HERBERT R. O'CONOR, GOVERNOR. 1321

present to the Commissioners and to the Town Clerk the re-
turns of election respectively addressed to them. The Commis-
sioners shall then examine said returns and if they find them
to be signed by all the Judges and Clerks of Election, and iden-
tical, they shall canvass them and declare those five persons
elected who shall appear from the face of the returns to have
received the highest number of votes, and shall issue certifi-
cates of election to said persons. In case any proposition or
question other than the election of an officer shall have been
submitted to the voters at said election, the Commissioners
shall in like manner declare whether or not such proposition
has been carried or defeated.

In case the returns are not signed by all the Judges and
Clerks of Election, or in case the two sets of returns are not
identical, the Commissioners shall consider such returns and the
statements, if any are accompanying them, signed by the Elec-
tion Officials refusing to sign the returns, and they shall upon
these papers determine which parties, if any, are elected to
the various offices, and shall issue certificates according to
their determination. They shall in like manner, in case any
proposition or question other than the election of officials has
been submitted to the voters at said election, determine
whether or not said proposition has been carried or defeated.

Any defeated candidate at such election may contest the
same and the Judge of the Circuit Court of Prince George's
County shall have jurisdiction to determine such contest, and
may adopt such modes of proceeding and adjudging costs in
cases of contested election as to him may seem most satisfac-
tory. No such contest shall, however, be considered unless a
petition is filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County
within seven days, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays,
after the decision of the Commissioners of the Town of Bla-
densburg on said election shall be made.

Any legally qualified voter who has voted at any election in
said Town on any question submitted to the voters shall have
a similar right of contest the result of such election to be exer-
cised in a similar way.

In the event of a tie vote in any election for commissioner,
the Commissioners shall arrange with the candidates tied for a
drawing to determine which of said candidates shall serve, such
drawing to be determined by and under the supervision of the
Commissioners who were in office at the time of election, and
in the event any candidate refuses to participate in such draw-
ing the Commissioners shall name someone to draw for him or
them, and at the conclusion of such drawing the Commis-
sioners shall declare who is the person or persons determined
by such drawing to be elected.