SEC. 5. ¹⁷ It shall be the duty of the General Assembly to
pass Laws to punish, with fine and imprisonment, any person,
who shall remove into any election district, or precinct of any
ward of the City of Baltimore, not for the purpose of acquiring a
bona fide residence therein, but for the purpose of voting at an
approaching election, or, who shall vote in any election district,
or ward, in which he does not reside (except in the case provid-
ed for in this Article), or shall, at the same election, vote in
more than one election district, or precinct, or shall vote, or of-
fer to vote, in any name not his own, or in place of any other
person of the same name, or shall vote in any county in which
he does not reside.

18
SEC. 6. If any person shall give, or offer to give, directly or

indirectly, any bribe, present or reward, or any promise, or any
security, for the payment or delivery of money, or any other
thing, to induce any voter to refrain from casting his vote, or to
prevent him in any way from voting, or to procure a vote for
any candidate or person proposed, or voted for as the elector of
President, and Vice President of the United States, or Represent-
ative in Congress or for any office of profit or trust, created by
the Constitution or Laws of this State, or by the Ordinances, or
Authority of the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, the per-
son giving, or offering to give and the person receiving the same,
and any person who gives or causes to be given, an illegal vote,
knowing it to be such, at any election to be hereafter held in this
State, shall, on conviction in a Court of Law, in addition to the
penalties now or hereafter to be imposed by law, be forever dis-
qualified to hold any office of profit or trust, or to vote at any
election thereafter. But the General Assembly may in its discre-
tion remove the above penalty and all other penalties upon the
vote seller so as to place the penalties for the purchase of votes
on the vote buyer alone.

19
SEC. 7. The General Assembly shall pass Laws necessary

for the preservation of the purity of Elections.

SEC. 8. The General Assembly, shall make provisions for
all cases of contested elections of any of the officers, not herein
provided for.

SEC. 9. Every person elected, or appointed, to any office of
profit or trust, under this Constitution, or under the Laws, made
pursuant thereto, shall, before he enters upon the duties of such
office, take and subscribe the following oath, or affirmation:

I will support the Constitution of the United States; and that I
will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the State of Mary-
land, and support the Constitution and Laws thereof; and that I
will, to the best of my skill and judgment, diligently and faithful-
ly, without partiality or prejudice, execute the office

this State, (and, if a Governor, Senator, Member of the House of
Delegates, or Judge,) that I will not directly or indirectly, re-
ceive the profits or any part of the profits of any other office dur-

SEC. 10. Any officer elected or appointed in pursuance of
the provisions of this Constitution, may qualify, either according
to the existing provisions of law, in relation to officers under the
present Constitution, or before the Governor of the State, or
before any Clerk of any Court of Record in any part of the
State; but in case an officer shall qualify out of the County in
which he resides, an official copy of his oath shall be filed and
recorded in the Clerk's office of the Circuit Court of the County
in which he may reside, or in the Clerk's office of the Superior
Court of the City of Baltimore, if he shall reside therein. All
words or phrases, used in creating public offices and positions
under the Constitution and laws of this State, which denote the
masculine gender shall be construed to include the feminine gen-
der, unless the contrary intention is specifically expressed.

SEC. 11. Every person, hereafter elected, or appointed, to
office, in this State, who shall refuse, or neglect, to take the oath,
or affirmation of office, provided for in the ninth section of this
Article, shall be considered as having refused to accept the said
office; and a new election, or appointment, shall be made, as in
case of refusal to accept, or resignation of an office; and any per-
son violating said oath, shall, on conviction thereof, in a Court
of Law, in addition to the penalties now, or hereafter, to be im-
posed by Law, be thereafter incapable of holding any office of
profit or trust in this State.

23a
SEC. 12. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein,

a person is ineligible to enter upon the duties of, or to continue
to serve in, an elective office created by or pursuant to the provi-
sions of this Constitution if the person was not a registered voter
in this state on the date of the person's election or appointment
to that term or if, at any time thereafter and prior to completion
of the term, the person ceases to be a registered voter.

ARTICLE II.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

24
SECTION 1. The executive power of the State shall be

vested in a Governor, whose term of office shall commence on
the third Wednesday of January next ensuing his election, and
continue for four years, and until his successor shall have quali-
fied; and a person who has served two consecutive popular elec-
tive terms of office as Governor shall be ineligible to succeed
himself as Governor for the term immediately following the sec-
ond of said two consecutive popular elective terms.

SEC, 1A. ²⁵ There shall be a Lieutenant Governor, who shall
have only the duties delegated to him by the Governor and shall
have such compensation as the General Assembly shall provide
by law, except that beginning in the year 1978 the salary of the
Lieutenant Governor shall be as provided under Section 21 A of
this Article. No person who is ineligible under this Constitution
to be elected Governor shall be eligible to hold the office of
Lieutenant Governor.