AI-assisted research summary: Election officers commit offences if they miss required election duties, drink during an election, disclose how someone voted, or copy/disclose poll-list and ballot-count information; convictions can bring fines and, for one offence, up to six months’ hard labor.
(a) Any election officer appointed as such by a municipal governing body who shall fail to attend a municipal election without a lawful excuse shall, on conviction, be fined not more than $100.00. (b) Any election officer who drinks any intoxicating liquors while any election is being held shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $50.00. (c) Any election officer who, without lawful excuse, neglects, fails, or refuses to perform any official duty prescribed by this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, unless otherwise provided, and, on conviction, shall be fined not less than $50.00. (d) Any election officer who discloses how any elector voted shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, shall be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $500.00, and may also be sentenced to hard labor for the county for not more than six months. (e) If any election officer willfully neglects to perform any duty imposed on him by this article or is guilty of any corrupt conduct in the execution of the same, and no other punishment is provided for such neglect or conduct, he must, on conviction, be fined not less than $100.00 nor more than $1,000.00; provided, that no person shall be deemed an officer within the meaning of this subsection, until he first shall have taken an oath well and truly to discharge the duties of such office to the best of his ability or until he shall have performed some of the duties of such office. The failure or refusal of any person to accept office or his failure or refusal to discharge and perform the duties of such office at any time after his appointment thereto and prior to his taking the oath of such office and before he shall have discharged and performed any of the duties thereof shall not in either event be deemed a violation of this subsection. (f) Any election officer or any other person who makes a copy of the poll list, or any memoranda therefrom, or list of the persons voting or the number of their ballots or discloses the number of such voter’s ballot shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than $200.00.