| Law Name | The Poe Amendment of 1905 |
|---|---|
| Date Passed | April 4th, 1905 |
| State | Maryland |
| Classification | bill |
| Description | "The Poe Amendment proposes to substitute for this section the fol-lowing: All elections by the people shall be by ballot. Every male citizen of the United States, whether native born or naturalized, of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, who has resided in this State for one year and in the Legislative District of Baltimore City, or in the County in which he may offer to vote for six months next preceding the elec-tion, and who, moreover, is duly reginered as a qualified voter as provided in this Article, shall be entitled to vote in the Ward or Election District in which he resides. at all clections hereafter to be held in this State; and in case any County or City shall be so divided as to form portions of different electoral districts for the election of Representatives in Congress, Senators, Delegates or other Officers, then to entitle a person to yote for such officer, he must have been a resident of that part of the County or City which shall form a part of the electoral district in which he offers to vote for six months next preceding the elec-tion, but a person who shall have acquired a residence in such County or City, entitling him to vote at any such election, shall be entitled to vote in the election district from which he removed until he shall have acquired a residence in the part of the County or City to which he has removed. Every such male citizen of the United States having the above prescribed qualifications of age and residence shall be entitled to be registered so as to become a qualified voter if he be First. A person able to read any section of the Constitution of this State submitted to him by the Officers of Registration and to give a reasonable explanation of the same; or if unable to read such section is able to understand and give explanation thereof when read to him by the registration officers; or Second. A person who on the first day of January, 1869, or prior thereto, was entitled to vote under the laws of this State or of any other State in the United States wherein he then resided; or Third. Any male lineal descendant of such last mentioned person who may be twenty-one (21) years of age or over in the year 1906. No person not thus qualified by coming under some one of the above descriptions shall be entitled to be registered as a qualified voter, nor be entitled to vote. It will observed that the proposed new section differs from the present provision, first, in some changes of language, which probably do not materially modify the sense; and, secondly, by restricting the sut-frage to persons possessing qualifications of birth, descent or capacity; this restriction alters gravely, even fundamentally, existing provisions of our Constitution on this subjeot." |
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[Author (if known)], Voting Rights Laws and Legislation in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, 1905, Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.
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