other reasons are unable to carry out these tasks, the names of others who are
not impeded are to be drawn in their place. The first three drawn will act as
Scrutineers, the second three as 'Infirmarii', and the last three as
Revisers.”
65. “For this phase of the voting process the following norms must be
observed: 1) the ballot paper must be rectangular in shape and must bear in
the upper half, in print if possible, the words 'Eligo in Summum Pontificem';
on the lower half
there must be a space left for writing the name of the person chosen; thus the
ballot is made in such a way that it can be folded in two; 2) the completion
of the
Subject: VISnews130313
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
ballot must be done in secret by each Cardinal elector, who will write down
legibly, as
far as possible in handwriting that cannot be identified as his, the name of
the person he chooses, taking care not to write other names as well, since
this would make the ballot null; he will then fold the ballot twice; 3) during
the voting, the
Cardinal electors are to remain alone in the Sistine Chapel; therefore,
immediately after the distribution of the ballots and before the electors
begin to write, the Secretary of the College of Cardinals, the Master of Papal
Liturgical Celebrations and the Masters of Ceremonies must leave the Chapel.
After they have left, the junior Cardinal Deacon shall close the door, opening
and closing it again each time this is necessary, as for example when the
'Infirmarii' go to
collect the votes of the sick and when they return to the Chapel.”
66. “The second phase, the scrutiny proper, comprises: 1) the placing
of the ballots in the appropriate receptacle; 2) the mixing and counting of
the ballots; 3) the opening of the votes. Each Cardinal elector, in order of
precedence, having
completed and folded his ballot, holds it up so that it can be seen and
carries it to the altar, at which the Scrutineers stand and upon which there
is placed a receptacle, covered by a plate, for receiving the ballots. Having
reached the altar, the
Cardinal elector says aloud the words of the following oath: I call as my
witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one
who before God I think should be elected. He then places the ballot on the
plate, with which he
drops it into the receptacle. Having done this, he bows to the altar and
returns to his place.”
“If any of the Cardinal electors present in the Chapel is unable to
go to the altar because of infirmity, the last of the Scrutineers goes to him.
The infirm elector, having pronounced the above oath, hands the folded ballot
to the Scrutineer,
who carries it in full view to the altar and omitting the oath, places it on
the plate, with which he drops it into the receptacle.”
67. “If there are Cardinal electors who are sick and confined to
their rooms, referred to in Nos. 41ff of this Constitution, the three
'Infirmarii' go to them with a box which has an opening in the top through
which a folded ballot can be
inserted. Before giving the box to the 'Infirmarii', the Scrutineers open it
publicly, so that the other electors can see that it is empty; they are then
to lock it and place the key on the altar. The 'Infirmarii', taking the locked
box and a sufficient
number of ballot papers on a small tray, then go, duly accompanied, to the
Domus Sanctae Marthae to each sick elector, who takes a ballot, writes his
vote in secret, folds the ballot and, after taking the above-mentioned oath,
puts it through the
opening in the box. If any of the electors who are sick is unable to write,
one of the three 'Infirmarii' or another Cardinal elector chosen by the sick
man, having taken an oath before the
'Infirmarii' concerning the observance of secrecy, carries out the above
procedure. The 'Infirmarii' then take the box back into the Chapel, where it
shall be opened by the Scrutineers after the Cardinals present have cast their
votes. The Scrutineers
then count the ballots in the box and, having ascertained that their number
corresponds to the number of those who are sick, place them one by one on the
plate and then drop them all together into the receptacle. In order not to
prolong the voting
process unduly, the 'Infirmarii' may complete their own ballots and place them
in the receptacle immediately after the senior Cardinal, and then go to
collect the votes of the sick in the manner indicated above while the other
electors are casting their
votes.”
68. “After all the ballots of the Cardinal electors have been placed
in the receptacle, the first Scrutineer shakes it several times in order to
mix them, and immediately afterwards the last Scrutineer proceeds to count
them, picking them out
of the urn in full view and placing them in another empty receptacle
previously prepared for this purpose. If the number of ballots does not
correspond to the number of electors, the ballots must all be burned and a
second vote taken at once; if however
their number does correspond to the number of electors, the opening of the
ballots then takes place in the following manner.”
69. “The Scrutineers sit at a table placed in front of the altar. The
first of them takes a ballot, unfolds it, notes the name of the person chosen
and passes the ballot to the second Scrutineer, who in his turn notes the name
of the person
chosen and passes the ballot to the third, who reads it out in a loud and
clear voice, so that all the electors present can record the vote on a sheet
of paper prepared for that purpose. He himself writes down the name read from
the ballot. If during
the opening of the ballots the Scrutineers should discover two ballots folded
in such a way that they appear to have been completed by one elector, if these
ballots bear the same name they are counted as one vote; if however they bear
two different
names, neither vote will be valid; however, in neither of the two cases is the
voting session annulled.”
“When all the ballots have been opened, the Scrutineers add up the
sum of the votes obtained by the different names and write them down on a
separate sheet of paper. The last Scrutineer, as he reads out the individual
ballots, pierces each one
with a needle through the word 'Eligo' and places it on a thread, so that the
ballots can be more securely preserved. After the names have been read out,
the ends of the thread are tied in a knot, and the ballots thus joined
together are placed in a
receptacle or on one side of the table.”
70. “There then follows the third and last phase, also known as the
post-scrutiny, which comprises: 1) the counting of the votes; 2) the checking
of the same; 3) the burning of the ballots.”
“The Scrutineers add up all the votes that each individual has
received, and if no one has obtained at least two thirds of the votes on that
ballot, the Pope has not been elected; if however it turns out that someone
has obtained at least two
thirds of the votes, the canonically valid election of the Roman Pontiff has
taken place.”
“In either case, that is, whether the election has occurred or not,
the Revisers must proceed to check both the ballots and the notes made by the
Scrutineers, in order to make sure that these latter have performed their task
exactly and
faithfully.”
“Immediately after the checking has taken place, and before the
Cardinal electors leave the Sistine Chapel, all the ballots are to be burnt by
the Scrutineers, with the assistance of the Secretary of the Conclave and the
Masters of Ceremonies
who in the meantime have been summoned by the junior Cardinal Deacon. If
however a second vote is to take place immediately, the ballots from the first
vote will be burned only at the end, together with those from the second
vote.”
71. “In order that secrecy may be better observed, I order each and
every Cardinal elector to hand over to the Cardinal Camerlengo or to one of
the three Cardinal Assistants any notes which he may have in his possession
concerning the results
of each ballot. These notes are to be burnt together with the ba
lots.”
“I further lay down that at the end of the election the Cardinal
Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church shall draw up a document, to be approved
also by the three Cardinal Assistants, declaring the result of the voting at
each session. This
document is to be given to the Pope and will thereafter be kept in a
designated archive, enclosed in a sealed envelope, which may be opened by no
one unless the Supreme Pontiff gives explicit permission.”
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