The Baltimore County union, the Towson news., 1909-09-25
CHAPTER 26.

AN ACT to amend Section one of Article one,
title. Effective franchise of the Constitu-
tion of this State. and to provide for the submis
sion of said Amendment to the qualified voters
of this State for adoption or rejection.
SECTION !. Be it enacted by the General As
sembly of Maryland, three-ffths of all the mem
bers of each of the two Houses concurring, that
the following section be and the same is hereby
proposed as an amendment to Section one of
Article one, title. Effective Franchise of the
Constitution of this State. and if adopted by the
legal and qualified voters thereof, as herein pro-
vided, ii shall SuperSede and stand in the place
and stead of Section one of said Article one.
SEC.1. All elections shall be by ballot and
every male citizen of the United States of the age
of twenty-one years or upwards, who has been
resident of the State for two years and of the
Legislative District of Baltimore City or of the
county in which he may offer to VOTE for one
year next preceding the election, and who, more
over, is duly registered as a qualified voter as
provided in this Article, shall be entitled to vote
in the ward or election district in which he re-
Sides at all elections hereafter to be held in this
State, and in case any county or city shall be so
divided as to form portions of different electoral
districts for the election of Representatives in
Congress, Senators, Delegates or other officers,
then to entitle person to vote for such officer,
he must have been resident of that part of the
county or city which shall form a part of the
electoral district in which he offers to vote, for
one year next preceding the election but per-
son who shall have acquired a residence in such
county or city, emitting him to vote at any such
election, shall be entitled to vote in the election
district from which he removed, until he shall
have acquired q residence in the part of the
county or city to which he has removed.
Every male citizen of the United States having
the above prescribed qualifications of age and
residence shall be entitled to be registered so as
to become qualified voter if he be, first a per-
son who, on the first day of January in the year
eighteen hdndred and sixty nine. or prior there
to, was entitled to vote under the laws of this
State, or of any other State of the United States
wherein he then resided; or second: male de-
scendant of such last mentioned person; or third:
foreign born citizen of the United States natur-
allied between the first day of January in the
aiOhfaan nd fho
date of the adoption of this section of this Arti
Gle; or fourth: a male descendant of such last
mentioned person; or fifth person who, in the
presence of the officers of registration, shall in
his own handwriting, with pen and ink, without
any aid. suggestion or memorandum whatsoever,
and without any question or direction addressed
to him by any of the officers of registration,
make application to register correctly, stating
in such application his name, age, date and place
of birth, residence and occupation at the time
and for the two years next preceding, the name
or names of his employer or employers, if any,
at the time and for the two years next preced-
ing, and whether he has previously voted, and
if so. the State, county or city and district or
name in full of the President of the United
States, of one of the Justices of the Supreme
Court of the United States, of the Governor
of Maryland, of one of the Judges of the
Court of Appeals of Maryland and of the
Mayor of Baltimore City, if the applicant resides
in Baltimore City, or OF one of the County Com
missioneTS of the county in which the applicant
resides and any person who is unable to COM
ply with the aforegoing requirements as to MAX
ing application egistration in his own hand
writing, solely because he is physically disabled
from so doing; or sixth person, or the hus-
band of person, who at the time of his applica-
ton for registrations is bona Jsde owner Of real
or personal property in an amount of not less
than five hundred dollars, is assessed therefor
on the taxbooks of the City of Baltimore or of
one of the counties of this State, has been such
owner and SO assessed for two years next pre-
ceding his application for registration: shall
have paid and shall produce receipts for the
taxes on said property for said two years and
shall at the time of his application make affidavit
before the officers of registration that he is or
that he is the husband of the person who is the
bona fde owner of the property so assessed to
him or to her, as the case may be, and that he or
she has been such owner for two years next pre-
ceding his application.
No person not qualified under some one of the
above clauses shall be entitled to be registered
as qualified voter or be entitled to vote. Every
written application to be registered, presented
to the officers of registration by any person ap-
plying to be registered under the above fifth
clause shall be carefully preserved by said Off
GERS OF !. .regstratlon ana shall pe produced many
The affidavit of any applicant for registration,
duly made to the officers of registration or in
Court. that he, the applicant, is person who
January, in the year eighteen hundred and
sixty mine, as aforesaid, or that he has become
a naturalized citizen of the United States be-
tween the first day of January, in the year eigh-
teen hundred and SiXty-nine, and the date of the
davit upon information and belief that he is a
descendant of person who was entitled to vote
on or before the first day of January in the year
eighteen hundred and sixty nine, or that he is
allied citizen of the United States between the
first day of January, in the year eighteen hun
dred and sixty-nine, and the date of the adop-
ton of this section of this article shall be riDG
fdcte evidence of any of said facts so sworn to.
A wilfully false statement upon the part of
any applicant for registration in relation to any
of the matters aforesaid shall be perjury and
punishable as perjury is punished by the laws of
this State.
ANY person who feels aggrieved by the action
of any board of officers of registration in refus
ing to register him as a qualified voter, or in
registering any disqualified person, may at any
time, either before or after the last session of
the board of officers OF registration, but not later
than the Tuesday next preceding the ELECTION,
Court for the county in which the cause of COM
plant arises or, If the cause of complaint arises
in Baltimore City, in any court of common laws
jurisdiction in said city, setting forth the
grounds of his application and asking to have
the action of the board of officers of registration
corrected. The court shall forthwith set the
petition for hearing and direct summons to be
issued requiring the board of officers of registra
tion complained against in said petition to at
tend at the hearing in person or by counsel, and
where the object of the petition is to strike off
the name of any person. summons shall also be
issued for such person, which shall be served by
the Sheriff within the time therein designated !;
and said several courts shall have full juriedc-
tion and power to review the action of any board
of officers of registration and to grant with
hold, as II may deem lawful and proper, the re-
lief prayed for in the premises.
In determining whether any person who ap-
piled to be registered under the above fifth
clause of this section was or was not entitled to
be registered under said fifth clause, the court
shall require the board of officers of registration
complained against to produce the written ap-
plication prepared and submitted by such per-
son at the time he presented himself for regis
tration to said board of officers of registration,
aqd upon said written application the court shall
determine whether or not said person, when he
presented himself for registration, complied
with the requirements of said fifth clause and
the o0I1rf ghall fprminn n
plication, so prepared and submitted by said per-
son, complied with the requirements of said fifth
clause, and that said person was not disqualified
under any other provision of this Article of the
Constitution to be registered upon the books of
registry in question, then the Court shall order
said person TO be registered qualified voter,
but if the Court shall determine that said writ
ten application of said person failed to comply
with the requirements of said fifth clause, or
that said person was in any other respect under
this Article of the Constitution disqualified to
be registered upon the books of registry in ques-
tion. then the court shall order that said person
shall not be registered upon said books OF
registry.
The court may enforce any order by attach
ment for contempt in said cases; neither party
shall have any right of removal; exception may
be taken to any ruling of the court at the hear
ing of said cases and an appeal shall be allowed
to the Court of Appeals as in other cases; all
such appeals shall be taken within five days
from the date of the decision complained of, and
shall be heard and decided by the Court of APP
peals upon the original papers, or otherwise, as
the Court of Appeals may by rule prescribe as
soon as may be practicable.
The General Assembly shall have power to
provide more fully by legislation not inconsis
tent with this section of this Article, for the
hearing and determination of all such cases,
SEC.2 2. And be it further enacted by the au-
thorty aforesaid, That the aforegoing section
hereby proposed as an amendment to the Con-
stitution of this State shall be at the next GEN
eral Election for members of the General AS
sembly to be held in this State, submitted to the
legal and qualified voters thereof for their adOp
tiOn or rejection. in pursuance of the directions
contained in Article XIV of the Constitution of
this State, and at said general election the vote
on the said proposed amendment shall be by
ballot, and upon each ballot there shall be prin-
ted the words For the Constitutional Amend
ment" and Against the Constitutional Amend
ment" as now prescribed by law, and immedi-
ately after said election due returns shall be
made to the Governor of the vote for and against
said proposed amendment, as directed by the
said Article XIV of the Constitution.
Approved February %, 1908.
Now, therefore, /. Austin L. Crothers, Cover
nor of the State of Maryland, in pursuance of
the provisions of Section /, of Article IA of the
Constitution of the State of Maryland, do here
by order and direct that a copy of said Act pro-
posing an amendment to Section of Article of
the Constitution of said State, be published in
at least two newspapers In each of the counties
of the State and in three newspapers In the City
of Baltimore, one of which shall be published in
the German language, once week for at least
three months preceding the next General Elec-
tion, which election will be held on November
I'd, 1909, at which election the said proposed
amendment shall be submitted. in the form and
manner prescribed by the General Assembly, to
the legal and qualified voters of the State for
their adoption or rejection.
Given under my hand and the Great Seal
81. Ckr.kr r<SeAT nw.I - Nrr