HERBERT R. O'CONOR, GOVERNOR. 1133

the Judges, and his ballot not put in a ballot box, the Clerks
shall thereupon draw a line through his name and number.

Immediately after the closing of the polls, the Judges of
Elections shall proceed to count the ballots and the counting
thereof shall not be adjourned or postponed until it shall have
been fully completed, the returns announced publicly and the
written returns hereinafter provided for fully completed, and
signed by the Judges and Clerks of Election. No ballot shall
be counted for Mayor whereon the voter has made a cross (X)
mark opposite the name of more than one candidate for Mayor,
and the same shall be true in respect to the counting the votes
for Councilman for each of the several wards. In counting
the ballots the Judges of Election shall be governed by the
manifest intent of the voter where the same can be ascertained,
and a cross (X) mark protruding slightly beyond any square
in which the same should be made shall not be sufficient cause
to reject any ballot. Any ballot which shall have upon it
any mark other than a cross (X) mark, which in the opinion
of the Judges shall appear to have been placed thereon for the
purpose of distinguishing said ballot from others, shall be re-
jected by them and not counted.

After the Election Officials shall have counted the ballots,
and shall have compared the poll books with the number of
ballots, and found them to be correct, they shall make dupli-
cate statements or returns of the result of the canvass of said
votes, each of which statements or returns shall contain a
caption showing the date on which said election was held and
the hours thereof, and showing the number of votes given to
each candidate designating the office for which they were given.
In case any proposition other than the election of officials shall
be submitted to the voters at any such election under the pro-
visions of this or any other Act of Assembly, such results
shall show in like manner the number of votes for and against
such proposition. At the end of such statements or re-
turns there shall be a certificate that the same are correct in
all respects, and said certificate shall be signed by all the
Judges and Clerks of such election.

In case any Judge or Clerk shall decline to sign any such
returns, he shall make a statement of his reasons for such re-
fusal in duplicate, sign each of said duplicate copies of his
reasons, and such statements shall be inclosed with the returns.
Each of the above mentioned returns or statements, together
with one of the statements of declination, if any there be, shall
be inclosed in an envelope which shall be then securely sealed
and each of the Judges and Clerks shall write his name across
the fold thereof. One of said envelopes shall be directed to the
Mayor of Mount Rainier, and the other to the Town Clerk and
Treasurer, and the Supervisors of Election shall take charge