Theodore R. McKeldin, Governor                   1305

envelope and instructions, and marks the ballot, executes the oath
on the ballot envelope before any member of the Board, who shall
take the oath and witness the same, and leaves said ballot envelope,
with the ballot enclosed and sealed therein, with the Board at its
regular office. Thereafter the Board shall follow the same procedure
as to ballot envelope and ballots cast by any such honorably dis-
charged Absentee Resident, as is set forth in the other provisions
of this sub-title for ballot envelopes and ballots cast by other Absen-
tee Residents.

256. Count of Absentee Ballots. (a) Procedure. Immediately
after the completion of the canvass of the votes cast at the regular
voting places in this State at any election, the several Boards shall
meet at the usual place for holding the Circuit Court for the County
or in Baltimore City at the offices of the Supervisors of Elections
and shall there first register all Absentee Residents entitled thereto
and not previously registered, and such registration shall be deemed
to have been made on the day of said election and prior to the
casting of their votes by such Absentee Residents. Immediately
after completing such registration, said several Boards shall pro-
ceed to count, certify and canvass the ballots contained in the
Ballot Envelopes, received by them from the Secretary of State as
hereinbefore provided, at any time prior to the closing of the polls
on election day. Whenever any Board shall determine from proof
or investigation that any person who has marked and transmitted an
Absentee Ballot, whether under Act of Congress or the provisions
of this sub-title, has died before election day, said Board shall not
count the ballot of said deceased voter, but it shall be preserved by
said Board for six months and may then be destroyed, unless prior to
that time the Board be ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction
to keep the same for any longer period. Unless at or prior to the
time of such counting and canvassing the Board shall have deter-
mined that the Absentee Resident who marked a ballot had died
before election day, said ballot shall be counted, and the fact that
said Absentee Resident may later be shown to have been actually
dead on election day shall not invalidate said ballot or said election.
If said Board determines that said Absentee Resident voted in person
at said election, his Absentee Ballot shall not be counted.

(b) Opening Ballot Envelopes. If said Boards determines that
the provisions for filling out and signing the oath on the outside of
the Ballot Envelope have been substantially complied with and that
the person signing the voter's oath is entitled to vote under this
sub-title in any precinct or election district or ward of their respec-
tive County or City, as the case may be, and has not already voted
therein on election day, they shall open the Ballot Envelope and
remove the ballot therefrom, and place it in a ballot box or ballot
boxes prepared for that purpose. The Board shall not open or
unfold any Absentee Ballot at any time prior to counting the same.
When any Ballot Envelope is opened, the Board shall enter in the
appropriate register the fact that the voter whose name appears
thereon has voted, using the initials "V. M." to indicate that the
vote has been by mail. If there be more than one ballot in the Ballot
Envelope, all shall be rejected. State or Federal "Absentee Ballots"
may be marked by any kind of pencil or ink. All Absentee Ballots
shall be kept separate and apart from ballots cast at the regular
voting places and retained for six (6) months after the date of