Evening star., 1952-08-24
PrinceGeorges
Home Rule Fiqhl
Heads for Court
Committee May Act
If Bourd Rules Out
Home Rule BuIIotinq
By J. l. MichoeI

A court OaCtle is IN prospect
today over questioned validity oi
the Prince Georges County home
rule petition.
officials of the Citizen Commit
tee for Good Government indi-
Gated yesterday that their unit
will fight it out in court If the
county election board rules the
issue off November ballots.
Brendan O'Dwyer. president o1
the committees board of direc-
tors, and Mrs. Zella p. Saylor
executive secretary, forecast 9
court test in a letter to the county
Board of Election Supervisors.
And opposition leaders have said
privately that they will challenge
a finding favorable to the petit
tioners.
The board is scheduled to an
nounce a decision Tuesday at Up
per Marlboro.
Two Petitions Before Board.
Two petitions filed by the citi-
Zens committee are before the
board. One, with 1880 names
would give voters the right to
ballot on proposed exchange o1
traditional commissioner govern
ment for the home charter-county
manager type. Statutes require
that this petition have at least
10000 names of registered voters
and that other technical require
mentS be complied with.
The other petition. listing $500
names, 1,500 more than the law
specifies. would authorize a poll
on a hve-member slate of candi-
dates who would write a home
rule charter. The county COM
missioners have filed an opposing
slate, without a petition as they
are legally permitted to do.
Operating on the premise that
it is their duty to see that the
petitions are in conformity with
the statutes, the election board
began an examination. It's en-
ployes verified 10000 signatures
as those Of registered voters,
leaving the remaining names un-
checked. The other petition has
not been scanned.
Board members then started a
search for irregularities. They
found signatures, dates, names OF
precincts and districts which ap-
peared to have been written by
persons other than those who pur-
portedly penned the entries.
Writings Appear Identical.
Most of the SEEMING discrepancies
were instances where signatures
of husbands and wives were in
writing that appeared identical
An occasional ditto mark was
found where words should have
been written. Board members
said they believed mistakes had
ben made but that there was nc
evidence of fraud.
The citizens committees letter
conceded that errors may have
occurred. mo document" 1t re-
cited. produced by the combined
efforts of more than 10000 people
could be entirely free from error
For that reason, a surplus Of over
1000 names was presented tc
cover errors that might arise from
confusion or misunderstanding.
Citing that election boards are
made up of both Democrats and
Republicans, the letter asked
"What interest could you serve
by seeking to disqualify these
tested petitions on some techni.
cality or what gain could accrue
to the two political organizations
by driving so many citizens into
litigation over the use of the
ditto mark or some other minol
eXceptl0n?"
Irregularities Studied.
The boards counsel. George T
Burroughs. is studying the ques-
ton of whether one or number
of irregularities would void the
whole petition.
In the opinion of one high State
legal authority, however, the elec-
ton board does not have any such
problem. If the petitions have the
required number of names, the
board must certify them, he said
This source. who would not per-
NIT use of his name, said the State
Appeals Court, in a case with
similar principles, has ruled tc
that effect.
"The election board is not q
judicial body" he explained, "anc
is not qualified to decide questions
of law. It's functions are purely
administrative and therefore ques-
tions that have been raised car
be settled only by the courts"
Surely" he added. "it was not
the Legislatures intention to give
such power to politicians"