and the judges of election of said city, and of
the several counties of the State, shall receive
at said election the votes only of such electors
as are qualified according to the provisions of
this constitution, who may offer to vote at
such election, and the said sheriffs shall also
give notice on or after the twelfth day of Oc-
tober, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, for
all elections provided by this constitution, to
be held during that year.
Sec. 2, At the said election, the vote shall
be by ballot, and each ballot shall describe
thereon the words "for the constitution," or
" against the constitution," as the voter may
elect, and it shall be conducted in all respects
as the general elections of this State are now
conducted. The judges of election shall ad-
minister to every person offering to vote, the
oath or affirmation prescribed by this constitu-
tion, and should any person offering to vote
refuse or decline to take said oath, he shall
not be permitted to vote at such election, but
the taking of such oath or affirmation, shall
not be deemed conclusive evidence of the right
of such person to vote; and it shall be the
duty of the return judges of said city, and of
the several counties of the State, having
counted the votes given for or against the
adoption of this constitution, to certify the
result thereof in the manner now prescribed
by law, accompanied with a special statement,
that every person, who has voted, has taken
the oath or affirmation prescribed by the con-
stitution; and the Governor upon receiving
such result and ascertaining the aggregate
vote throughout the State, shall by his proc-
lamation make known the same, and if a ma-
jority of the votes cast shall be for the adop-
tion of the constitution, it shall go into effect
on the first day of November, eighteen hun-
dred and sixty-four.
SOLDIERS' TOTE.
Section 1. Any of the qualified voters of
this State, who shall be absent from the
county or city of his residence by reason of
being in the military service of the United
States so as not to be able to vote at home, on
the adoption or rejection of this constitution,
or for all State officers elected on general
ticket, and for Presidential electors, and for
members of Congress, at the election to be
held on the Tuesday next after the first Mon-
day in November, eighteen hundred and sixty-
four, shall be entitled to vote at such elections
as follows: A poll shall be opened in each
company of every Maryland regiment in the
service of the United States, or of this State,
on the day appointed by this convention, for
taking the vote on the new constitution, or on
some day not more than five days thereafter,
at the quarters of the commanding officer
thereof, and voters of this State belonging to
such company who shall be within ten miles
of such quarters on the day of election, may
vote at such poll; the polls shall beopened at |
eight o'clock, A. M., and close at six o'clock,
P. M.; the commissioned officers of such
company or such of them as are present at
the opening of the polls, shall act as judges,
and any one officer, shall be competent so to
act, and if no officer be present, then the voters
in such company present, shall elect two of
the voters present to act as judges of the elec-
tion; before any votes are received, each of
the judges shall take an oath or affirmation,
that he will perform the duties of judge ac-
cording to law, will prevent fraud and ob-
serve and make proper return thereof, and
such oath the judges may administer to each
other; the election shall be by ballot, and any
voter may vote in writing either " for the new
constitution or against the new constitution."
Sec. 2, The judges may swear any one offer-
ing to vote, or 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
be 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, ad-
dressed to the Governor, 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 and
against the constitution, the said certificates
shall be accompanied with the names of the
voters, and shall be plainly expressed, but no
particular words shall be required,
Sec. 3. The judges shall, as soon as possi-
ble, transmit said returns, with the tickets so
strung, to the Governor, who shall receive the
returns of the soldiers' vote, and shall cast up
the same, and judge of the genuineness and
correctness of the returns, and may recount
the threaded tickets, so as to satisfy himself,
and the Governor shall count said vote with
the aggregate vote of the State on the adop-
tion 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 re-
turns 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 offi-
cers, Presidential electors, and members of
Congress, and shall count the same with the
aggregate home vote on State officers 'and the
aggregate home vote in each district respectively
for members of Congress.
Sec. 4. The Governor shall make known
to the officers of the State regiments the pro-
visions of this article of the schedule, and re-
quest 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
proper appropriation to pay any expense that
may arise herein,
Sec. 5. If this constitation shall be adopted |
