Murphy v. Wachter

Urner, L, delivered the opinion of the Court. By section 186 of Article 33 of the Code of Public General Laws, relating to elections, it is provided, in part, as follows: “At every general registration held in Baltimore City, and in each and every county of the State, subsequent to April 11, 1910, there shall be provided in the registration books a distinct column headed 'party affiliations,’ and the board of registers shall enter in this column the name of the political party, if any, to which the voter is inclined and with which the voter desires to have himself recorded as affiliated. It shall be the duty of the board of registry to explain to each voter that the statement of such party affiliation does not bind him to vote for the candidate of such party of any given election; also that he has the right to decline to state any party affiliations; but that no one who is not recorded upon the registry as affiliated with a particular political party will be qualified to vote at subsequent primary elections of said political party. Whenever a voter declines to state his party affiliation, the word 'declined’ shall be written opposite his name under such column, so that there shall be written in such column opposite the name of every registered voter, either his party affiliations or the word 'declined.’ And in all primary elections thereafter held, any person so registered as affiliated with a given political party shall have the right to vote the official ballot.of that party and of no other; and at any intermediate registration subsequent to the close of the next general registration, such voter may appear before the board of registry, and, upon his identity being established to the satisfaction of the major ⁵⁶⁵ ity of the board of registry, to make, alter or strike out any entry in the column beaded ‘party affiliations,’ opposite bis name in tbe registry; it shall be tbe duty of tbe board of registry to enter in tbe column beaded ‘remarks’ tbe fact tbat such entry was made, altered or stricken out, and tbe date thereof.” In section 182 of tbe same article there is a provision tbat “No person or voter after having bad bis affiliation registered shall be permitted to make any change in bis party affiliation unless tbe same shall be made at least six months prior to tbe day of tbe primary election.” Under tbe provisions of another section of Article 83, a general registration of voters occurred in tbe City of Baltimore in September and October of tbe year 1914, and tbe appellant, who is a resident of tbe City, was duly registered on October Itb as a qualified voter at one of tbe regular sessions of tbe board of registry in tbe precinct of bis domicile, but having declined to state bis party affiliation, an entry indicating tbat fact was made in tbe appropriate column as directed by the. statute.

In addition to tbe provision we have quoted from, section 186 of Article 33 of tbe Code, it is therein provided tbat “Nominations for Mayor, Comptroller, President of tbe Second Branch City Council and members of tbe City * of Baltimore shall be made by direct vote of tbe respective political parties at primary elections to be held in all respects according to tbe aforegoing provisions (of tbe Code), applicable to primary elections in Baltimore City, except tbat tbe day for bolding the same shall be tbe first Tuesday of April of tbe year in which tbe municipal elections in said City of Baltimore are to be held on a different-day from the general election.” Tbe City Charter designates tbe Tuesday next after tbe first Monday of May as the day for the quadrennial municipal elections, one of which occurred in regular sequence on May 5th, 1915. Provision is made by tbe Charter, in its seventeenth section, tbat prior to every municipal election “there shall be on tbe first and second ⁵⁶⁶ Mondays of April a supplemental registration of voters of Baltimore City, which registration shall be under the supervision of the Supervisors of Election and conducted in conformity with the provisions of the law then in force relating to the registration of voters. On each day of said registration the registers shall revise the list of registered voters made at their last regular sitting, by adding the names of those persons who are entitled to registration at that time, and striking from said registration lists the names of those persons who have died or become disqualified since the said last sitting, and the registration lists used at the preceding November election, after being revised as herein directed, shall be used at the municipal election in May.” On April 5, 1915, that being one of the days appointed by the Charter for supplemental registration, the appellant appeared before the board of registry for his precinct, and, after satisfying the board of his identity, requested that the entry opposite his name in the party .affiliation column of the registration books be altered by the striking out of the word “declined” and the insertion of the word “Republican.” This request was refused, and the present petition for a mandamus has resulted. The plaintiffs right to have the desired alteration made at the