Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1903-06-17
LEGALITY OF CITY ELECTION.
Opinion Of o. s. District Attorney John c.
Rose Of Baltimore.

AttOrney j. -. nose OF D2lllIlOTe CITY
on the legality of the city election for
Annapolis. is given in reply to an inquiry
from Counsellor w. Hallam Claude. Of
this city. and is published for the infor-
nation of all concerned:
Baltimore, Md, June IS. 1908.
w. HALLAM CLAUDE, ESQ,
Annapolis, Maryland.
Dear ir:-You ask me whether. in my
opinion, the Mayor, Counsellor and Al
dermen Of the City of Annapolis should
make provision for a municipal election
in July next.
1t appears that by Section IS of Article
?, of the Code Of Public Local Laws, it
was provided "that Annapolis shall be
divided into three wards by the corpora
ton of said city, and the citizens of An
napolis qualified 10 vote for members of
the General Assembly Of Maryland shall
elect by ballot in every alternate year
accounting from the year 1877 on the
second Monday of July, Mayor. Coun-
sellor, and the voters in each ward shall
at the same time elect by ballot two resi-
dents thereof as Aldermen who shall
constitute the corporation of said city
under the name and style OF the Mayor,
Counsellor and Aldemen~oi the City of
Annapolis.
BY the Act of 1898, Chapter $40. that
section Of the Code of Public Local Laws
containing the above provision was re-
pealed and re-enacted. In the re-enact-
ed section the above provision was al.
together omitted. In spite of this omis-
sion the corporation of Annapolis pro-
vided for an election on the second
Monday of July in the yeer 1899, and
again on the second Monday of July.
1901, and the persons so elected at each
of said elections, duly qualified and en-
tered upon the discharge of their duties.
Those elected in 1890 served an entire
term OF two years. and those elected in
1901 are still in office. There are exist
ing provisions of law which clearly
contemplate the holding of municipal
elections in Annapolis. Thus the Act
of 1894. Chapter $50, provided that the
corporation shall appoint three persons
in each of the three wards of the city as
Judges of its municipal elections, and the
corporation shall pay all expenses in
Cured in said municipal election includ-
ing the expenses of special registration
for the { ity of Annapolis preceding each
municipal election.
1t is further provided by the Act of
1896. Chapter 2o2, that in the year 1897
and every second year thereafter the
books of registration for the City of An
napolis shall be opened for the several
Boards of Registry for the wards and
precincts thereof on the second Monday
and following Tuesday in those years for
the purpose of registering new voters and
for the correction of said books of regis
tration prior to the biennial municipal
elections in said city in the month of
July.
The state of affairs. therefore, is this
that the law providing for the election of
a Mayor, Counsellor and Aldermen has
been repealed, but the other provisions
of law passed to provide some of the
machinery for such elections are still in
force.
| shall not in this state of the law and
the facts attempt to consider the very
doubtful and difficult question whether a
Court of Justice would on proper case
made hold that there was any provision
of law now in force authorizing an cleo
tion. for Mayor, Counsellor and Alder
men of Annapolis or not If any tax
payer of Annapolis shall desire to raise
this question there will doubtless be no
difficulty in his so doing. | do not think,
however, that the question ought to be
raised by the present corporate officials
of the city. All title they have to their
present Offices rests upon an election
held with precisely the same warrant of
law or lack of it that there is for holding
an election for their successors next
month. Under such circumstances as
they have heretofore assumed their title
valid. and as their only authority to act
for the corporation at all is based upon
he assumption that the election was
valid, it seems to me quite clearly their
duty to make arrangements whereby the
people of Annapolis may choose their
successors next month If their action
in so doing is believed by any taxpayer
of the city to be unwarranted by law and
to put the municipality to amy expendi-
ture for which there is no legal justifica-
ton, he can seek relief on behalf of him
self and the other taxpayers in Court.
do not think, however. it would be in
any sense proper for the present corpo-
ration to take the position in effect that
although they never were legally elected
they shall hold office longer than the
people who voted for them intended they
should merely because there is no more
authority to elect their successors than
there was in the first instance to choose
them.
may say in reaching this conclusion
| am only concurring in what you your
self stated to me to be the views and
wishes of yourself and, if | understood
you correctly, of the other members of
the corporation. / am,
Very truly yours,
sit John c. ROSE.