Davis v. O'Berry

⁷¹⁰ Schmucker, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an appeal from an order of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County dismissing a petition asking to have the name of Thomas Davis erased from the registration books of the Third Ward of the Sixth Election District of that county. According to the allegations of the petition and the statement of facts contained in the record it appears that prior to October 8th, 1901, Davis was a duly registered voter in the Second Precinct of the First Election District of the same county. Having removed to the Third Ward or Precinct of the Sixth District he applied to its Board of Registry for registration on their books, producing at the time a certificate of removal in due form from the Board of Registry of the precinct in which he had formerly been registered.

This certificate contained copies of all of the entries concerning Davis which appeared upon the books of his former precinct and had constituted the evidence of his being a duly qualified voter thereof. When he presented himself for registration to the Board of Registry of the Third Ward of the Sixth District they administered an oath to him, but instead of putting to him the interrogatories required by sec. 16 of Art. 33 of the Code, to be put to an applicant for registration they examined him as to the truth of the statements of the affidavit endorsed on his certificate of removal and his replies being in the affirmative they registered him bn their books. That affidavit was that the applicant was the party to whom it was issued and that he had removed to the precinct and district in which he now sought to be registered. The first question presented by the record is whether sec. 26 of Art. 33 of the Code, which provides for changing the place of registration of a voter who has moved from a precinct in which he was already registered to another precinct or district, contemplates his registration de novo in his new precinct or a mere transfer of his former registration.

The section under consideration relates to what are sometimes called intermediate registrations i. e. to those occurring between the times ⁷¹¹ fixed by law for general registrations of all of the voters of the State. It provides that at the times therein mentioned “names may be added on the registers in the same way upon sworn application as in the case of a general registration and all the same forms and requirements shall be observed. If it shall appear that any applicant had been