SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                       939

the oath on the ballot envelope, any person may, at the request and
in accordance with the direction of the voter, mark the ballot,
sign the name of the voter on the line provided for the voter's
signature, and complete the oath on the face of the ballot envelope;
and the following affidavit shall be executed and enclosed in the
Return Envelope—not in the Ballot Envelope. No such person shall,
in any manner, request, suggest, or seek to persuade or induce any
such voter to vote for or against any particular ticket, candidate,
or question.

"State of........................................,

City or County of................................, to wit:

I hereby declare, under the penalty for perjury, that on this............

day of ................, 19...., ........................................, a qualified voter

entitled to vote pursuant to Article 33 of the Annotated Code of
Maryland, who is unable by reason of blindness or physical dis-
ability, without assistance, to mark a ballot and sign the oath on
the ballot envelope, authorized me to mark the ballot, sign his name
on the line provided for the voter's signature and complete the oath
on the face of the ballot envelope. I have marked the enclosed ballot
in accordance with his instructions and have not attempted to in-
fluence him to vote for or against any political party, any candidate
or any question appearing on the ballot.

(Name and address of person
assisting the voter)

(If the above form is used, detach it, fill in the blanks, and enclose
in the Return Envelope.)"

27-9. Canvassing of ballots.

(a)    The Board shall not open or unfold any absentee ballot at
any time prior to the closing of the polls and the beginning of the
canvass of the absentee ballots.

(b)    At any time after the closing of the polls and not later than
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 at the usual
offices of the board and shall proceed to count, certify and canvass
the absentee ballots contained in the ballot envelopes, received by
them prior to the closing of the polls on election day. No ballot
shall be rejected by the board except by the unanimous vote of the
entire board. This canvass shall be conducted in accordance with the
applicable provisions of Section 14-1 of this Article. All voters' appli-
cations, medical certificates, notarial affidavits, certifications, ballot en-
velopes and 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 election at which they were cast, unless prior to that time,
the board shall be ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, to
keep the same for any longer period. The several boards are hereby
granted authority to appoint such numbers of temporary judges as
said boards may deem necessary to adequately and promptly carry
out the provisions of this section.

(c)    Any absentee ballot voted for a person who has ceased to
be a candidate shall not be counted for such candidate but such
vote shall not invalidate the remainder of such ballot.