SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                        835

in case of absolute necessity, any judge in attendance shall be com-
pelled to absent himself, he shall appoint some fit person of the same
political party as himself to act in his stead until his return, having
first administered to such substitute the same oath as he himself
has taken, (c) Blank forms for the appointment of the substitute
judges and the oath aforesaid shall be supplied by the board, and
the oath when administered shall be preserved and returned by the
judges to the board, (d) The appointment and swearing in of all
such substitutes and the reason therefor, and the time when such
substitute began and ceased to serve shall be noted by the judges
on loose-leaf pages inserted in the binders containing the precinct
cards; such substitute shall cease to act whenever the judge in whose
stead he was appointed shall be present.

2-9. Responsibility of board for elections.

(a)    Each board shall have charge of and make provision for all
elections to be held in its county or city, or any part thereof at
any time; provided, however, that in any incorporated city or town
in the State (other than the City of Baltimore) in which the
municipal or charter elections are regulated by the public local
laws of the State or the charter of the municipality, the conduct of
municipal or charter elections shall continue to be so regulated as
heretofore or may hereafter be provided by public local laws or the
charter of the municipality and the same shall continue in force
therein.

(b)    The board shall have power to make all necessary rules and
regulations, not inconsistent with this article, with reference to
the registration of voters and the conduct of elections. Unless other-
wise expressly provided in this article, all questions arising with
reference to such rules and regulations as to the registration of
voters and the conduct of elections shall be decided by a majority
of the board.

(c)    The board shall have power to summon judges and any
witnesses involved and to require their appearance before them; and
to administer oaths and take testimony from such judges and wit-
nesses.

(d)    The office of each board shall be open on any election day,
and the members of the board shall be available when needed on such
day.

2-10. Notice of elections.

Each board shall give public notice of the time and place of all
elections in each precinct. Such notice shall be given in newspapers
of general circulation; in the discretion of the board, notice may also
be given by handbills set up in such public places in each precinct
as the board may determine.

(a) In the counties, each board shall give ten days' notice of
the time and place of all elections by advertisements, if same can be
procured at the current rate for commercial advertising, in at least
two newspapers of general circulation published in the county except
that in those counties where there is only one newspaper published
which is a weekly of general circulation, then in such weekly news-
paper.