The citizen., 1896-04-10
THE ELECTION LAW.

The county boards may employ clerks
with the consent of the county COM
missioners at such compensation as the
county commissioners shall fix. In
Baltimore there is to be clerk at
! 81 200 year aud messenger at $500,
and such temporary assistants as may
be necessary. The Governor is to Sc
be presented to him by the committee
of the two leading parties.
The Baltimore supervisors must each
year, before July 1st, select four judges
of election for each precinct and before
September 18th two clerks of election.
Two of the judges and one of the clerks
are to belong to each political party.
The county supervisors are before July
1st, to select two judges of election and
before September 18th, to select TWO
more judges and two clerks for each
district or precinct. Oue-half of these
officials to be taken from each Of the
leading parties. These officials are to
act at all special elections held within
their terms of office. They must be
voters residing in their precincts, un-
less it shall appear that iii any precinct
there is no proper person residing, in
which case they may come from an
other precinct or district. Each judge
or clerk must be of good capacity and
character, able to speak, read and
write the English language and skilled
in the four fundamental rules OF arith-
metlc, not holding any other office and
not being a candidate. Service as eec-
ton officer is compulsory under fine
of not less than 500 nor more than
$500. After serving Que year they can
not be compelled to serve again within
"A year and shall be exempt from jury
duty during the term and for one year
! thereafter.
In the selection of judge or clerk each
supervisor has a veto, aud if they call
not agree then the supervisor or super
visors belonging to the party entitled
to be represented by the judge or clerk
in question shall name three men who
are eligible, and from these the other
supervisor or supervisor or supervisors
shall make the selection.
REGISTRATION.
The supervisors shall before August
1st, advertise the names of Judges and
before October lst those of the clerks,
designating the politics of each. The
The place of registration and voting
are to be selected by the supervisors
and the rooms prepared by them. The
requirements as to the location of
rooms are explicit. The officer of vital
statistics must report to the superviS-
ors monthly the names and residences
of every male person over tWenty-one
years who has died, and these are to be
printed and sent to the officers OF reg
istration. The supervisors are to give
ten days notice of registrations and
are to have charge of and make pro-
vision for all elections-general, special
and local. 1n Incorporated towns other
than the city of Baltimore, in which
charter elections are regulated by local
laws, such laws are to continue in
force and the elections to be continued
as heretofore.
In the city of Baltimore the four
judges of election are to be also the Off
GERS of registration, and in the counties
the Two judges who are appointed be-
fore July 1st in each district shall be
the registrars, SO that in Baltimore
there will be four registrars IN each
precinct-two Democrats and two Re-
publicans and two registrars in each
district or precinct in the couuties-one
Democrat and one Republican. There
is 10 be new registration all over the
State this fall aud hereafter annually
in the city, aud in each presidential
year in the counties. The two registra-
tion books are to be used as poll books.
The bill has ia -simile of the rul-
ing of the books, giving columns for
the name, color, residence, age and
signature of the voter. If the voter
cannot write, this must be so stated in
the column. The days for registration
in the city are the following: Tuesday
seven weeks preceding the general cleo
ton in November and the three follow
ing Tuesdays, and OH the Wednesdays
following the said last three Tuesdays.
On Tuesdays three weeks before the
election the registrars shall meet for re-
vision. The office hours are from a.
III. to 8 p. IN. The police census of
voters is to be made between Septem-
ber lst and the beginning of registra-
tion. Long aud minute directions are
given for the method and conduct of
registrations, and provision is made
for appeals to the courts, aud the reg
istries are to be open to inspection.
NOMINATIONS.
Nominations are made much as here
tofore. An independent nomination of
a person to be voted for all over the
State requires five hundred signatures
three hundred in a congressional dis
trict or in the entire cities OF Baltimore,
Annapolis, Frederick, Cumberland or
Hagerstown, and two hundred for all
other nominations. At least eight days
before the election the supervisors are
to publish the names of all candidates
as well as questions to be voted upon.
ELECTIONS.
| Ballot-boXeS are to be of glass, with
glass bottoms. Ballots are to be printed
nearly as at present, the ticket of the
party polling the largest vote for Gov
ernor at the preceding election to be
on Ahe left. Each ballot is to have a
detachable coupon, upon which the
] name or the voter to whom it is deliv-
cred is to be written by the Judge of
election holding the ballot, who shall
also write Gn ink) his own name or
initials on the back of the ticket The
coupon is to be detached and strung
before the ballot is deposited. This is
a device TO make sure that the voter
has voted the same ticket he received
and is not concealing it to carry outside
for use. Each party having ticket
nominated is entitled to have a watcher
in the polling-room. The ballots are
marked by the voter with pencil in
stead of the stamp, as heretofore. The
details of election are not widely diff-r-
ent from the present method except
| that fhorQ hall al r