or otherwise, such elected official shall be removed from
the elective office by operation of Law and the office shall
be deemed vacant. If the conviction of the elected official
is reversed or overturned, the elected official shall be
reinstated by operation of Law to the elective office for the
remainder, if any of the elective term of office during which
he was so suspended or removed, and all pay and benefits
shall be restored.

SEC. S.^No person who is a member of an organiza-
tion that advocates the overthrow of the Government of
the United States or of the State of Maryland through force
or violence shall be eligible to hold any office, be it elective
or appointive, or any other position of profit or trust in the
Government of or in the administration of the business of
this State or of any county, municipality or other political
subdivision of this State.

SEC. 4.²¹⁴ Vacant.

SEC. 5.²¹ Except as the Constitution provides other-
wise for any office, the General Assembly may provide by
law for a person to act in place of any elected or appointed
officer of the State who is unavailable to perform the duties
of his office because he has become unable or is or will be
absent.

SEC. 6.²¹⁶ Vacant.

SEC. 7.²¹⁷ All general elections in this State shall be
held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the
month of Nov., in the year in which they shall occur.

SEC. 8.²¹⁸ Vacant.
SEC. 9.²¹⁹ Vacant.
SEC. 10.²²⁰ Vacant.
SEC. II.²²¹ Vacant.

ARTICLE XVI.²²²
THE REFERENDUM.

SECTION 1. (a) The people reserve to themselves
power known as The Referendum, by petition to have
submitted to the registered voters of the State, to approve
or reject at the polls, any Act, or part of any Act of the
General Assembly if approved by the Governor, 01, if passed
by the General Assembly over the veto of the Governor;

(b) The provisions of this Article shall be self-executing;
provided that additional legislation in furtherance thereof
and not in conflict therewith may be enacted.

SEC. 2.²²³ No law enacted by the General Assembly
shall take effect until the first day of June next after the
session at which it may be passed, unless it contains a
Section declaring such law an emergency law and necessary

Constitution ofMmyland/779

for the immediate preservation of the public health or
safety and is passed upon a yea and nay vote supported by
three-fifths of all the members elected to each of the two
Houses of the General Assembly. The effective date of a
law other than an emergency law may be extended as
provided in Section 3 (b) hereof. If before said first day of
June there shall have been filed with the Secretary of the
State a petition to refer to a vote of the people any law or
part of a law capable of referendum, as in this Article
provided, the same shall be referred by the Secretary of
State to such vote, and shall not become a law or take effect
until thirty days after its approval by a majority of the
electors voting thereon at the next ensuing election held
throughout the State for Members of the House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States. An emergency law shall
remain in force notwithstanding such petition, but shall
stand repealed thirty days after having been rejected by a
majority of the qualified electors voting thereon. No
measure creating or abolishing any office, or changing the
salary term or duty of any officer, or granting any franchise
or special privilege, or creating any vested right or interest,
shall be enacted as an emergency law. No law making any
appropriation for maintaining the State Government, or
for maintaining or aiding any public institution, not ex-
ceeding the next previous appropriation for the same pur-
pose, shall be subject to rejection or repeal under this
Section. The increase in any such appropriation for main-
taining or aiding any public institution shall only take effect
as in the case of other laws, and such increase or any part
thereof specified in the petition, may be referred to a vote
of the people upon petition.

SEC. 3.²²⁴ (a) The referendum petition against an Act
or pan of an Act passed by the General Assemble shall be
sufficient if signed by three percent of the qualified voters of
the State of Maryland, calculated upon the whole number
of votes cast for Governor at the last preceding Guber-
natorial election, of whom not more than half are residents
of Baltimore City, or of any one County However, any
Public Local Law for any one County or the City of
Baltimore, shall be referred by the Secretary of State only to
the people of the County or City of Baltimore, upon a
referendum petition often percent of the qualified voters of
the County or City of Baltimore, as the case may be,
calculated upon the whole number of votes cast respectively
for Governor at the last preceding Gubernatorial election.

(b) If more than one-third, but less than the full number
of signatures required to complete any referendum petition
against any law passed by the General Assembly, be filed
with the Secretary of State before the first day of June, the
lime for the law to take effect and for filing the remainder
of signatures to complete the petition shall be extended to
the thirtieth day of the same month, with like effect.