518

LAWS OF MARYLAND.— 1805.

things execute the office of judge of the said elections, accord-
ing to the best of my knowledge, without favour or partiality ;
so help me God ;' that every cferk, before he enters any vote on
the polls, shall take the following oath, or affirmation, to wit :
'I, A. B., do swear, or affirm, that I will well and faithfully,
without favour, affection or partiality, execute the office of
clerk of the election or elections now to be held, according to
the best of my knowledge ; so help me God ;' and the oath or
affirmation of the clerks shall be administered by a judge of the
election, and the oath or affirmation of a judge shall be admi-
nistered by a justice of the peace, or if no justice of the peace
be present to administer the same, it shall be administered
by a clerk of the said election, after such clerk shall have been
qualified as aforesaid ; and a certificate of every such oath or
affirmation, signed by the person administering the same respec-
tively, shall be annexed to the polls.

Elections to
commence
at 9 o'clock
A. M. and
end at 6
o'clock, p.
M.— The
manner of
voting
regulated.

SEC. 12. And be it enacted, That the elections aforesaid
respectively shall commence at nine o'clock in the morning of
the respective days of election, and shall continue without ad-
journment, and be closed at six o'clock in the evening of the
same day, and no ballot shall be taken before the said hour of
nine o'clock in the morning, nor after the said hour of six
o'clock in the evening, and every voter shall deliver to the
judge or judges of the election in the district in which he offers
to vote, a ballot, on which shall be written, or printed, the name
or names of the person or persons voted for, and the purpose
for which the vote is given, plainly designated, and the ballot
so delivered in, and received by the judge or judges of the
election, shall be deposited in the ballot box till the poll be
closed; and if any judge of an election, or other person, after
any ballot shall be delivered in as aforesaid, and before the poll
is closed, shall unfold or open any such ballot, with design to
discover the name or names therein contained, every person so
offending shall forfeit and pay the sum of fifty dollars ; and if
any voter shall offer any more than one ballot, with a fraudu-
lent design, every such person shall forfeit and pay the sum of
twenty dollars for every such offence.

When the
poll is
closed,
judges to
open the
box public-

ly, &c.

SEC 13. And be it enacted, That when the poll shall be
closed, the box wherein the ballots are deposited shall be im-
mediately thereafter opened by the judge or judges of the
election, and the said judge or judges shall publicly, in the pre-
sence of such persons as may choose to attend, carefully take
out the said ballots, and read distinctly and aloud the name or
names written or printed thereon respectively, and the clerks of
such election shall carefully enter and keep an account of the
same on the books of the polls, so that the number of votes for