House of Dele-
Kates : Number
of delegates;
apportionment;
legislative dis-
tricts; alteration
of district bound-
aries; equal pop-
ulation; contigu-
ous territory.
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Sec. 3. Vacant.
Sec. 4. The General As-
sembly shall have the power
to provide by Law, from time
to time, for altering and
changing the boundaries of
the existing Legislative Dis-
tricts of the City of Balti-
more, so as to make them as
near as may be of equal
population; but said district
shall always consist of contig-
uous territory.
Sec. 5. The membership
of the House of Delegates
shall consist of one hundred
and twenty-three (123) Dele-
gates, apportioned as fol-
lows: Calvert, Caroline,
Charles, Howard, Kent,
Queen Anne's, and St.
Mary's Counties, two Dele-
gates each; Cecil, Garrett,
Somerset, Talbot, and Wor-
cester Counties, three Dele-
gates each; Carroll, Dor-
chester, H a r f o r d , and
Wicomico Counties, four
Delegates each; Allegany,
Anne Arundel, Baltimore,
Frederick, Montgomery,
Prince George's, and Wash-
ington Counties, and each
of the six Legislative Dis-
tricts of Baltimore City, six
Delegates each.
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Sec. 3. Until the taking
and publishing of the next
National Census, or until the
enumeration of the popula-
tion of this State, under the
Authority thereof, the sev-
eral Counties, and the City
of Baltimore, shall have
representation in the House
of Delegates, as follows:
Allegany County, five Dele-
gates; Anne Arundel County,
three Delegates; Baltimore
County, six Delegates; each
of the three Legislative
Districts of the City of
Baltimore, six Delegates;
Calvert County, two Dele-
gates; Caroline County,
two Delegates; Carroll
County, four Delegates;
Cecil County, four Dele-
gates; Charles County, two
Delegates; Dorchester Coun-
ty, three Delegates; Fred-
erick County, six Delegates;
Harford County, four Dele-
gates; Howard County, two
Delegates; Kent County, two
Delegates; Montgomery
County, three Delegates:
Prince George's County,
three Delegates; Queen
Anne's County, two Dele-
gates; Saint Mary's County,
two Delegates; Somerset
County, three Delegates;
Talbot County, two Dele-
gates; Washington County,
five Delegates; and Worces-
ter County, three Delegates.
Sec. 4. As soon as may
be after the taking and pub-
lishing of the next National
Census, or after the enu-
meration of the population
of this State, under the Au-
thority thereof, there shall
be an apportionment of
representation in the House
of Delegates, to be made on
the following basis, to wit:
Each of the several Counties
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Sec. 4. The white popu-
lation of the State shall
constitute the basis of rep-
resentation in the House of
Delegates, and the appor-
tionment of the Delegates
among the several counties
and legislative districts of
the city of Baltimore, shall
be as follows: For every five
thousand persons, or a frac-
tional part thereof, above
one-half, one Delegate shall
be chosen, until the number
of Delegates in each county
and legislative district of the
city of Baltimore, shall reach
five; above that number, one
Delegate shall be chosen for
the next twenty thousand
persons, or a fractional por-
tion over one-half thereof, in
each county and legislative
district of the city of Balti-
more; above that number,
each county and legislative
district of the said city, shall
elect one Delegate for every
eighty thousand persons, or
fractional portion thereof,
above one-half. Upon this
principle, and as soon as
practicable after each na-
tional census, or State enu-
meration of inhabitants, the
General Assembly shall ap-
portion the members of the
House of Delegates among
the several counties, and the
several legislative districts of
Baltimore city, according to
the white population of each. ;
But until such apportionment
is made, the House of Dele-
gates shall consist of eighty
members, distributed as fol-
lows: Allegany, five mem-
bers; Anne Arundel, two;
each of the three legislative
districts in Baltimore city,
six; Baltimore county, six;
Calvert, one; Caroline, two;
Carroll, five; Cecil, four;
Charles, one; Dorchester,
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Sec. 3. The Legislature
at its first session after the
i returns of the national cen-
1 sus of eighteen hundred and
sixty are published, and in
1 like manner after each sub-
sequent census, shall appor-
tion the members of the
House of Delegates among
the several counties of the
State, according to the popu-
lation of each, and shall
always allow to the city of
Baltimore four more dele-
gates than are allowed to
the most populous county,
but no county shall be en-
titled to less than two mem-
bers, nor shall the whole
number of delegates ever
exceed eighty, or be less
than sixty-five; and until the
apportionment is made un-
der the census of eighteen
hundred and sixty; St.
Mary's county shall be en-
titled to two delegates;
Kent, two; Anne Arundel,
three; Calvert, two; Charles,
two; Baltimore county, six;
Talbot, two; Somerset, four;
Dorchester, three; Cecil,
three; Prince George's,
three; Queen Anne's, two;
Worcester, three; Frederick,
six; Harford, three; Caroline,
two; Baltimore city, ten;
Washington, five; Montgom-
ery, two; Allegany, four;
Carroll, three, and Howard,
two.
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2. That the house of dele-
gates shall be chosen in the
following manner: All free-
men above twenty-one years
of age, having a freehold of
fifty acres of land in the
county in which they offer
to vote, and residing therein,
and all freemen having prop-
erty in this State above the
value of thirty pounds cur-
rent money, and having
resided in the county in
which they offer to vote one
whole year next preceding
the election, shall have a
right of suffrage in the elec-
tion of delegates for such
county; and all freemen so
qualified shall, on the first
Monday of October seven-
teen hundred and seventy-
seven, and on the same day
in every year thereafter, as-
semble in the counties in
which they are respectively
qualified to vote, at the
court-house in the said coun-
ties, or at such other place
as the legislature shall direct,
and when assembled they
shall proceed to elect, viva
voce, four delegates for their
respective counties, of the
most wise, sensible, and dis-
creet of the people, residents
in the county where they
are to be chosen one whole
year next preceding the elec-
tion, above twenty-one years
of age, and having in the
State real or personal prop-
erty above the value^of~~fiye
hundred pounds current
money, and upon the final
casting of the polls the four
persons who shall appear to
have the greatest number of
legal votes, shall be declared
and returned duly elected
for their respective county.
4. That all persons, quali-
fied by the charter of the
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Proposed by Act of 1798,
chapter 115. Ratified 1799.
Sec. 2. All and every part
of the Constitution and form
of government, relating to
the Judges, time, place and
manner of holding elections
in the City of Baltimore,
and all and every part of the
second, third, fifth, four-
teenth and forty second
Sections of the Constitution
and form of Government of
this state, which relate to
the Judges, place, time, and
manner of holding the sev-
eral Elections for Delegates
electors of the Senate, and
sheriffs of the several Coun-
ties be and the same are
hereby abrogated, repealed
and annulled and the same
shall hereafter be regulated
by Law.
Proposed by Act of 1809,
chapter 198. Ratified 1810.
All such parts of the con-
stitution and form of govern-
ment as require a property
qualification in persons to be
appointed or holding offices
of profit or trust in this
State, and in persons elected
members of the legislature
or electors of the senate,
shall be and the same are
hereby repealed and abol-
ished.
Proposed by Act of 1835,
chapter 98. Ratified 1836.
"\Qn the first Monday of
October, eighteen hundred
and thirty seven, and on the
same day annually there-
after, the citizens of Balti-
more City having the neces-
sary qualifications of voters
under the constitution, shall
vote for and elect four per-
sons as members of the
House of Delegates, instead
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