THE LITERACY TEST
CHAPTER 27.
AN ACT
(H. B. 14)
To prohibit persons from voting who
ere unable to read the Constitu
tion of the United States and to
write in the English language; to
provide the method of showing
such ability; to declare votes by
persons without such ability to be
fraudulent; to make violations of
this Act a misdemeanor; and to
provide penalties and punishments
for the violation thereof.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of
the Territory of Alaska:
Section 1. That from and after
the passage of this Act no person
sha1! become or be an elector or
voter at any general election any
special election, or any primary eh* -
tion held in the Territory of Alaska
for the purpose of electing or nom
inating any person or persons to or
for the office of Delegate to th *
House of Representatives of th *
United States from the Territory o'
Alaska, or to or for the office of
Senator or Representative in th *
Alaska Legislative Assembly, or to
or for any other elective Territorial
office, unless such proposed e’ector
or vote)- at the time of any such
election and prior to voting thereat,
shall be able to read in the Eng
lish language the Constitution of
the United States and to write n
the English language; provided that
the requirements of this Act shall
not apply to any person who is in
capacitated from complying there
with by physical disability only.
And, provided further, that thU
Act shall not apply to any person
who has legally voted at any such
general, special or primary election,
previous to the passage of this Act.
Section 2. That no person without
the ability to read and write •> -
herein provided shall vote at any
such election, except as provide! in
Section 1 of this Act; nor shall any
election officer know! cglv p rmit
any person without such ability to
vote at any such election; nor -dudl
any other person know in Uv induce
any person without such ability to
vote at any such election; an 1 that
the inability of any person to so
read and write shall constitute a
sufficient ground of challenge to
such person’s voting bv any (pin1
i L'ied election officer, or onnlified
elector, or duly appointed, wat -h r.
Section 3. That the ability to so
read and write as herein provide I
shall be evidenced as follows: Every
person, except as provided in Sec
tion 1 of this Act. desiring to vote
at any such election, before being
permitted to vote, shall, without th *
aid or assistance of any parson
whomsoever, legibly sign his or Tu-v
own full name, and write his or
her own sex and address in the reg
istration or poll book, and, if he or
she appears to the election officers
or any of them not to have the
ability to read and write as herein
required, or if he or she be chal
lenged upon the ground of inability
to read and write as herein required,
then he or she shall be required, be
fore voting, to read in the English
language, publicly and in the pres
ence of the election officers, an 1
under the direction of the election
officers or some or one of them, a
passage of not less than ten lines,
chosen at random by the election
officers or some or one of them,
from the Constitution of the United
States, and to legibly write in the
English language a passage of not
fewer than twenty-five consecutive
words chosen at random by the elec
foil office) s or some or one of
them from the Constitution of the
United Stales, and dictated by one
of the election officers to such pro
posed voter.
Section 4. No person claiming to
!>' exempt from the provisions of
this Act by reason of physical dis
ability shall be permitted to vote at
any such election, unless it is ap
parent to the election officers that
such physical disability exists, and
that except for such physical dis
ability the proposed voter would be
ab’e to read and write in the Eng
l:sh language as herein required.
And if any person should claim ex
emption from any of the provisions
of this Act, because of having pre
viously voted legally at any election
mentioned in Section 1 of this Act,
said person shall be required to
swear, under oath, as to the time
and place of having so voted.
Section 5. Any person who is re
fused permission to vote at any
election in any precinct by the elec
tion officers of such precinct on the
ground that the proposed voter is
i,nable to read and wr'te in r 1 to Eng
Uii language ns herein *• Mildred,
shall not again attempt to vote, or
he permitted to vote, in the same
or any other product at the same
election.
Section 6. That no ballot cast at
any election by any person without
the ability to read and write as
herein required, except as herein
provided, shall be counted, returned
or canvassed, and every such vote
or ballot shall be deemed fraudulent
and illegal.
Section 7. That any person who
violates any of the provisions of
this Act shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor, and upon conviction
thereof shall be punished by a fine
of not more than Five Hundred Dol
lars, or by imprisonment in jail for
not more than six months, or by
both fine and imprisonment.
Section 8. That this Act as a
whole shall not be or become in
validated by reason of the invalidity
of any particular section or pro
visions hereof, or by reason of the
invalidity of the Act with reference
to any of the elections herein men
tioned; and it is the hereby ex
pressly declared intention of the
Legislature, that the invalidity, or
adjudication as invalid, of any par
ticular section or provision of this
Act, or of the Act generally and as
a whole to any of the elections
herein mentioned, shall not affect
the validity of any other section or
provision hereof, or the validity of
the Act as a whole to any election
or elections to which it may law
fu'ly apply.
Approved April 24, 1925.
C. M. CARLSON
Chiropractor
PHONE
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