Maryland

Maryland: Montgomery County election officials reject ballot fraud claims in YouTube video | Rebecca Tan/The Washington Post

Elections officials in Maryland’s most populous jurisdiction held an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss a viral video alleging that an election worker attempted to tamper with a mailed-in ballot.A thorough investigation revealed no evidence of fraud or misconduct, Montgomery County officials said, but they’re concerned that the video may have spread some damaging misinformation.“Something like this just feeds into people who believe mail-in voting is fraudulent,” said the county’s elections board chair, Jim Shalleck, a Republican appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan (R). “It’s very unfortunate.” … In actuality, Karpinski said, what the clip captured was the canvass worker darkening an oval that had been filled in too lightly, to ensure that it would be picked up by the ballot scanners. Karpinski said that protocol has been in place for election workers since he started working for the elections board in 2003 and is designed to ensure that as many eligible ballots as possible are counted.

Maryland: Governor defends Election Day plan against push for all mail-in voting | Ovetta Wiggins/The Washington Post

Gov. Larry Hogan on Monday defended his decision to hold a traditional election in November, despite growing concerns from voting rights advocates and election officials about the impact of his choice amid a global pandemic. Hogan (R) said he opted for a “normal” election instead of a “vote by mail only” because of the chaos that occurred during the June 2 primary, when the state mailed ballots to every voter and opened only a few polling sites in each jurisdiction. Far more voters than expected opted to cast their ballots in person, leading to huge lines and hours-long waits in many places. “I’m encouraging everyone to vote by mail instead of vote by mail only, which is what some of our Democratic colleagues are pushing for,” Hogan said during an appearance on the television show “The View,” where he explained his decision to open all polling sites in the state and mail absentee-ballot applications to every voter, rather than the ballots themselves. “In the primary we had, the State Board of Elections screwed up getting ballots out,” Hogan said. “They mailed the wrong ballots. They mailed Spanish ballots to English speakers. They sent things to the wrong districts. They got them out too late.” Democratic elected officials are calling on Hogan to mail ballots to every voter and offer limited in-person voting on Election Day, with more polling sites available than during the primary. Voting rights advocates have increasingly criticized Hogan’s decision not to limit polling sites or mail ballots to the entire electorate. Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) has urged Hogan to reverse his order, saying it could have “devastating consequences.”

Maryland: Governor orders in-person election for November despite election officials’ concerns | Pamela Wood and Emily Opilo/Baltimore Sun

Despite concerns from state and local election officials about the practicality and safety of staffing polling places in November, Gov. Larry Hogan on Wednesday ordered them to run a regular, in-person election with every precinct open to its voters on Election Day. To accommodate anyone who feels unsafe casting a ballot in person because of the coronavirus pandemic, Hogan also ordered the State Board of Elections in a letter to mail each voter an application for an absentee ballot. He said on the “C4 Show” on WBAL-AM on Wednesday that a “normal” election would resolve problems Maryland had in the June 2 primary, which was mostly a vote-by-mail format in which ballots were automatically sent to 4 million eligible voters choosing nominees for offices such as president and mayor of Baltimore. Some voters said they didn’t receive ballots in time, and there were long lines at in-person voting centers and at ballot drop boxes on primary day. “We’re very frustrated with the way the election was handled in the primary by the State Board of Elections and the city board of elections,” Hogan said. “Mistakes were definitely made, and it was unacceptable and inexcusable that they screwed up so much with respect to getting the ballots out on time and getting them out to everybody.” Amy Cruice of the ACLU of Maryland said despite the hiccups with some ballots arriving late or having errors, the primary was a success from the standpoint of voter participation. Turnout was high, and 97% of those who voted did so with their mailed ballots, she said.

Maryland: Local Elections Officials Reject Proposal to Require Applications for Mail-in Ballots | Bennett Leckrone/Maryland Matters

While Republican members of the Maryland State Board of Elections prefer mailing ballot applications to voters for the November election, local election officials say doing so could be costly and confusing for voters. Instead, David Garreis, the president of the Maryland Association of Election Officials, urged Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) in a Monday letter to adopt universal mail-in ballots for voters this fall. “We cannot overstate the devastating consequences likely to result if the State of Maryland does not plan now to mail every voter a ballot for the 2020 Presidential General Election,” Garreis, the deputy director of the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections, wrote to Hogan, state Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone and state Board of Elections Chairman Michael R. Cogan. He also urged Hogan to make a decision on how to conduct the November election by no later than the end of this week. State Board of Elections members were split along party lines over how to conduct the November election when they delivered their report on the state’s June 2 primary to Hogan last week.

Maryland: Officials exploring mail vendor options for November election after problems with ballots in primary | Talia Richman/Baltimore Sun

Maryland officials are looking at new vendors to potentially print and mail ballots for the November election after having several issues during the primary with the company the state used to handle sending out ballots. The June 2 election was Maryland’s first attempt at mostly mail-in voting, a move spurred by safety precautions related to the coronavirus pandemic. It used out-of-state mail vendor SeaChange. In Baltimore, some ballots were printed incorrectly, forcing election workers to manually transfer voters’ choices to new forms that could be scanned for correct results. Ballots also were delivered late to voters in the city and Montgomery County, which state election officials blamed on SeaChange. The vendor argued in turn that the state was late in sending it the necessary voter lists. Also, Prince George’s County voters initially were sent only Spanish-language instructions, while residents of Hagerstown didn’t get a court-ordered notice in their ballot packets. The state elections board issued a report Thursday to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, summarizing how the last election went and outlining what steps would be taken in the future to ensure a smoother process.

Maryland: GOP Election Board Members Would Require Voters to Apply If They Want Mail-in Ballots | Bennett Leckrone/Maryland Matters

The Maryland State Board of Elections won’t recommend an entirely in-person general election in November, but is divided along party lines on whether to conduct the election entirely by mail or in a hybrid model.

Elections board Chairman Michael R. Cogan, along with his fellow Republican board members Kelley A. Howells and William G. Voelp, support of a mix of in-person and mail-in ballots on election day.

The option Cogan, Howells and Voelp support provides that applications for mail-in ballots be sent to registered voters, who will be “strongly encouraged” to use them.

Elections board Vice Chairman Patrick J. Hogan and member Malcolm L. Funn, both Democrats, support an entirely mail-in election. Following Maryland’s largely vote-by-mail June 2 primary, election officials mulled three options for the general election:

• The first option would look like a traditional election, with in-person voting for early voting and on election day. But this option also would allow voters to request a mail-in ballot. No one supported this option.

• The second, which Cogan, Howells and Voelp supported, would have extensive in-person voting leading up to and on election day. Voters also would be sent applications for mail-in ballots, and would be encouraged to use them.

• The third, which Hogan and Funn supported, would look similar to Maryland’s June 2 primary, being held largely by mail with some in-person voting centers.

Board members’ positions will be reported to Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr., a Republican. But the governor ultimately will decide how the election is to be conducted.

Cogan was concerned that mailing ballots to every registered voter might hurt voters’ confidence in the election process, especially if ballots are sent to old addresses or to dead voters.

“I’m not sure the voters have confidence in an election if they’re seeing ballots crop up for people that aren’t there,” Cogan said.

Voelp raised concerns about potential voter-fraud in a primarily mail-in election, although research shows very low levels of fraud in states which already conduct mail-in elections. Voelp and Howells said the board shouldn’t risk even low levels of fraud.

“I do not want to flood the state with unmarked ballots,” Howells said. “I think that’s asking for trouble. We did it because we had to in June. “

But Hogan and Funn said a mail-in election is the only way to make sure every voter can participate in the November election.

“There is no optimal option,” Funn said. “All of them have issues and problems. My overall concern is to make sure that every citizen has a right to vote.”

Joanne Antoine, the executive director for Common Cause Maryland, said three board members opting to not mail ballots to all voters was “disappointing”.

Antoine said a mail-in election would be in the best interest of voters, given the global coronavirus pandemic.  She said vote-by-mail “continues to be a secure process that is used widely in other states”.

A mix of mail-in and in-person voting is similar to the “hybrid mail-in preferred” election format that two prominent Maryland Senate leaders recommended to the State Board of Elections in a letter last week.

Maryland: Partisan divide over voter fraud fears keeps Maryland officials from reaching consensus on Nov. 3 election method | Talia Richman/ Baltimore Sun

A partisan divide over whether voter fraud is a legitimate concern in mostly mail-in elections kept Maryland officials from reaching a consensus on how they believe the state should conduct voting in the upcoming presidential election. The five-member state elections board is tasked with presenting Gov. Larry Hogan a recommendation for how to hold the Nov. 3 election. It’s ultimately up to the Republican governor to make the decision — a choice complicated by great unknowns regarding how the coronavirus pandemic might be affecting society come fall. Because the board didn’t reach a consensus, it will issue a report to the governor later this week that makes no recommendation, but rather summarizes the opinions of both sides. The governor will review the report before making any decisions on next steps, spokesman Mike Ricci said. During its virtual meeting Tuesday, the board debated three options: a traditional election with mostly in-person voting, a hybrid model in which voters are all sent applications for mail-in ballots, or a mostly mail-in election similar to the June primary.

Maryland: Local election directors call for hybrid election, saying traditional format would set them up to fail | Emily Opilo/Baltimore Sun

Maryland’s local election board directors are calling on state officials to hold a hybrid vote-by-mail election in the fall with more in-person voting centers, saying it is too late to plan for a traditional election. In a letter to the governor, legislative leaders and top state election officials, the Maryland Association of Election Officials said Friday that its members are best prepared to hold a hybrid election amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The local election officials said they feared they would be “set up to fail” in a regular election with voting at precincts because of a shortage of personal protective gear, election judges and viable locations for polling places. Many neighborhood voting sites, such as schools and senior centers, remain closed or off limits during the pandemic. “While we acknowledge there were some problems with implementation of the primarily vote-by-mail June 2, 2020, primary election, valuable lessons have been learned and there is adequate time to remedy those issues before the general election,” the association wrote.

Maryland: Senate leaders call for ‘hybrid’ election in November, with mail ballots plus more in-person voting sites | Emily Opilo/Baltimore Sun

Two state Senate leaders have called for a “hybrid” election to be held in Maryland this fall that would expand the number of in-person voting locations and allow early voting, while still mailing ballots to registered voters across the state.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the state’s top election officials, Senate President Bill Ferguson and state Sen. Paul Pinsky urged election officials to act quickly to finalize plans for the November general election while keeping in mind the possible lingering health risks of the new coronavirus pandemic.

“Public health experts across the country agree that it is impossible to determine the effect of COVID-19 come November,” the pair of Democrats wrote. “Therefore, a ‘hybrid mail-in-preferred’ system is the best approach to maximize voter participation while minimizing public health risks.”

Nikki Charlson, deputy administrator for the State Board of Elections, said the board appreciated the “thoughtful” ideas of the Senate leaders.

“We are currently reviewing their suggestions, but we can report that work on some of the proposals has already begun. We look forward to providing the requested information and making changes as we prepare for the Nov. 3 election,” she said.

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While the election is months away, election officials are awaiting a decision from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan on how the contest will be conducted. The June 2 primary was held after a delay of several months due to the virus and was conducted mostly by mail — Maryland’s first attempt at a statewide primary using that method.

Election officials previously asked Hogan to make a decision on the format for the Nov. 3 election by mid-June. The governor has since asked them for a report by July 3 on mistakes made in carrying out the primary.