940                             LAWS OF MARYLAND                      [CH. 392

(d)    If an absentee ballot envelope is delivered to the wrong
board, such board shall immediately send said ballot envelope un-
opened, unmarked and unchanged in any way to the proper board.

(e)    Whenever any board shall determine from proof or investiga-
tion that any person who has marked and transmitted or deposited
in person with the board an absentee ballot, whether under act
of Congress or the provisions of this subtitle, has died before
election day, said board shall not count the ballot of the said de-
ceased voter, but it shall be preserved by the board for six months
and may then be destroyed, unless prior to that time the board is
ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction to keep the same for
any longer period. If at or prior to the time of such counting and
canvassing the board shall not have determined 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.

(f)    If the board 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 subtitle in any precinct
of their respective 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. 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 "A.B." to indicate the vote has been by absentee ballot.
If there be more than one ballot in the ballot envelope, all shall be
rejected. Absentee ballots may be marked by any kind of pencil
or ink.

(g)    If any board receives from the same person prior to the
closing of the polls on election day more than one absentee ballot,
it shall count, certify and canvass only the absentee ballot con-
tained in the ballot envelope on which the voter's oath was first
executed, and if the oath on two or more of the ballot envelopes
containing absentee ballots are dated the same or if both are un-
dated, none of the ballots received from such person shall be counted.

27-10. Contests and appeals.

Contests concerning registration, voting or the validity of any
ballot under this subtitle shall be decided by the board having juris-
diction of the matter. No registration shall be denied and no ballot
rejected except by the unanimous vote of the entire board. Any
candidate or absentee voter aggrieved by any decision or action of
such board shall have the right of appeal to the circuit court for
the county or to the Superior Court of Baltimore City, as the case
may be, to review such decision or action, and jurisdiction to hear
and determine such appeals is hereby conferred upon said courts.
Such appeals shall be taken by way of petition filed with the ap-
propriate court within five days from the date of the completion
of the official canvass by any board of all the votes cast at any
election and shall be heard de novo and without a jury by said
court as soon as possible. There shall be a further right of appeal
to the Court of Appeals, provided such appeal shall be taken within