300                                 Laws op Maryland                        [Ch. 119

ABSENTEE VOTING

161 A. (Who may vote; applications for ballots). (1) A qualified
voter, who, on the occurrence of any primary or general or special
election, may be unavoidably absent from the State of Maryland for
whatever reason on the day of election, may vote as an absentee voter
under this sub-title.

(2)  A qualified voter desiring to vote at such election as an ab-
sentee voter must apply in writing to the Board of Supervisors of
Elections of the city or the county, as the case may be, for an applica-
tion for an absentee ballot, not later than the twentieth (20) day
before such election and such application shall contain an affidavit,,
which shall set forth (a) his name and residence address, including
the street and number, if any, or rural route, if any; (b) that he is
a qualified voter of the ward or election district in which he resides;
(c) in case he voted at the preceding election, the ward or election,
district where he so voted; (d) that he expects in good faith to be
unavoidably absent from the State of Maryland on the day of the
next primary or general or special election for whatever reason, speci-
fying it.

(3)  Only the members of the Supervisors of Elections and em-
ployees designated by it in writing for such purpose and any notary
public or other officer authorized to administer oaths shall have au-
thority to administer the oath to any voter making the affidavit re-
quired in said application for an absentee ballot.

(k) Printed forms of applications for absentee ballots in accord-
ance with the requirements o/ this section shall be provided by the
Board of Supervisors of Elections. They shall be distributed only in
the following manner:

(a)  Each Board of Supervisors of Elections shall retain an ap-
propriate number for the purpose of furnishing an application form
to each qualified voter who desires to apply in person to the Board,
and

(b)  Each Board shall mail an application form to each qualified*
voter who makes application by mail, pursuant to the provisions of
this sub-title.

Such application forms shall not be furnished to any person except
as hereinbefore in this section authorized.

161B. (Voting by disabled, ill persons). Any qualified voter whose
physical disability prevents or will prevent him from being present
in the ward or election district in which he is entitled to vote and"
personally voting at the polls on any election day shall be considered
an absentee voter of this State. Such person shall make application
in accordance with Section 161A (2)(a), (b) and (c), and shall ob-
tain a certificate from a duly licensed physician of this State as
evidence of his qualification for an absentee ballot hereunder. The
certificate shall state that the voter is mentally competent to vote in
elections in this State, and that because of illness or injury the voter
is now, or will be absent from the said ward or election district and
prevented from personally voting at said election. Such certificate
shall be filed with the Board of Supervisors of Elections of the City
of Baltimore or the County of residence of the voter not later than'