1882, ch. 22, sec. 35.

38. If any person shall fraudulently register or attempt to register in any election district or election precinct in this State, in the name of any other person living or dead, or under any fictitious name, or shall fraudulently. cause himself to be registered, or attempt to cause himself to be fraudulently registered in any election district or election precinct in this State, knowing that he has not the right to be registered in such election district or election precinct, or shall by force, threat, menace, intimidation or other unlawful means prevent or hinder, or endeavor to prevent or hinder any person having a lawful right to register from duly exercising such right, or shall compel, or endeavor to compel, by any such means, any officer of registration to admit to registration any person not legally entitled thereto, or shall unlawfully interfere with any officer of registration in the discharge of his duties under this article, or shall make any assault or commit any assault and battery, or incite or create any riot, or any breach of the peace, at or near to any place of registration in this State, during the sittings of any officer of registration provided for by this article, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof by a competent court shall be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years, or by both fine and imprisonment as aforesaid.

State v. Bixler, 62 Md. 354.

Ibid. sec. 36.

39. If any clerk of court, sheriff or member of the board of police commissioners for the city of Baltimore, officer of registration, or judges of election shall lose any registry of voters or poll-book which may be in his charge or custody, or if any such officers or any other person shall wilfully destroy, mutilate, deface, falsify or fraudulently remove or secrete any registry of voters or list of qualified and registered voters, or shall fraudulently make any false entry in, or false copy of, any registry of voters or part thereof, or shall fraudulently make any entry, erasure or alteration in any registry of voters or lists of qualified and registered voters or part thereof, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a

fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding three years, or by both fine and imprisonment as aforesaid.

Elections---Judges of Elections.

P. G. L., (1860,) art. 35, sec. 1. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 6. 1852, ch. 183, sec. 2. 1860, ch. 10, sec. 1. 1874, ch. 229.

40. The county commissioners in each county shall annually appoint three persons for each election district or precinct of the county, residents of such district or precinct, who, or a majority of whom shall be judges of the election for such district or precinct, from the time of their appointment until a new appointment be made; and it shall be the duty of said county commissioners of said counties, in making their appointments for said judges of elections, to select at least one of said judges for each election district and precinct in their respective counties, from among those of a different political party from themselves, or a majority of themselves.

Ibid. sec. 2. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 6. 1860, ch. 10, sec. 2.

41. If any of said judges shall die, resign or remove out of the district or become otherwise, in the opinion of the county commissioners, disqualified to act as judge, the county commissioners shall, at any meeting thereafter, appoint a person as judge in his place.

Ibid. sec. 3. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 6. 1860, ch. 10, sec. 3.

42. The clerk of the county commissioners shall record every appointment so made, and make out a warrant therefor, and shall, within five days thereafter, deliver every such warrant to the sheriff of the county under the penalty of fifty dollars.

Ibid. sec. 4. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 6.

43. The sheriff, within ten days after receiving any such warrant, shall deliver the same to the person appointed, or leave the same at his last place of abode, under the penalty of fifty dollars.

Ibid. sec. 5. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 7. 1860, ch. 10, sec. 3.

44. Any judge so appointed who shall not attend at the time appointed for holding any election in his district shall forfeit fifty

dollars for every such neglect, unless prevented by sickness or other sufficient cause, in the opinion of the court and jury before whom he shall be tried.

P. G. L., (1860,) art. 35, sec. 6. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 8. 1860, ch. 10, sec. 3. 1867, ch. 374. 1884, ch. 112.

45. At any election, federal, State or county, hereafter held in this State, if any one or two of the judges so appointed shall fail to attend at the place of election at the time prescribed for opening the election, the county commissioners, or a majority of them, shall appoint a judge or judges in the place of the judge or judges failing to attend; provided, that one of the three judges shall always be of a different political party from themselves, or a majority of themselves; and in case the said commissioners, or a majority of them, cannot be convened, or do not fill such vacancy before the hour for opening the election, the remaining judges or judge who shall so attend shall appoint a judge or judges in the place of the judge or judges failing to attend; the judge or one of the judges so appointed to be of a different political party from that of the judge or judges so appointing, if both are of the same party; if none of the judges appointed by the county commissioners shall attend at the place of election at the time prescribed for opening the election, it shall be lawful for the justices of the peace for the said county there present, or a majority of them, or for one such justice of the peace, if only one be present, to appoint three reputable persons who are voters and residents of the voting precinct or district, to act as judges in the place of those failing to attend; and in case no such justice of the peace is present, then a majority of the voters present shall select by ballot three persons as aforesaid, to act as judges in the place of those failing to attend, and the judges so appointed shall be vested with the same power and authority, and be subject to the same penalties and responsibilities, as if they had been appointed by the county commissioners; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply to Baltimore city.

Ibid. sec. 7. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 6.

46. The said judges shall be conservators of the peace during the continuance of the election and until the ballots shall be counted, and the necessary certificates required by this article

shall be made out by the judges and clerks, and shall be vested with the power and authority to commit offenders for any breach of the peace in the like manner as any justice of the peace.

P. G. L., (1860,) art. 35, sec. 8. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 10.

47. The said judges shall appoint two clerks, being above the age of twenty-one years, to enter the names of voters, separately and plainly on the books provided for that purpose; and if any clerk so appointed shall neglect or refuse to act, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of ten dollars.

Ibid. sec. 9. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 11. 1867, ch. 374.

48. Every judge of election, at every election to be hereafter held in pursuance of law, before he proceeds to take or receive any vote, shall take the following oath or affirmation: I, A. B., do swear (or affirm) that I will permit all persons to vote who shall offer to vote at the election now to be held for -county,

or

city, whose names shall appear on the registry or list of voters furnished to me according to law, as qualified voters under the constitution and laws of this State, and that I will not permit any person to vote at the same election, whose name shall not be found upon the said registry or list of qualified voters; and I will in all things execute the office of judge of the said election, according to the best of my knowledge, without favor or partiality, so help me God.

Bevard v. Hoffman, 18 Md. 479. Friend v. Hamill, 34 Md. 298. Elbin v. Wilson, 33 Md. 135.

Ibid. sec. 10. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 11.

49. Every clerk, before he enters any vote on the poll-books shall take the following oath, to wit: "I, A. B., do swear that I will well and faithfully, without favor, affection or partiality, execute the office of clerk of the election now to be held, according to the best of my knowledge, so help me God.

Ibid. sec. 11. 1805, ch. 97, sec. 11. 1828, ch. 160. 1852, ch. 183, sec. 3. 50. The several judges may administer the said oath to each other, or take the same before a justice of the peace; and the clerks may either be sworn by one of the judges or before a jus

tice of the peace; and a certificate of every such oath, signed by the person administering the same, respectively, shall be annexed to the poll-books.

Notice by the Sheriff.

P. G. L., (1860,) art 35, sec. 12 1805, ch. 97, sec. 4. 1860, ch 16, sec 3.

1867, ch. 374.

51. The sheriffs of the several counties, under the penalty of fifty dollars, shall, at least three weeks previous to every election required by law to be held, cause public notice to be given within the respective counties, by advertisement set up at the most public places within each election district of the county, and also by advertisement in two newpapers of general circulation in the county, of the time and place of holding the several elections; but if for any cause said notice shall fail to be given, said failure shall not affect the validity of any election, but it shall be the duty of the judges of election to hold the election in their several election districts, at the time prescribed by law, and at the usual places of holding elections in the several election districts where the last preceding election was held, under the penalty of five hundred dollars for each judge refusing or neglect ing to hold such election. This section not to apply to the city of Baltimore.

Ibid. sec. 13. 1805, ch. 97, sec 5 1860, ch. 10, sec. 3. 1888, ch. 112. 52. The sheriff, under the penalty of five hundred dollars, shall provide, or cause to be provided and delivered to the judges of elections in each district and election precinct of the several counties of this State; and the board of police commissioners of Baltimore city shall, under a like penalty, provide, or cause to be provided and delivered to the judges of elections in each voting precinct in the city of Baltimore, previous to or at the commencement of each election, a box for receiving the ballots, and two separate books for the purpose of entering the names of the voters. All ballot boxes shall be constructed as follows: Each box shall be one foot, outside measure, as near as may be in width, depth and length, strapped and secured on each edge and corner with iron or brass, so as to prevent it from being easily broken, and shall have a wooden lid which shall be fastened with brass or iron hinges and a good lock, and there shall be in the lid a slit just large enough to admit a single folded ballot at one