OMNIBUS
ELECTION CODE
Article XIV
BOARD
OF ELECTION INSPECTORS
Sec. 164. Composition and appointment of board
of election inspectors. - At least thirty days
before the date when the voters list is to be prepare in accordance with this
Code, in the case of a regular election or fifteen days before a special
election, the Commission shall, directly or through its duly authorized
representatives, constitute a board of election inspectors for each precinct to
be composed of a chairman and a poll clerk who must be public school teachers,
priority to be given to civil service eligibles, and two members, each
representing the two accredited political parties. The appointment shall state
the precinct to which they are assigned and the date of the appointment.
Sec. 166. Qualification of members of the board
of election inspectors. - No person shall be
appointed chairman, member or substitute member of the board of election
inspectors unless he is of good moral character and irreproachable reputation,
a registered voter of the city or municipality, has never been convicted of any
election offense or of any other crime punishable by more than six months of
imprisonment, or if he has pending against him an information for any election
offense. He must be able to speak and write English or the local dialect.
Sec. 167. Disqualification. - No person shall serve as chairman or member of the board of
election inspectors if he is related within the fourth civil degree of
consanguinity or affinity to any member of the board of election inspectors or
to any candidate to be voted for in the polling place or his spouse.
Sec. 168. Powers of the board of election
inspectors. - The board of election
inspectors shall have the following powers and functions:
a.
Conduct the voting and counting of
votes in their respective polling places;
b.
Act as deputies of the Commission in
the supervision and control of the election in the polling places wherein they
are assigned, to assure the holding of the same in a free, orderly and honest
manner; and
c.
Perform such other functions prescribed
by this Code or by the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission.
Sec. 169. Voting privilege of members of board
of election inspectors. - Members of the board of
election inspectors and their substitutes may vote in the polling place where
they are assigned on election day: Provided, That they are registered voters
within the province, city or municipality where they are assigned: and
Provided, finally, That their voting in the polling places where they are not
registered voters be noted in the minutes of the board of election inspectors.
Sec. 170. Relief and substitution of members of
the board of election inspectors. -
Public school teachers who are members of the board of election inspectors
shall not be relieved nor disqualified from acting as such members, except for
cause and after due hearing.
Any
member of the board of election inspectors, nominated by a political party, as
well as his substitute may at any time be relieved from office and substituted
with another having the legal qualifications upon petition of the authorized
representative of the party upon whose nomination the appointment was made, and
it shall be unlawful to prevent said person from, or disturb him in, the
performance of the duties of the said office. A record of each case of
substitution shall be made, setting forth therein the hour in which the
replaced member has ceased in the office and the status of the work of the
board of election inspectors. Said record shall be signed by each member of the
board of election inspectors including the incoming and outgoing officers.
Sec. 171. Vacancy in the board of election
inspectors. - Every vacancy in the board of
election inspectors shall be filled for the remaining period in the manner
hereinbefore prescribed.
Sec. 172. Proceedings of the board of election
inspectors. - The meetings of the board of
election inspectors shall be public and shall be held only in the polling place
authorized by the Commission.
The
board of election inspectors shall have full authority to maintain order within
the polling place and its premises, to keep access thereto open and
unobstructed, and to enforce obedience to its lawful orders. If any person
shall refuse to obey lawful orders of the board of election inspectors, or
shall conduct himself in a disorderly manner in its presence or within its
hearing and thereby interrupt or disturb its proceedings, the board of election
inspectors may issue an order in writing directing any peace officer to take
such person into custody until the adjournment of the meeting, but such order
shall not be executed as to prevent any person so taken into custody from
exercising his right to vote. Such order shall be executed by any peace officer
to whom it may be delivered, but if none be present, by any other person
deputized by the board of election inspectors in writing.
Sec. 173. Prohibition of political activity. - No member of the board of election inspectors shall engage in
any partisan political activity or take part in the election except to discharge
his duties as such and to vote.
Sec. 174. Functioning of the board of election
inspectors. - The board of election
inspectors shall act through its chairman, and shall decide without delay by
majority vote all questions which may arise in the performance of its duties.
Sec. 175. Temporary vacancies. - If, at the time of the meeting of the board of election
inspectors, any member is absent, or the office is still vacant, the members
present shall call upon the substitute or the absent members to perform the
duties of the latter; and, in case such substitute cannot be found, the members
present shall appoint any non-partisan registered voter of the polling place to
temporarily fill said vacancy until the absent member appears or the vacancy is
filled. In case there are two or more members present, they shall act jointly:
Provided, That if the absent member is one who has been proposed by an
accredited political party, the representative of said political party or in
his absence the watchers belonging to said party shall designate a registered
voter of the polling place to temporarily fill said vacancy: Provided, further,
That in the event or refusal or failure of either representative or watchers of
said political party to make the designation, the members of the board of
election inspectors present shall choose a non-partisan registered voter of the
polling place to fill the vacancy.
Sec. 176. Temporary designation of members of
the board of election inspectors by watchers. - If
at the time the board of election inspectors must meet, all the positions in
the board of election inspectors are vacant, or if not one of the appointed
members shall appear, the watchers present may designate voters of the polling
place to act in the place of said members until the absentees shall appear or
the vacancies are filled.
Sec. 177. Arrest of absent members. - The member or members of the board of election inspectors
present may order the arrest of any other member or substitute thereof, who in
their judgment, has absented himself with intention of obstructing the
performance of duties of the board of election inspectors.
