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passed in 19Go that establishes such a
procedure.
In addition, this section would protect
the right to vote for President and Vice-
President for most people who leave Mary-
land but who were registered voters when
they were here, but move to a new state
too soon before a presidential election to
qualify for the residence requirements of
their new state. This is a provision that is
being added to many constitutions right
now, and the Committee felt that this op-
tion should be granted to the General
Assembly.
Section 4 states that a person shall not
be deemed ineligible to vote solely by rea-
son of the fact that he resides on land
over which the United States exercises
jurisdiction. Under controlling court inter-
pretation of the residence requirements of
the present Maryland Constitution, persons
who reside on land over which the United
States exercises exclusive jurisdiction are
not deemed residents of Maryland for pur-
poses of voting.
We tried hard to identify these persons
and to find out how many indeed there
were, and after contacting all the federal
reservations within the State of Maryland,
we determined that there are about 511
persons who pay Maryland taxes, educate
their children in the public schools, and in
every other way participate in the social
and economic life of the State who are
denied the right to vote because they live
on such federal enclaves.
The Committee strongly recommends that
this unfortunate and unfair situation be
remedied. This language grants no special
privilege. Residents of federal enclaves
would still be required to meet whatever
requirements or standards are set up for
everyone else.
The committee recommendation says only
that these persons not be disqualified by
virtue of the fact that they live on land
over which the United States extends juris-
diction. This would not in any way affect
military personnel. They are protected in
their right of franchise by federal legisla-
tion, and the information we have received
from the military commanders within the
State indicates that most people stationed
here exercise their franchise within their
states of residence and will continue to do
so, and anyone who might wish to become
residents of Maryland for voting purposes
would become residents for state income
tax purposes, and would be required to
assume all the duties and responsibilities
relating to such residence.
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Section 5 establishes bases for disquali-
fication by reason of conviction of a serious
crime or adjudication non compos mentis.
The present Constitution reads: "No per-
son above the age of twenty-one years,
convicted of larceny, or other infamous
crime, unless pardoned by the governor,
shall ever thereafter be entitled to vote
at any election in this State; and no per-
son under guardianship, as a lunatic, or, as
a person 'non compos mentis, shall be en-
titled to vote."
Speaking to the second sentence of
section 5 first, this directs the General As-
sembly by public general law to establish
disqualifications for voting by reason of
conviction of serious crimes and directs
that they shall by law provide for the re-
moval of such disqualification.
First of all, the Committee made no
attempt to define serious or to make any
distinction between the uresent language
of infamous and serious. This we felt was
the business of the General Assembly.
However, we did say in this second
sentence that at the time that the General
Assembly shall establish the basis for dis-
qualification, they should also establish the
basis for requalification. The present situa-
tion demands that persons who are dis-
qualified by reason of conviction of crime
have to go through the process of applying
for a pardon in order to gain back their
right to vote. We felt that there should be
some automatic procedure whereby people
would not have to go through the process
of applying for a pardon, which is a public
process, a process which involves some legal
procedures, but that once whatever the
standards were that the General Assembly
established for conviction of crime or pun-
ishment or whatever, there should be some
opportunity for the General Assembly to
recognize that the restoration of the fran-
chise should bear some relation .to the
completion of the sentence, or to whatever
they decide. We felt it was important that
the provisions for the re-establishment
after disqualification be as mandatory as
the provisions for the establishment of the
disqualification.
The second part of the sentence, "and
no person under guardianship as a lunatic
or as a person non compos mentis shall be
entitled to vote," is a reconstitution of the
present language in the Constitution.
From the evidence presented, the Com-
mittee felt that disqualification on the basis
of non compos 'mentis should be continued
until the adjudication is removed or va-
cated. The Committee felt that there should
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