1216

LAWS OF MARYLAND.

CHAP. 724

What ballots
shall not be
counted.

SEC. 12. And be it enacted, That the judges shall then
open the ballot box, count the envelopes therein, and, in a
like manner, announce the whole number of envelopes in the
box; and if any envelope shall be found not of the uniform
character supplied, or if any mark or device be found on any
envelope, or on the ballot contained therein, by which, in the
opinion of the majority of the judges, the same may be
identified, so as to indicate who may have cast the same,
the ballot so marked or the ballot contained in the envelope
so marked shall not be counted; and when more than one
ballot shall be found in an envelope, neither of the ballots
therein shall be counted.
SEC. 13. And be it enacted, That the intention, so far as the
same may be ascertained from each ballot itself, shall, in the

What ballots
shall be
counted.

absence of any unlawful or fraudulent mark or device thereon
or enclosed therewith or on the envelope containing the
same, prevail. If more names are marked for any office
than there are persons to be voted therefor, such ballots
shall not be counted for such office, delegate or committee-
man, but the whole ballot shall not for that reason be
rejected; and a ballot marked by any other than a black
pencil shall not be counted; no vote shall be counted for any
person whose name is cancelled, and names of those voted
for are to be indicated by the absence of any cancellation of
their names.
SEC. 14. And be it enacted, That one of the judges, in the

Manner of
counting the
ballots.

presence of the others, shall open the envelopes, take the
ballots therefrom, and hand them separately to be canvassed
by another of the judges sitting where the other judges can
see the same. The judge canvassing the ballots shall call
out the name of each candidate voted for and the designa-
tion of the position for which he is voted for, the other
judges looking at the ballot at the same time; and the clerks
shall, as the names are called, make proper tally of the same
on tally sheets provided for the purpose. When all of the
ballots have been canvassed in this manner the primary elec-
tion clerks shall compare their tallies together and ascertain
the total number of votes received by each person voted for,
and when they agree upon the number, one of them shall
announce in a loud voice to the judges the aggregate number
of the votes received by each candidate. If requested by
any watcher or challenger present at any canvass, it shall be