750                              Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 354

the requirements of the subtitle "Nomination by Petition" of this
article, but dies or declines the nomination before election day, the
State central committee or governing body of the political party
with which said nominee is affiliated, may fill the vacancy in the
nomination of the party in the manner provided in Section 9-2
through 9-5, inclusive, of this article. The political party shall not
nominate more than one candidate for each public or party office
to be filled at the succeeding general election, except to fill a vacancy
in a prior nomination.

Loss of Status as Political Party
4C-1. Loss of status as a political party.

(a)  Loss of Status. If in any general election at which the voters
of the State vote for candidates for President of the United States
or Governor of the State, any political party polls less than three
percentum of the entire vote cast in the State, as determined in sub-
section (b) of this section, such party shall cease to be a political
party for purposes of this article.

(b)  Determination of percentum of entire vote cast. The deter-
mination of whether a political party polled three percentum or less
of the entire vote cast in the State in any general election for pur-
poses of subsection (a) of this section, shall be made as follows:

(i) In any general election at which the voters of the State vote
for candidates for President of the United States, the total number
of votes cast for the party's nominees for the offices of President of
the United States, and United States Senator (if a United States
Senator from this State was elected at such general election), must
equal or exceed three percentum of the total number of votes cast
at such general election for all candidates for all such offices; or

(ii) In any general election at which the voters of the State vote
for candidates for Governor of this State, the total number of votes
cast for the party's nominees for the offices of United States Senator
(if a United States Senator from this State was elected at such
general election), Governor of this State, Lieutenant Governor of
this State, Comptroller of this State, and Attorney General of this
State, must equal or exceed three percentum of the total number of
votes cast at the general election for all candidates for all such
offices.

(c)  Revival of party. If a party loses its status as a political
party for purposes of this article pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section, such party may at any time regain its status as a political
party for purposes of this article by filing a valid Petition for For-
mation of a Political Party pursuant to the provisions of Section
4B-1 of this article.

5-1.

Any political party [which at the general election next preceding
any primary election to be held hereunder, shall have polled ten
percentum or more of the entire vote cast in the State] with which
ten percentum or more of the registered voters of this State are
affiliated, as shown by the most recent Statement of Registration
of the State Administrative Board of Election Laws compiled pur-