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240 250 260 270 280 290 300 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390 AN ACT CONCERNING Gubernatorial Elections Preferential Voting FOR the purpose of requiring the use of a preferential ballot to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. BY repealing and re-enacting, with amendments, Constitution of Maryland Article II Executive Department Section 2 Time, place, and manner of holding election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor; qualifications of voters SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE MARYLAND STUDENT LEGISLATURE, That the Constitution of Maryland reads as follows: Constitution of Maryland Article II Executive Department Section 2 Time, place, and manner of holding election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor; qualifications of voters (A) An election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, under this Constitution, shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday of November, in the year nineteen hundred and seventy-four, and on the same day and month in every fourth year thereafter, at the places of voting for Delegates to the General Assembly; and every person qualified to vote for Delegate, shall be qualified and entitled to vote for Governor and Lieutenant Governor; the election to be held in the same manner as the election of Delegates, and the returns thereof, under seal, to be addressed to the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and enclosed and transmitted to the Secretary of State, and delivered to said Speaker, at the commencement of the session of the General Assembly, next ensuing said election. (B) THE GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SHALL BE ELECTED USING A PREFERENTIAL BALLOT. VOTERS CASTING A BALLOT FOR GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVENROR SHALL VOTE BY GIVING EACH CHOICE A NUMERICAL RANKED PREFERENCE; THE VOTERS FIRST PREFERENCE SHALL BE GIVEN RANK OF ONE, THE VOTERS SECOND PREFERENCE A RANK OF TWO, THE VOTERS THIRD PREFERENCE A RANK OF THREE, ET CETERA. UPON COMPLETION OF VOTING, THE FIRST PREFERENCES OF EACH BALLOT SHALL BE COUNTED. IN THE EVENT THAT ONE CHOICE FOR GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR RECEIVES A MAJORITY OF FIRST PREFERENCE VOTES, THOSE CANDIDATES SHALL BE CONSIDERED ELECTED TO THE RESPECTIVE OFFICES FOR WHICH THEY ARE CANDIDATES. IN THE EVENT THAT NO CHOICE HAS

A027-1213 400 410 420 430 440 450 460 470 480 490 500 510 520 530 540 550 560 570 580 590 600 610 620 630 640 650 660 670 680 690 700 710 720 730 RECEIVED A MAJORITY OF FIRST PREFERENCE VOTES, THE CHOICE THAT RECEIVED THE LOWEST NUMBER OF FIRST PREFERENCE VOTES SHALL BE CONSIDERED ELIMINATED, AND THE SECOND PREFERENCES OF THE BALLOTS LISTING THE ELIMINATED CHOICE AS FIRST PREFERENCE SHALL BE ADDED TO THE OTHER FIRST PREFERENCE VOTES THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN COUNTED. AFTER THESE SECOND PREFERENCES HAVE BEEN COUNTED, CANDIDATES SHALL BE CONSIDERED ELECTED IF THEY HAVE RECEIVED A MAJORITY OF VOTES COUNTED. IN THE EVENT THAT THERE IS STILL NO CHOICE THAT HAS RECEIVED A MAJORITY OF VOTES COUNTED, THE CHOICE WITH THE LOWEST NUMBER OF VOTES SHALL BE CONSDERED ELIMINATED, AND THE NEXT-LISTED PREFERENCES OF THE BALLOTS LISTING THIS ELIMINATED CHOICE SHALL BE ADDED TO THE OTHER VOTES THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN COUNTED. THIS PROCESS SHALL CONTINUE UNTIL ONE CHOICE FOR GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR HAS RECEIVED A MAJORITY OF VOTES COUNTED. IN THE EVENT THAT A BALLOT BOTH DOES NOT LIST A RANKED PREFERENCE FOR ALL CHOICES AND HAS HAD ALL OF ITS RANKED CHOICES ELIMINATED, THEN THE BALLOT SHALL BE CONSIDERED EXHAUSTED AND SHALL NOT BE COUNTED AMONG THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTES CAST, A MAJORITY OF WHICH ONE CHOICE FOR GOVERNOR AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MUST RECEIVE TO BE ELECTED. SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect January 1, 2015. MANDATES: Martin OMalley, Governor of Maryland Michael E. Busch, Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Thomas V. Mike Miller, President of the Maryland Senate John P. McDonough, Maryland Secretary of State Sen. Roy P. Dyson, Chair, Senate Subcommittee on Ethics and Election Law Del. Jon S. Cardin, Chair, House of Delegates Subcommittee on Election Law

SPONSOR: Andy Jannett, Federalist Caucus Leader and State Political Liaison University of Maryland, College Park andy.jannett@gmail.com