769

Judges may administer to each other; the election shall be by
ballot, and any voter may vote either "for the Constitution, "
or "against the Constitution. "

Sec. 12. Any qualified voter of this State who shall be
absent from the city, or county of his residence on the day for
taking the vote on the adoption or rejection of this Constitu-
tion by reason of his being in the military service of the United
States, but shall be at some hospital, or military post, or on
duty within this State, and not with his Company, may vote
at the nearest polls to such place on satisfying the Judges
that he is a legal and qualified voter of this State.

Sec. 13. The Judges may swear any one offering to vote as
to his being a legal voter of this State. The Judges shall
take down on a poll book, or list, the names of all the voters
as their votes are taken, and the tickets shall bo placed in a
box as taken; after the polls are closed, the tickets shall be
counted and strung on a thread, and the Judges shall make
out a certificate, which they shall sign, addressed to the Gover-
nor at Annapolis, in which they shall state that they have
taken the oath hereby prescribed, and shall certify the number
of votes taken, and the number of votes for the Constitution,
and against the Constitution; the said certificates shall be
accompanied with the names of the voters, and shall be plain-
ly expressed, but no particular words shall be required.

Sec. 14. The Judges shall, as soon as possible, transmit
said returns with the tickets go. strung, to the Governor, who
shall receive the returns of the soldier's vote, and shall cast
up the same, and judge of the genuineness and correctness of
the returns, and may re-count the threaded tickets, so as to
satisfy himself, and the Governor shall count said vote with the
aggregate vote of the State on the adoption or rejection of this
Constitution, and shall wait for fifteen days after the day on
which the State vote is taken, so as to allow the returns of the
soldiers' vote to be made before the result of the whole vote
is announced. The Governor shall receive the returns of the
soldiers' vote on said election for State officers, Presidential
electors and members of Congress, and shall count the same
with the aggregate home vote on State officers, and the aggre-
gate home vote in each district respectively, for members of
Congress.

Sec 15, The Governor shall make known to the officers of
the State Regiments, the provisions of this article of the
Schedule, and request them to exercise the right hereby con-
ferred upon them, and shall take all means proper to secure
the soldiers' vote; and the General Assembly, at its first
session after the adoption of this Constitution, shall make

97