366

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

after making such oath, may require one of the clerks to read
to him the contents of the ballot, so that the voter can ascer-
tain the position of the names of the candidates on each ballot.
The clerk so requested, shall read said ballot to such voter in
the presence of the other clerk; whereupon the voter shall
retire to one of the booths or compartments, and prepare his
ballot in the manner hereinbefore provided, or such voter may
request one of said clerks, in the presence of the other, to mark
the names of the candidates for whom he shall desire to vote,
or mark a group should said voter desire to vote for an entire
group. Affidavits of such voters shall contain a statement of
the name, and registered address of the voter and of the spec-
ial reason why he is unable to mark his ballots, and how long
such disability has existed; and blanks for such affidavits shall
be furnished by the supervisors of elections in sufficient num-
bers for each polling place, and all such affidavits shall be
returned with the poll-books.

Where voter
spoils ballot

63. Any voter who shall, by accident or mistake, spoil his
. ballot so that he cannot conveniently vote the same, may, on
returning said spoiled ballot to the judge holding the ballots,
receive another in place of it, with his name and the same num-
ber written on the coupon thereof, as on the ballot so returned,
but no voter shall receive more than three ballots from said
judge for the reason aforesaid. The ballots thus returned shall
be immediately cancelled by endorsing thereon the word
"spoiled," and, together with those not distributed to the voters
shall be preserved and returned to the supervisors of elections,
as hereinafter provided. Every voter who does not vote any
ballot delivered to him, shall, before leaving the polling place,
return such ballot to the judge from whom he received it, and
said returned ballot shall be retained as if said ballot had been

Challenge of
voter.

spoiled. Wlien anyone claiming to be a person whose name
appears upon the registers, shall make application for a ballot,
his right to vote at that election may be challenged, but shall
not be determined until after he has marked his ballot and
delivered it to the judge at the ballot-box. The person chal-
lenging shall assign his reason therefor, and one of the judges
shall thereupon administer to the person offering to vote an
oath to make true answers to questions, and if he shall take
said oath, he shall be questioned by the judge or judges touch-
ing said cause of challenge, and he may also be questioned by
the person challenging him in regard thereto, and if a major-
ity of the judges are of opinion that he is the person so regis-
tered, his vote shall be received accordingly. No one who