Marvin Mandel, Governor                         717

subtitles "Definitions," "Voting Machines," and "Absentee Vot-
ing"; and to add new section 1-1(a) (16A) to Article 33 of the
Annotated Code of Maryland (1971 Replacement Volume and
1971 Supplement), title "Election Code," subtitle "Definitions,"
to follow immediately after Section 1-1(a) (16) thereof; to
amend the Election Code to provide for the use of computer
punchcards as an alternative method for voting an absentee
ballot, , AND CORRECTING CERTAIN ERRORS THEREIN.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Sections 1-1(a) (1), 16-5(b), 27-7(a) and (b) and 27-8(a),
(b), (d) and (f) of Article 33 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1971 Replacement Volume and 1971 Supplement), title "Election
Code," subtitles "Definitions," "Voting Machines," and "Absentee
Voting" be and they are hereby repealed and re-enacted, with
amendments, to read as follows:

1-1.

(a)  As used in this article the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated unless a contrary meaning is clearly intended
from the context in which the term appears:

(1) "Ballot" or "ballots" means paper ballots [or] , ballots con-
sisting of one or more punchcards, absentee ballots, or the labels
which appear on the face of voting machines, whichever in context
would be appropriate.

16-5.

(b)  All candidates for the same office shall as far as possible
be placed in one column on the ballots; but when the names to be
printed on paper ballots are over thirty-six [; or] , on voting ma-
chines when the required number of spaces assigned to each party
or office are exhausted, or on punchcard ballots when the number
of candidates for an office exceeds the number of spaces available
on one side of a punchcard, another column or punchcard side, as
appropriate, may be [added] used in or on which names shall
be printed. When two or more columns or punchcard sides are used
for the names of candidates for the same office, the same number
of names, so far as possible, shall be printed in each column or on
each punchcard side. The initial letters of the given or Christian
names of the several candidates in each column shall be printed di-
rectly beneath each other in a vertical line, and the initial letter
of the respective party designations of said several candidates shall
be printed directly beneath each other in a vertical line.

27-7.

(a) In sufficient time prior to any election, the boards shall have
printed an adequate number of absentee ballots, the three kinds
of envelopes described in this section, and the instructions to ab-
sentee voters as set out in Section 27-8 of this article.

(1) Absentee ballots in the discretion of the board may be in
the form either of paper ballots or of one or more punchcards kept
together in a covering folder, provided that all absentee ballots in
any one county or Baltimore City shall be in the same form.