4784 ARTICLE 22.

election this ——— day of ——— attested by ——— clerk a copy of the count
as entered and endorsed on the books of the polls as hereinbefore provided,
shall at the close of said election as soon as the court* is closed and result
ascertained, be placed together with all the ballots cast at said election in
the ballot box by the judges of election, and the ballot box shall be locked
and the key removed therefrom, and the ballot box delivered to the chief
judges of the election or his associate of the same political party, and the
key thereof to the minority judge of election for safe keeping until as here-
inafter provided, whereupon the judges of election shall all write their
names on a strip of paper of sufficient length for the following purpose:
Said strips shall be pasted over the key hole of the ballot box in such man-
ner that the signatures shall extend across the opening of the lid, and
so that when the key is inserted, it will tear the paper so pasted over the
key hole of the ballot box in such papers, shall be securely fastened to the
box with sealing wax or other adhesive material; within one day after an
election and on said election day if practicable, the ballot box and the key
thereof shall be delivered to the clerk of the Circuit Court for Washing-
ton County, who shall safely keep the same for the space of six months
from the day of such delivery, at which time said ballot box shall be
opened by said clerk and said ballots destroyed; during which space of
six months said ballot box shall not be opened except when ordered by the
Court in a judicial investigation or contested election; the presiding judges
of election, or in case of inability to attend, shall within one day after
each election under the penalty of five hundred dollars meet in the office
of the clerk of the Circuit Court for Washington County, with the books
of the polls and the certificates the aforesaid judges so assembled shall cast
up the whole vote of all the wards if an election be held for an officer to be
voted for by all citizens of Hagerstown, and for the respective wards when
an officer has been voted for by the voters of such respective wards, and
shall then make out a plain, fair and distinct statement and certificate of
the number of votes which shall have been given for each candidate for
each of the officers voted for at said election, and the same shall then be
filed with the clerk of the said court, the form of said certificate shall be
as follows: To ——— whereas, an election for ——— was held on the ———
of ———, in the year ———, in the city of Hagerstown, and in the wards
designated by number ———, conformably to the laws of the State of Mary-
land and the charter of Hagerstown, and whereas we the subscribers, at-
tending judges at the close of election in said districts, having thus assem-
bled in the office of the clerk of the Circuit Court for Washington County
with the books of the polls, on which are endorsed the several certificates
agreeably to law, and having cast up the whole number of votes given in
said wards according to the certificates made out on the day of election
by the judges, it appears that ———has the greatest number of legal vote
for ———, whereupon we do determine, declare and return, that the said
——— is duly elected.

*"Count" probably intended.