EDWIN WARFIELD, ESQ., GOVERNOR.

1227

choosing delegates to said National Convention, and for nomi-

nating Presidential Electors; and provided, further, that the

Proviso.

primary election law in force in Baltimore City prior to the pas-

sage of this Act, shall continue in force, and shall apply only

to primary elections for Congressional candidates held in those

portions of Baltimore City which form a part of, and are em-

braced in the Second and Fifth Congressional Districts.

153. Primary elections for Mayor, Comptroller, President

of the Second Branch City Council and members of the City

Primaries held
in Baltimore

Council of Baltimore, shall be held in all respects according

city.

to the foregoing provisions, and at every general registration

held in Baltimore City and in the several counties of this

State subsequent to the passage of this Act, there shall be pro-

vided in the registration books an additional column headed

"Party Affiliations," and the board of registry shall enter in

this column the name of the political party, if any to which the

voter is inclined and with which the voter desires to have him-

self recorded as affiliated. It shall be the duty of the board

of registry to explain to each voter that the statement of such

party affiliation does not bind him to vote for the candidate

of such party at any given election ; that he has a right to de-

Declined to
state party

cline to state any party affiliation, but that no one who is not

affiliation.

recorded upon the registry as affiliated with a particular po-

litical party, will be qualified to vote at subsequent primary

elections of said political party. Whenever a voter declines to

state his party affiliation the word "Declined" shall be written

opposite his name and under such column, so that there shall

be written in such column, opposite the name of every register-

ed voter either his party affiliation or the word "Declined,"

and in all primary elections thereafter held, any person so reg-

istered as affiliated with a given political party shall have the

right to receive and vote the official ballot of that party, and

of no other. And at any intermediate registration subsequent

to the close of the next general registration, such voter may

appear before the board of registry, and, upon his identity be-

ing established to the satisfaction of the majority of the board

of registry, he shall have a right to require the said board of

Right of voter.

registry to make, alter or strike out any entry in the column

headed "Party Affiliation," opposite his name, in the registry.

It shall be the duty of the board of registry to enter in the

column headed "Remarks" the fact that such entry was made,

altered or stricken out, and the date thereof.

Sec. 12. And be it enacted, That this Act shall take effect

from the date of its passage.

Approved April 8, 1904.