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THE CONSTITUTION OF 1864
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office shall be ipso facto vacant. And
every person hereafter elected or ap-
pointed to office in this State, who shall
refuse or neglect to take the oath or
affirmation of office provided for in the
said Seventh Section of this Article shall
be considered as having refused to ac-
cept the said office, and a new election
or appointment shall be made as in case
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of refusal to accept or resignation of an
office. And any person swearing or
affirming falsely in the premises shall,
on conviction thereof in a court of law,
incur the penalties for willful and cor-
rupt perjury, and thereafter shall be
incapable of holding any office of profit
or trust in this State.
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ARTICLE II.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
Section 1. The Executive power of
the State shall be vested in a Governor,
whose term of office shall commence on
the second Wednesday of January next
ensuing his election, and continue for
four years, and until his successor shall
have qualified, but the Governor chosen
at the first election under this Constitu-
tion shall not enter upon the discharge
of the duties of the office until the ex-
piration of the term for which the pres-
ent incumbent was elected, unless the
said office shall become vacant by death,
resignation, removal from the State, or
other disqualification of said incumbent.
Sec. 2. An election for Governor
under this Constitution shall be held on
the Tuesday next after the first Monday
of November, in the year eighteen hun-
dred and sixty-four, and on the same
day and month in every fourth year
thereafter, at the places of voting for
delegates to the General Assembly, and
every person qualified to vote for Dele-
gates shall be qualified and entitled to
vote for Governor; the election to be
held in the same manner as the election
of Delegates, and the returns thereof,
under seal, to be addressed to the
Speaker of the House of Delegates, and
enclosed and transmitted to the Secre-
tary of State, and delivered to the said
Speaker at the commencement of the
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session of the General Assembly next
ensuing said election.
Sec. 3, The Speaker of the House of
Delegates shall then open the said re-
turns in the presence of both Houses,
and the person having the highest num-
ber of votes, and being constitutionally
eligible, shall be the Governor, and shall
qualify in the manner herein prescribed,
on the second Wednesday of January
next ensuing his election, or as soon
thereafter as may be practicable.
Sec. 4* If two or more persons shall
have the highest and an equal number
of votes, one of them shall be chosen
Governor by the Senate and House of
Delegates; and all questions in relation
to the eligibility of Governor, and to the
returns of said election, and to the num-
ber and legality of votes, therein given,
shall be determined by the House of
Delegates; and if the person or persons
having the highest number of votes be
ineligible, the Governor shall be chosen
by the Senate and House of Delegates.
Every election of Governor by the Gen-
eral Assembly shall be determined by a
joint majority of the Senate and House
of Delegates, and the vote shall be taken
viva uoce. But if two or more persons
shall have the highest and an equal
number of votes, then a second vote shall
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