Rept. of Atty.-Gen. (1908), 409.

Where voting machines are used, each voter whose qualifications have been passed upon and approved by the inspectors at five o'clock are entitled to complete the act of voting after that hour. Rept. of Atty.-Gen. (1908), 548. Village Elections.-Inapplicable to election on question of incorporating a village. Matter of Taylor (1896), 3 App. Div. 244, 38 N. Y. Supp. 348, aff'd 150 N. Y. 242.

Village Law governs the opening and closing of the polls at a village election. Rept. of Atty.-Gen. (1896), 93.

Inapplicable to town meeting held at a different time than that of a general election. People v. Hasbrouck (1897), 21 Misc. 188, 47 N. Y. Supp. 109; People ex rel. Van Sickle v. Austin (1897), 20 App. Div. 1, 46 N. Y. 526.

§ 291-a. Time of opening and closing polls at city elections held at a time other than general elections, during the year nineteen hundred and eighteen.

Added by L. 1918, ch. 50, in effect Mar. 15, 1918. See Part IA, Special Provisions of Election Law for Year 1918, post, p. 288a.

§ 292. Filling vacancies in elective offices.

.

A vacancy occurring before October fifteenth of any year in any office authorized to be filled at a general election, shall be filled at the general election held next thereafter, unless otherwise provided by the constitution, or unless previously filled at a special election. Upon the failure to elect to any office, except that of governor or lieutenant-governor, at a general or special election, at which such office is authorized to be filled, or upon the death or disqualification of a person elected to office before the commencement of his official term, or upon the occurrence of a vacancy in any elective office which can not be filled by appointment for a period extending to or beyond the next general election at which a person may be elected thereto, the governor may in his discretion make proclamation of a special election to fill such office, specifying the district or county in which the election is to be held, and the day thereof, which shall not be less than thirty nor more than forty days from the date of the proclamation.

A special election shall not be held to fill a vacancy in the office of a representative in congress unless such vacancy occurs on or before the first day of July of the last year of the term of office, or unless it occurs thereafter and a special session of congress is called to meet before the next general election, or be called after October fourteenth of such year; nor to fill a vacancy in the office of state senator, unless the vacancy occurs before the first day of April of the last year of the term of office; nor to fill a vacancy in the office of a member of assembly, unless occuring before the first day of April in any year, unless the vacancy occurs in either such office of senator or member of assembly after such first day of April and a special session of the legislature be called to meet between such first day of April and the next general election or be called after Octobr fourteenth in such year. If a special election to fill an office shall not be held as required by law, the office shall be filled at the next general election.

Derivation: Election Law, § 4, as amended by L. 1907, ch. 119, § 1.
Amended by L. 1911, ch. 891, § 62, in effect Nov. 15, 1911.

Cross-References. Legislature to provide for filling vacancies. N. Y. Const., art. 10, § 5 (part 2, post). Vacancies in offices of judge of Court of Appeals, justice of Supreme Court, county judge or surrogate. N. Y. Const., art. 6, §§ 8, 4, 15 (part 2, post). Filling vacancies in elective offices generally. Public Officers Law, 88 41, 42 (part 6, post). Terms of officers chosen to fill vacancies. Public Officers Law, § 38 (part 6, post). Creation of vacancies. Public Officers Law, § 30. Application. This section relates only to general elections and does not apply to a town meeting held at a time different than a general election. People ex rel. Lovett v. Randall (1895), 12 Misc. 619, 34 N. Y. Supp. 450. Vacancy defined. -The word " vacancy describes the condition of an office when it is first created and has not been filled by an incumbent. Matter of Collins (1896), 16 Misc. 598, 40 N. Y. Supp. 517.

When office vacant. An office is vacant in the eye of the law whenever it is unoccupied by a legally qualified incumbent who has a lawful right to continue therein until the happening of some future event. Matter of Collins (1896), 16 Misc. 598, 40 N. Y. Supp. 517.

A newly created office which is not filled by the tribunal which created it becomes vacant on the instant of its creation. Matter of Collins (1896), 16 Misc. 598, 40 N. Y. Supp. 517.

Vacancy in office of recorder to be filled pursuant to this provision. Reports of Atty. Gen. (1903), 503; (1904) 205.

Where a vacancy occurs in the office of sheriff between the fifteenth of October and the general election day in November following, it cannot be filled at that election, but a special election should be called for that purpose, of which not less than thirty or more than forty days' notice must be given." Matter of Mitchell v. Boyle (1916), 219 N. Y. 242.

The Governor has power to call a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of a sheriff, after October 15th. People ex rel. Conklin v. Boyle (1917), 98 Misc. 364, 163 N. Y. Supp. 72.