1892. ] OF THE SENATE. 603

date of the election and a fac-simile of the signature
of the President of the Board of Supervisors oi Elec-
tion.

It does not provide that the designation of the poll-
ing place shall be printed. It simply says that the
words "Official ballot for" are to be printed and that
they are to be followed by the designation of time and
place of election. This designation may be left blank,
therefore, and if left blank, may be filled up by the
Supervisors, Judges of Election or Ballot Clerks, be-
fore placing the ballots in the hands of the voter, with-
out destroying any of the precautions of the law, or
invalidating an election.

Did the ballots voted at this precinct on November
3rd, 1891, comply with the provisions of the law as to
official ballots ? They clearly did. They were "pre-
pared, printed and furnished by the Board of Super-
visors of Election for Calvert county; " they were
printed on clear white paper with black ink, had the
names of the candidates of the respective parties in
parallel columns, and bore the official endorsement,
namely, the fac-simile of the signature of the Presi-
dent of the Board, to show their official source, and
the initials of the Ballot Clerk, to show that they had
marked the votes from such source, and went into the
ballot-box through the hands of the proper officials.
They were, therefore, official ballots in every sense of
the term, and with one exception, identical with those
originally prepared for this precinct. The word
"first" was scratched out, and "second" substituted,
in order to adapt them to this precinct. Who made
the change, any one who would make or could make
a "distinguishing" mark ? No. The change was made
by the Ballot Clerk, who, in making it, would have
no other or greater opportunity for marking it so as
to destroy its secrecy, than he would have in placing
his initials on the ballot. Did this change in any way
disturb or impair, could it in any conceivable way
have disturbed or impaired a single one of the safe-
guards, precautions or grand objects of the law ?

The salient feature of this law is "secrecy; " its
first and last purpose is to prevent one man from
knowing how another man votes, and thus destroying