The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1905-11-02
BALLOT HISTORY OF MARYLAND
Proposed Poe Plan Contrary to Every
Time HOnOred Precedent.
To the Editor of the Republican.

y great Acdl HAS D6eH Sdlu anu VIII
ten about the ballot, and the manner
it has been welded and by whom, in
Maryland. Still something more can
be produced, especially of a historic
character. Let us then go to the
very beginning of the right of Mary
land citizens to vote The old and
first constitution of Maryland adopt
ed in 1916, the year of the declaration
of independence, in Section, ,, con
tains the following: That the House
of Delegates shall be elected in the
following manner: All free men above
twenty-One years of age having a free
hold of fifty acres of land in the coun-
ty in which they offer to vote and re-
siding therein shall have the right of
suffrage; and all free men having
property in this state above the value
of thirty pounds current money,
shall haYe the right of suffrage
1t will thus be seen in the begin
ming of our political existence, there
was nothing said in our laws about
the color of voters. They were to be
free men with property, real or per-
sonal, Of a certain amount. This
fundamental provision in our first
constitution gave all free men the
right to vote, haying the property
qualifications. The free colored man
under this provision certainly had
the right Of suffrage, and as is histor-
ically known did vote until the geuer-
al election law of 1903, Chap. o., but
of course there were very few with
the property qualifications. All the
the voting in those DAYS was done at
the county seats, and in many cases
q long distance from the voters
The act of 1905 was a very full one,
containing IS sections, and covered
the whole ground OF the subject. 1t
enacted: That every free white
male citizen of this state, and other,
having resided twelve months in the
county next preceding the election
shall have the right Of suffrage"
And so the law stood for many years.
The second constitution of our state;
that of 1907, Article I, provided every
free white male person of twenty-one
years aud upwards shall have the
right to vote Next came what was
sometimes called the war constitution
of 1861, which contained identically
the same provision. And lastly the
reactory constitution of 1867, under
the head of Franchise, the following
provision is yet to be found in Act /,
Section I: ANY white male citizen OF
the United States of the age of TWEEN
ty-one years and upwards shall be en-
titled to vote" The constitution of
1867 under which we are living, still
exists with this prohibitory provision
in it, yet colored citizens have been
voting at our elections for about thirty
years, but by virtue of the Fifteenth
Amendment to the constitution of
the United States and the Congress
ional legislation Hereunder, which
are necessarily the supreme law of
the land. The 18th amendment reads:
The right of citizens of the United
States shall not be denied or abridg-
ed by the United States or any state
on account of race, color or previous
condition of servitude.n But the con-
stitution of our good old state express
ly provides that none but white citi-
zens shall have the right to vote at
our elections. 1t is just and proper
TO note, however, that our constitu-
ton was made and adopted several
years prior to the 51th amendment
to our national constitution.
The registration of voters in our
state was first instituted under the
Act of 1882, Section "A, with several
amendments. The act does not seem
to be very explicit as to the kind or
description of the persons to be regis
tered. The registers duties seem to
NC TAT DSI CI6IlCdl OG Vi Il routine Ha-
ture. There IS nothing in the law as
to races. The word color occurs in
the 7Jh Section, but only with a'num-
Der of other terms as descriptive of
the persons offering to be registered.
The registration officers of the pres
ent laws have but little power or dis
cretiOn. 1t is what may be termed
mandatory. But under the Poe
amendment if it should be ratified by
the people, the powers of the regis
tration officers will be almost supreme.
They cannot only disfranchise voters
of long time rights, oy the thousands,
but refuse the right to MANY who
have not yet been registered Why
don't some resourceful Democrat of
the Poe kind propose an amendment
to our constitution to preserve the
white clause in it, so as to be in lar
monY with the constitution of the
United States and it's amendments?
This proposition is so full of wrongs
and iniquities that it is difficult to un-
1arStap6 how INV IoDoe+ +I:xI-: