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Town of Chesapeake Beach, MD
Calvert County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (3) Index
[Amended 6-17-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-10]
A. 
Authority to enforce. The Board shall be responsible for enforcing the requirements of this chapter. The Chairman of the Board shall act as the official designated to execute all documents and take all acts necessary for enforcement actions. The Board may request that the Mayor retain counsel to assist the Chairman with any and all enforcement actions. The Board or the Town Code Enforcement Officer, if so requested by the Board, may cite offenders with municipal infractions as set forth in this article. In addition, the Board shall have the right to bring any actions seeking any other form of equitable or legal relief necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
B. 
Effect and application of state election law. Some of the offenses described in this article may also constitute offenses under Maryland state law. Because some of the election processes for Town elections involve the Calvert County Board of Elections and its designees, some of the offenses under Maryland law may be relevant to Town elections. Nothing in this article is intended to displace, limit, or affect the application of Maryland statutes regulating state elections, even to the extent state processes are used to process registration for voting in the Town's municipal elections. The fact that a person's conduct may constitute an offense under Maryland statutes is not intended to limit the effect of the provisions of this article, or limit the Town's powers to enforce its ordinances.
A. 
Generally. A person may not willfully and knowingly:
(1) 
Impersonate a voter or other person in order to register or attempt to register in the name of the voter or other person;
(2) 
Register to vote more than once;
(3) 
Falsify residence in an attempt to register;
(4) 
Secure registration through any unlawful means;
(5) 
Cause by unlawful means the name of a qualified voter to be stricken from a registry of voters;
(6) 
Prevent, hinder, or delay a person having a lawful right to register from registering, through the use of force, threat, menace, intimidation, bribery, reward or offer of reward;
(7) 
Falsify any name on a registration application;
(8) 
Misrepresent any fact relating to registration; or
(9) 
Induce or attempt to induce a person to violate any prohibition in Subsection A(1) through (8) of this section.
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $1,000.
A. 
Generally. A person may not willfully and knowingly:
(1) 
Impersonate another person in order to vote or attempt to vote; or vote or attempt to vote under a false name;
(2) 
Vote more than once for a candidate for the same office or for the same ballot question;
(3) 
Influence or attempt to influence a voter's voting decision through the use of force, threat, menace, intimidation, bribery, reward or offer of reward; or
(4) 
Induce or attempt to induce a person to violate any prohibition in Subsection A(1) through (3) of this section.
[Amended 6-17-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-10]
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $1,000.
[Amended 12-19-2019 by Ord. No. O-19-16]
A. 
Generally. A person who has been convicted of a felony and is currently serving a court-ordered sentence of imprisonment for the conviction or has been convicted of buying or selling votes and has been rendered ineligible to register to vote pursuant to § 22-9 of this chapter, may not vote or attempt to vote during the time that the person is rendered ineligible to vote.
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $1,000.
[Amended 6-17-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-10]
A. 
Generally. A person may not willfully disobey the lawful command of the Board, a registrar, or an election judge.
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $500.
A. 
Generally. A person may not hinder or impede the conduct of official electoral activities by a breach of the peace, disorder, violence, or threat of violence.
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $500.
A. 
Generally.
(1) 
A person may not interfere with an election official in the performance of the official duties of the election official.
(2) 
A person may not intentionally interfere with an individual lawfully present at a polling place or at the canvass of votes.
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $500.
A. 
Generally. A person may not:
(1) 
Place any distinguishing mark on the person's own or another person's ballot for the purpose of identifying the ballot;
(2) 
Misrepresent the person's ability to mark a ballot, be in a specific place within the polling place, or operate voting equipment;
(3) 
Interfere or attempt to interfere with a voter while the voter is inside the polling room, marking a ballot, or operating voting equipment;
(4) 
Except for servicing by an authorized person, unlock any locked compartment of a voting device or voting machine unless instructed to do so by an election judge;
[Amended 6-17-2010 by Ord. No. O-10-10]
(5) 
Destroy or deface an official ballot;
(6) 
Remove an official ballot from a building in which voting occurs, unless authorized by law to do so;
(7) 
Delay the delivery of a ballot;
(8) 
Possess on or before the day of election an official ballot printed for the election, unless the possession of the ballot is necessary and appropriate for carrying out the election process; or
(9) 
Electioneer, campaign, or distribute campaign material in the polling place or beyond the line established by law delineating the area in which such electioneering, campaigning, or distribution of materials is prohibited.
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $500.
A. 
Generally. A person may not fraudulently tamper with election records of any kind, whether on paper or in any other medium.
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $1,000.
[Amended 12-19-2019 by Ord. No. O-19-16]
A. 
Generally. A person may not willfully and knowingly:
(1) 
Tamper with, damage, or attempt to tamper with or damage any voting equipment that is used or will be used in an election, including but not limited to scanners, ballot marking devices, and poll books;
(2) 
Prevent or attempt to prevent the correct operation of any voting equipment that is used or will be used in an election, including but not limited to scanners, ballot marking devices, and poll books;
(3) 
Remove or attempt to remove any voting equipment, including but not limited to scanners, ballot marking devices, and poll books, from the custody of the election judges or other election officials.
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $1,000.
A. 
Generally. A person who acts contrary to the provisions of this chapter and for which an offense is not specifically enumerated by this article shall violate the Town's election laws and such offense shall be considered a municipal infraction.
B. 
Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a municipal infraction and, upon conviction thereof, is subject to a fine of $100.