Section 17-1-2

Duty of sheriff to preserve order at elections.

The sheriff of each county shall, on each day of election, be present in person or by deputy at all election precincts where elections are held in the county, and he shall preserve good order; and, in order that every elector who desires to vote may do so without interference or interruption, such sheriff or his deputy may specially deputize a sufficient force to act at all election precincts on the day of any election that he may deem necessary.

Any sheriff or deputy who wilfully or corruptly fails to perform any duty imposed by this section must, on conviction, be fined not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $5,000.00, and be imprisoned in the penitentiary for not less than two nor more than five years, at the discretion of the jury; and, upon conviction, the office of such sheriff is thereby vacated.

(Code 1876, §§281, 4282; Code 1886, §§377, 4181; Code 1896, §§1633, 4688; Code 1907, §§412, 6785; Code 1923, §§502, 3903; Code 1940, T. 17, §§2, 299.)