Election Law Amendments Act 1924

Certificate of candidacy filing rules

Section 405 requires certificates of candidacy for the office of senator and representative to be filed not less than twenty days before the day set for the election with the Chief of the Executive Bureau.
The Chief of the Executive Bureau must immediately send certified copies to the secretaries of the Houses of the Legislature and to the provincial boards where the elections are to be held, and the provincial boards must forward certified copies to all polling places.
The law allows the Executive Bureau to communicate candidates’ names to the provincial boards by telegraph if there be any, without prejudice to the normal forwarding requirements.
Section 405 requires certificates of candidacy for provincial offices to be filed not less than twenty days before the election with the secretary of the provincial board of the concerned province, who must immediately send certified copies to all polling places in the province and to the Executive Bureau.
Section 405 requires certificates of candidacy for municipal offices to be filed not less than ten days before the election with the municipal secretary, who must send certified copies to polling places and to the Executive Bureau.
The Chief of the Executive Bureau, the provincial board secretary, and the municipal secretary must acknowledge receipt upon receiving any certificate of candidacy.
Section 405 allows a legally qualified elector to file a certificate of candidacy if a candidate for Insular, provincial, or municipal office whose certificate was duly filed dies or becomes disqualified after expiration of the filing time limits: the filing may be made with the secretary of the provincial board or the municipal secretary, not later than noon hour on the day of the election.
Section 405 further provides that if death or disqualification occurs on the day before the election or before the noon hour on the day of election, the certificate must be filed with any board of inspectors of the municipality where the elector resides.

Polling place setup and restrictions

Section 414 requires each municipal council, at least eighty days before each general election, to designate in each election precinct a place centrally located with respect to voters where elections and meetings for registration will be held during the year.
The designated place must be, if practicable, a room on the lower floor, of reasonable size, sufficient to admit and comfortably accommodate twenty electors outside the guard rails.
Section 414 prohibits selling, serving, or drinking liquors and cockfights in the designated building from the time of designation until the day after election.
Section 414 limits polling place placement within buildings: not more than one polling place in the same room and not more than two polling places in the same building.
Section 414 allows designation of other suitable places if a designated place is destroyed or cannot be used before election, and allows temporary or portable structures when suitable places cannot be procured or when more economical.
Section 414 permits temporary structures in public street or plaza but prohibits erection so as to block traffic, and bans use of any building owned or inhabited by a candidate for an office for which votes are to be cast in that precinct as a polling place.
Section 414 prohibits polling places under control of any private society or corporation, unless there is no properly constructed and established road and the place is over six kilometers distant from the poblacion or nearest barrio.
Section 414 requires the Chief of the Executive Bureau to prepare and furnish all office supplies and materials for registration and holding elections, including ballot boxes and other election papers, which must be uniform throughout the Islands and solidly constructed so they cannot be opened except by three different keys.
Section 414 requires that one key be in the hands of each inspector during voting and counting, and that all keys be surrendered to the municipal treasurer immediately upon completion of the count in a separate envelope sealed and signed by watchers present and each inspector.
Section 414 directs the municipal treasurer to deliver keys to the provincial treasurer, the clerk of the court of first instance, and the district commander of the Philippine Constabulary; those officers must demand keys if not received within a reasonable time, keep them for six months, unless sooner demanded by proper courts, then return them to the provincial treasurer to keep until the next election.
Section 414 mandates ballot box colors and inscriptions: the box for valid ballots must be white and bear “Box for valid ballots”; the box for spoiled ballots must be red and bear “Box for spoiled ballots.”
Section 414 requires a polling-place sign showing the precinct and requires hoisting official government flags at the proper height on days of inspectors’ meetings.
Section 414 imposes a duty on the Chief of the Executive Bureau to ensure local authorities faithfully and impartially perform ministerial duties, including applying for the aid of the Office of the Attorney-General and designating as deputies the provincial fiscals and other necessary officers or agents to secure an orderly, free, and honest election.

Ballot area rules and security

Section 415 requires a guard rail arrangement: behind the inspectors’ table there must also be another guard rail one meter high separating the board of inspectors from watchers.
Section 415 requires the inspectors’ table to be placed fifty centimeters from the guard rail so watchers can clearly read ballot contents and see and count votes recorded on the tally sheet.
Section 416 prohibits intoxication-related practices on key election periods: the drinking, sale, dispensing, or offering of intoxicating liquors is absolutely prohibited on the days of registration, the two days immediately preceding voting, the day of voting, and during the entire time of counting.
Section 416 bans sales structures near polling places: no temporary booths, tents, shelters, or structures for any purpose shall be erected or maintained within thirty meters of any polling place on the days and hours of registration, voting, and counting.
Section 416 prohibits cockfights or horse races in any municipality on any election day.
Section 416 restricts firearms during election periods: except in case of affray, riot, or disorder, it is unlawful for any person other than a policeman or peace officer to carry firearms or other arms within fifty meters of any polling place during registration, voting, and counting.

Election personnel, voter registry, and affidavits

Section 417 requires municipal councils in each municipality holding a general election to appoint ninety days immediately prior to the general election: three inspectors and one poll clerk, each with respective substitutes, for each election precinct.
Section 417 provides that appointed inspectors and poll clerk hold office for three years or until successors take charge.
Section 417 requires publication of the council’s meeting date for appointment of inspectors at least fifteen days in advance by the town crier and other means of publication.
Section 417 mandates political alignment of inspectors: if political parties or groups exist, two inspectors and two substitutes must belong to the party (or branch/fraction/group) that polled the largest number of votes in the municipality in the next preceding election, while the remaining inspector and substitute must belong to the party/group that polled the next largest number.
Section 417 requires that inspectors be persons proposed by the legitimate representatives of the corresponding political parties/branches/fractions/groups.
Section 417 states that if a party/group entitled to representation has not proposed eligibles by the required designation date, the council’s designation is final for that party/group.
Section 417 defines a political party as an organized group pursuing the same political ideals in government and defines a political group as a number of persons who unite for election purposes.
Section 417 provides that vacancies are filled for the remainder of the term by the municipal council using the same basis.
Section 417 makes eligibility rules: except for notaries public, no person holding public office or a candidate for elective public office is eligible to be appointed as inspector or poll clerk.
Section 424 requires compensation: each inspector and poll clerk receives pay for each day of actual service at meetings of the board except the meeting on the Saturday before election, and receives two days’ pay for election day.
Section 424 grants the municipal treasurer compensation equivalent to the per diem of an election inspector for election day.
Section 424 fixes a pay range: the municipal council sets the rate but must be not less than five nor more than fifteen pesos per day, and the rate must not change during the inspectors’ or clerk’s term of office.
Section 425 requires a permanent list of voters be kept in each municipality and provides that no person may vote in any general or special election held under the chapter unless the person’s name appears on the list of voters.
Section 425 directs the Chief of the Executive Bureau to ensure that seventy-five days before the general election of nineteen hundred and twenty-five, each municipal treasurer receives three certified copies on suitable forms of all voter lists used at the last general and special elections in the municipality.
Section 426 requires applicants for registration to file an affidavit with the municipal treasurer in triplicate, made before the municipal treasurer or the municipal secretary.
Section 426 requires the affidavit to state: name and surname, citizenship, place and date of birth, age on last birthday, marital status, profession/occupation or trade, exact and correct address, time of residence in the Philippines and in the municipality on the affidavit date, the qualification(s) entitling the applicant to vote, absence of legal disqualifications, and (if applicable) physical incapacity for preparing a ballot on election day due to illiteracy or physical incapacity.
Section 426 requires recognition and acceptance of the supreme authority of the United States of America in the Philippine Islands and maintaining true faith and allegiance thereto.
Section 426 requires applicants to state if and where they voted at the preceding election; if residence changed, they must attach a copy of the application for cancellation under Section 429, duly certified by the treasurer of the municipality of previous residence.
Section 426 requires the affidavit to include placement of the number, place, and date of issue of the applicant’s personal cedula.
Section 426 requires electors registered due to the qualification specified in subsection (b) of Section 431 who later lose such qualification to report to the municipal treasurer to request cancellation of registration.
Section 426 requires copies and forwarding: one copy filed with the municipal treasurer, one with the municipal secretary, and one with the register of deeds of the province; the treasurer forwards duplicates/triplicates with certification they are correct and recorded, stating date of receipt and record number.
Section 426 provides that if the interested party supplies an additional copy, the municipal treasurer must return it with a like certificate.
Section 426 exempts from the required affidavit: voters who registered at the general election of nineteen hundred and twenty-two and in special elections afterward are considered duly registered for the present Act, except those who have removed to another municipality, incurred incapacity for being a voter, or ceased to have the qualification in subsection (b) of Section 431 if registered due to that qualification.
Section 426 requires new voters for subsequent elections to make the affidavit within the ten days next preceding the first day designated by law for voter registration before a general or special election.
Section 426 requires the municipal secretary within the first five days of each month to furnish to the municipal treasurer a list of registered voters who have died.
Section 426 requires the clerk of the Court of First Instance within the first five days of each month to transmit to municipal treasurers a list of males convicted by final sentence for violation of the oath of allegiance to the United States or sentenced to eighteen months or more of imprisonment.
Section 426 requires the municipal treasurer to classify affidavits and applications for cancellation by election precincts, and to classify voters who died, violated the oath of allegiance to the United States, were sentenced to eighteen months or more, or otherwise lost voting qualification.
Section 426 requires delivery to boards of inspectors on the eve of the first day designated by law for revision: the municipal treasurer must deliver affidavits and cancellation applications, and notices given by voters who lost the subsection (b) qualification, and also three copies of the precinct list filed after the preceding election.
Section 426 requires that when a new election precinct is created, the treasurer furnishes the board of inspectors three certified copies of lists from precincts from which territory was taken.
Section 426 requires the treasurer to also provide each precinct board a certified list of voters in that precinct who died, violated the oath of allegiance, or were sentenced to eighteen months or more.
Section 426 provides special handling for the general election of nineteen hundred and twenty-five: upon receipt from the Chief of the Executive Bureau of three certified copies of the voter lists sent under Section 425, the treasurer must immediately deliver them to boards of inspectors; if a new precinct is created, the treasurer must similarly furnish lists received from the Executive Bureau for existing precincts from which territory was taken.

Revision meetings, revised voter lists, and appeals

Section 427 requires each precinct board of inspectors to hold two meetings for revision of the voters’ list and rejection of registrations filed under Section 426, including challenge and decision after hearing parties and examining evidence.
Section 427 requires the meetings to occur on the seventh Saturday and sixth Saturday next before election day at the polling place designated.
Section 427 requires the board to meet on the Saturday next before election to correct the revised list by adding names, striking names, and numbering and completing the list in accordance with orders of constituted authorities.
Section 427 requires each meeting to begin at seven o’clock in the morning and continue until seven o’clock in the evening, with not more than one intermission of one and a half hours.
Section 427 creates an after-hours registration rule: if at seven o’clock in the evening on either revision day persons who filed affidavits still desire registration but are not registered, inspectors must list those present within thirty meters of the polling place and give each a consecutively numbered card; upon presentation of that card, registration is permitted after seven o’clock in the evening, but not for persons arriving after that hour.
Section 427 requires challenges questioning a voter’s right made before the board to be heard and decided within not more than five days.
Section 428 requires precinct inspectors to prepare at meetings a list of names and residences of persons qualified to vote in that precinct for the election.
Section 428 requires the list to include: persons registered at preceding general or special elections who are not dead, not removed to another municipality, not disqualified, and still qualified under subsection (b) of Section 431 if registered thereunder; and applicants whose registrations were not challenged or were decided qualified.
Section 428 provides that from decisions of the board, an appeal lies to the competent court.
Section 428 makes the completed list the revised voter list for that election.
Section 428 requires column structure and content:
- first column: a consecutive number from one onward opposite each registered person’s name;
- second column: surnames in alphabetical order;
- third column: Christian names;
- fourth column: residence by street and number, or brief locality description;
- fifth column: qualification(s) by virtue of which the voter took the elector’s oath;
- sixth column: consecutive voting number given on election day.
Section 428 requires leaving space after surname groups beginning with the same letter for later additions, and requires that added surnames at subsequent meetings be marked with “added at the second meeting” before those additions.
Section 429 makes it unlawful to register in another municipality without first applying for cancellation of former registration.
Section 429 requires cancellation procedure: the voter files with the municipal treasurer of the municipality where registered a sworn application in quadruplicate requesting cancellation, stating the date of removal and correct exact new address.
Section 429 requires the treasurer to dispose of three copies the same way as original affidavit copies under Section 426, and to return the fourth copy to the applicant after certification.
Section 429 requires that any voter who registered in another polling place(s) for special elections after the general election of nineteen hundred and twenty-two must demand cancellation of enough prior registrations to ensure registration in no more than one polling place before the day designated for revision of the voter list.
Section 430 requires placement on registration lists of all persons who complied with Sections 426, 427, and 428, have the voter qualifications in Section 431, and have none of the special disqualifications in Section 432.
Section 430 permits registration of persons who lack required age or residence qualification at the time of registration if shown that they will have such qualification by the time of the ensuing election.
Section 432 disqualifies voting for:
- persons sentenced by final sentence since August 13, 1898 to suffer not less than eighteen months of imprisonment, with disability not removed by plenary pardon;
- persons who violated an oath of allegiance to the United States;
- insane or feeble-minded persons;
- deaf mutes who cannot read and write;
- persons who registered as not incapacitated but present as incapacitated at the hour of voting, whether real or feigned.
Section 433 requires inspectors, at the close of each meeting for registration, to append to each list a certificate signed by all of them stating the list is a true and correct list of the names and residences of previously registered voters and new qualified voters for the forthcoming election.
Section 433 requires distribution of one certified copy for public inspection: deposit in the municipal secretary’s office early on the Monday following each meeting to be open to public inspection until election day.
Section 433 requires other certified copies be sent: one to the register of deeds via the poll clerk on the same day and hour; one to the Executive Bureau; and three to be retained by inspectors.
Section 433 requires inspectors to permit inspection of retained copies by voters of the precinct on meeting days from eight o’clock in the morning to five o’clock in the afternoon.
Section 437 authorizes petitions to strike names: any qualified elector in the precinct, or a candidate or authorized representative, may apply to specified judicial officers for an order striking names claimed erroneously or wrongfully registered.
Section 437 fixes filing deadlines:
- if filed with the judge of first instance: after first day of registration and not later than twenty days before the Saturday next before the election;
- if filed with the justice of the peace of the provincial capital or the circuit justice of the peace: after first day of registration and not later than thirty days before the Saturday next before the election.
Section 438 grants jurisdiction for inclusion/exclusion matters: the judge of first instance and justice of the peace of the capital have concurrent provincewide jurisdiction; the circuit justice has jurisdiction in municipalities of the circuit, with exclusive jurisdiction vested in the officer to whom the application is first presented.
Section 438 provides an appeal path: decisions of the justice of the peace of the provincial capital and the circuit justice of the peace may be appealed to the judge of the Court of First Instance.
Section 438 requires the clerk of the Court of First Instance and the relevant justices of the peace to note the date and hour of filing and to decide the case within ten days after filing.
Section 438 authorizes circuit justice and provincial capital justice to hold sessions in any municipality of their respective territories and requires payment by the municipality of traveling expenses and per diems of three pesos for each day to the applying officer(s).

Special elections and subsequent registration contests

Section 440 requires that prior to a special election one registration meeting, and no more, be held for registration purposes twenty days before the day designated for the election.
Section 440 provides that the register for the last preceding general election (as supplemented at any previous registration for a special election) serves as the basis, and names of persons who prove entitled to vote at the ensuing special election are added through the proper affidavit process.
Section 440 makes the completed register the official register for the special election and requires observing the rules in the second paragraph of the immediately preceding section regarding the register.
Section 441 allows questions about a voter’s right in special registration and thereafter prior to the impending election, using the same general registration procedure for determination and provides that the board of inspectors shall comply with the judge’s order for adding or striking out names any time before the election or on election day.
Section 441 requires notice in special registration matters to be given as practicable or as required by discretion of the judge.

Voting process rules and ballot integrity

Section 452 requires each voter, upon receiving a ballot, to retire alone to an empty polling booth and prepare the ballot by writing in the proper space the name of the person for whom the voter desires to vote.
Section 452 prohibits a voter from occupying a booth already occupied by another voter.
Section 452 limits booth time: a voter may not occupy a booth more than eight minutes when voters are waiting to occupy booths.
Section 452 prohibits voters within the polling place from speaking or conversing with anyone other than as allowed by law during the voting process.
Section 452 prohibits voter tampering: unlawful to erase any printing from the ballot or to add any distinguishing feature, intentionally tear or deface the ballot, or make any mark other than names of the candidates voted for.
Section 452 prohibits using carbon paper to make a copy of the ballot or any other means identifying the vote.
Section 452 declares ballots unlawful, null, and void if cast for a deceased or imaginary person, for a person for an office for which the voter’s choice is not a candidate, or when circumstances show the purpose of the voter to identify the ballot.
Section 456 allows challenges: any qualified voter of the precinct who believes a person who is not registered is offering to vote, or that a person is offering to vote in the name of another, may challenge the vote.
Section 456 requires the board to take an oath of the challenged person or otherwise satisfy itself whether the challenge is true.
Section 456 requires sufficient proof for vote-counting: the challenged person must prove identity as the identical registered person using a statement identifying him, subscribed and sworn before the board by two known voters of the polling place.
Section 456 requires attaching the sworn statement and the affidavit of the challenged person to the minute-record of the incident.

Counting results, ballot boxes, and tie outcomes

Section 465 requires inspectors, within three hours after completion of the count, to make, complete, and sign a written statement in quadruplicate showing specified election count and rejection figures, including: date of election, municipality name, precinct number, ballot stubs received, ballots deposited, votes adjudicated per candidate per office, rejected ballots as marked, objected ballots marked but not rejected, objected and rejected for other reasons, objected and rejected for same or different reasons but accepted, spoiled ballots, ballots remaining on hand, and ballots not used.
Section 465 requires writing out at length in words and not in figures, and requires a certificate signed by inspectors stating statement correctness and covering any protest filed by watchers.
Section 465 requires each statement be made on a single sheet or, if not possible, each sheet signed on the margin by all inspectors.
Section 465 requires forwarding: within one hour after proclamation, one copy filed with municipal treasurer; one forwarded to the provincial treasurer as provided by the next following section; one sealed forwarded to the Chief of the Executive Bureau; and the fourth placed by the board in the valid-ballot box upon sealing it.
Section 465 requires the chairman to make public oral proclamation of the whole number of votes cast at the polling place for all candidates by name for each office.
Section 465 requires inspectors to furnish watchers requesting them a certificate of votes cast for each candidate for Insular and provincial office and municipal president and vice-president before retiring and before four o’clock in the afternoon of the day next following election.
Section 467 requires ballots, packages, and unused ballots to be put in the ballot box, which must be securely locked and sealed and delivered immediately after the count to the municipal treasurer, who must keep his office open all night on election day if necessary.
Section 467 requires the spoiled ballots be returned to the spoiled-ballot box, which must also be locked and sealed and delivered to the municipal treasurer.
Section 467 requires delivery after election to the municipal treasurer of sworn statements, applications for cancellation, and other papers and documents forwarded by the municipal treasurer to inspectors under Section 426, and the three copies of the list of voters and other papers relative to registration, election, and counting.
Section 467 requires the municipal treasurer, on the day after election, to notify members of the boards who failed to deliver the objects to him or a delegate previously designated by him.
Section 475 provides tie procedures: if the board of canvassers (or Governor-General) decides a tie for senator or member of the House of Representatives, it must certify to the Senate or House the decision and all supporting statements and papers; the respective body then has jurisdiction to declare and/or order a special election.
Section 475 provides that if a tie involves a provincial governor, member of the provincial board, or councilor of the City of Manila, the board must certify to the Senate, which has jurisdiction to declare either tied candidate elected or order a special election, without prejudice to any candidate’s right to contest the election under the following provisions.
Section 476 makes a disqualification for canvassing: any member of the provincial board who is a candidate for elective office is incompetent to act as a member of the board of canvassers.
Section 476 requires the Chief of the Executive