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DELEGATE MARION: Would this lan-
guage also permit a person or corporation
owning more than one piece of property
to vote more than once?
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding):
Delegate White.
DELEGATE WHITE: Yes, with hus-
band and wife relationship, the husband
could vote once and the wife could vote
once while they both actually live else-
where.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
Delegate Marion.
DELEGATE MARION: Would it also
permit persons owning extremely small
parcels of land to vote? I have in mind
something I remember seeing in one of the
national news magazines ten or fifteen
years ago where a relatively small plot of
Texas land was divided into parcels about
an inch square and each inch of that Texas
land, on the theory that there might be oil
underneath it, was sold, I think, for a dol-
lar a plot. Many hundreds of thousands of
people could become property owners on
this kind of basis. Would this permit each
one of those persons owning an inch square
of land to vote in a municipal election?
DELEGATE WHITE: In my opinion, it
would, but this would be determined by the
value of property which was set by the
local municipality. For example, they might
set $100 or $50 of personal property or
other property and based on this, it would
be possible for a thousand people with a
$50 investment each, to vote in the local
election. This is not directly to your ques-
tion, but in a recent election in Ocean City,
Maryland — and I am not attempting to
pick on Ocean City as such — approximately
950 people voted in the municipal election
and out of this group there were a certain
number of corporations voting, about 850
non-residents and only 50 local residents.
The impact on the 50 local residents meant
their 50 votes were diluted practically to
nothing.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding-) :
Delegate Marion.
DELEGATE MARION: One more ques-
tion. Delegate Weidemeyer asked you a
question about Baltimore City. There is
nothing in this Majority Report which
would permit a non-resident property owner
in Baltimore City in any instance to vote
in a municipal election in Baltimore City
since Baltimore City is treated as a county.
DELEGATE WHITE: Quite true, Bal-
timore City is excluded.
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DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
Delegate Marvin Smith.
DELEGATE M. SMITH: Mr. White,
there has been reference made here to cor-
porations. Is it your interpretation or the
interpretation of the majority that extend-
ing the right to vote to non-residents own-
ing taxable property would include stock-
holders in corporations?
DELEGATE WHITE: The answer to
that is yes, Delegate Smith.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
Delegate Smith.
DELEGATE M. SMITH: How far down
does it go? Somebody happens to own a
share of AT&T and AT&T has a little
plant in a town, does that give them a
right to vote?
DELEGATE WHITE: Oh, yes.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
The Chair recognizes Delegate Fox.
DELEGATE FOX: Delegate White, did
I understand you to say in a recent Ocean
City election only 50 residents of the town
voted?
DELEGATE WHITE: I do not have the
precise figures with me but I believe the
chairman of our Committee has the precise
vote. Roughly, it was about 950 or approxi-
mately 50 local residents, as I recall it.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
Delegate Fox.
DELEGATE FOX: I would like very
much to see those figures because I cannot
believe only 50 residents in Ocean City
voted at an election.
Let me say this. In regard to corpora-
tions, you do not really mean that this
would allow every stockholder in a cor-
poration to vote in Ocean City and places
like that. They allow one vote for the cor-
poration, do they not, no matter how much
land they own?
DELEGATE WHITE: I understand cor-
porations can cast more than one vote
tinder certain conditions.
DELEGATE J. CLARK (presiding) :
Delegate Fox.
DELEGATE FOX: What are the condi-
tions? Do they not allow just one vote for
the corporation, no matter how much land
it owns?
DELEGATE WHITE: I think Delegate
Cardin has done some research and may
have an answer on that.
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