Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 1582)
The short title of Act No. 1582 is the Election Law.
The Philippine Assembly shall consist of eighty-one members apportioned among the provinces as specified in section 5 of the Act.
Regular elections for Delegates to the Philippine Assembly are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered year starting from 1909.
A Delegate to the Philippine Assembly must be a qualified elector of the district, owe allegiance to the United States, and be at least twenty-five years old at the time of election.
Every male person at least 23 years old, legal resident for six months preceding the election, not a foreign citizen or subject, and who meets one of three classes of qualifications (prior official position, property ownership or tax payment, literacy in English or Spanish) can vote.
Persons delinquent in paying taxes, deprived of voting rights by court sentence, those who have violated the oath of allegiance, those who have taken arms against the US authority, or given aid to hostile forces among others, are disqualified from voting.
They may be punished by imprisonment from one month to one year, or a fine from two hundred to five hundred pesos, or both, at the court's discretion.
Provincial vacancies are filled by the Governor-General's appointment; municipal vacancies are filled by the provincial board appointment until the next general election or until a successor is elected and qualified.
Votes are counted publicly by the board of inspectors after the polls close, with the opening and examination of ballots in plain view of watchers, complete tallying, certification, and announcement of results.
No intoxicating liquors shall be sold within 150 meters on election day during voting hours, and no cockfights shall be held in any municipality on election days.