The Short Title of this Act is “The School Committees Election Act, 1890.”

So much of section four of “The Education Act, 1877” (hereinafter referred to as “the said Act”), as defines the meaning of the word “householder” is hereby repealed, and in lieu thereof the following is substituted, that is to say: “Householder” means and includes every adult male or female person who (being the owner, lessee, or tenant) resides in any dwelling-house within the school district, and the parent or guardian or other person who has the actual custody of any child attending any State school situated within such district; and in school districts situated within a proclaimed goldfield also means and includes every resident holder of a miner’s right, not being an alien:

Provided always that no householder who is a paid servant of the Education Department or of any Education Board or School Committee shall be eligible to be elected as a member of any School Committee:

And provided further that, for the purposes of “The Education Act, 1877,” “The Education Act 1877 Amendment Act, 1885,” and this Act, the word “dwelling-house” shall be deemed to mean a permanent structure, and shall not include a tent or other temporary shelter.

Together with the notice issued by the Education Board, appointing the time and place for holding the annual meetings of householders, and which said notice shall be published not later than the first Monday in April, the Board shall call upon householders to send in to the respective Chairmen of the several School Committees, in writing, on or before the third Monday in April, the names of persons, being householders, nominated by them for election to serve upon the Committee for the year next ensuing. Such nominations shall be signed by the proposer and by the candidate, and shall be in the form set forth in the Schedule hereto or to the effect thereof.

The Chairman of every Committee shall cause a list of all candidates so nominated to be displayed upon the outer door of every schoolhouse within the district under the control of such Committee, on the third Tuesday in April.

When, upon the day appointed therefor, the annual election of Committee is proceeded with, the Chairman presiding at each meeting of householders shall read or cause to be read the list of persons nominated for election, and

If seven householders and no more shall have been duly nominated such seven persons shall be declared duly elected.

If more than seven nominations duly made as aforesaid shall have been received, then the names of the persons nominated shall be submitted to ballot, and the seven persons receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared duly elected.

If less than seven householders shall have been duly nominated, or if there shall have been no nominations received, then the candidate or candidates nominated, if any, shall be declared duly elected, and the meeting shall be called upon to nominate a person or persons to fill the vacant seat or seats on the Committee; and if only the required number be nominated then such person or persons shall be declared duly elected, but if more than the required number be nominated then the election shall be decided by ballot.

If at any election there shall be a tie between any two or more candidates the Chairman of the meeting may decide the same as he shall think fit, either by giving a casting-vote, or by taking a fresh ballot as regards such candidates:

Provided always that, notwithstanding anything in the said Act contained, at any ballot taken for the election of a School Committee or for members of a School Committee, at any election held in accordance with the provisions of the said Act, “The Education Act 1877 Amendment Act, 1885,” and this Act, every householder may exercise as many votes as there are persons required to be elected, or any less number of votes; but no householder shall be entitled to record more than one vote for any one candidate.

In every school district situated within the bounds of any borough it shall be the duty of the Committee to provide a ballot-box, which shall be locked, and shall be placed in the schoolhouse or place of election in some accessible position during the whole of the day from nine of the clock ante meridiem on the day appointed for any School Committee election until the hour appointed for holding such election, and any householder may deposit in such ballot-box a voting-paper containing the name or names of the candidates, nominated as hereinbefore provided, for whom he or she desires to vote, and such householder shall sign his or her name upon such voting-paper, or upon a separate paper attached thereto or enclosed therewith in an envelope, and such signature shall be attested as hereinafter provided.

At the commencement of the proceedings of the meeting called for holding the election the Chairman of such meeting shall unlock the ballot-box and make a list of the names of the householders whose voting-papers are found therein, and shall hand the same to the scrutineers, if such be appointed by the meeting, or, if no scrutineers be appointed, shall himself keep such list, and in distributing ballot-papers to the householders present ballot-papers shall be withheld from all persons whose names appear on such list; the voting-papers found in the box shall then be placed together with the ballot-papers filled up at the meeting and used with them in determining the election, and the list and separate papers aforesaid containing the names of voters shall be forthwith destroyed.

In school districts not situated within the bounds of any borough any householder may send to the Chairman of the School Committee, so that the same shall be delivered to him not later than four of the clock post meridiem of the day appointed for the election, enclosed in an envelope, marked outside “Ballot for School Committee election,” a voting-paper containing the name or names of the candidate or candidates, nominated as aforesaid, for whom he or she desires to vote, and such householder shall sign his or her name upon such voting-paper, or upon a separate paper attached thereto or enclosed therewith, and such signature shall be attested as hereinafter provided. All such envelopes shall be produced at the meeting called for holding the election, and the voting-papers therein contained shall be dealt with by the Chairman thereof in manner prescribed in the preceding section.

The signature upon or attached to every voting-paper deposited in a ballot-box or forwarded to a Chairman of Committee under either of the two last-preceding sections shall be attested by a Justice of the Peace, a Postmaster, or a State schoolmaster, and every voting-paper not so attested shall be set aside as informal and of no effect.

Section one hundred and three of the said Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the words “fourth Monday in April” for the words “last day of January,” and the words “the previous year” shall be deemed to relate to the year or period ended on the thirty-first day of March next preceding.