STATE ELECTIONS CHIEF SAYS MARYLAND VOTING IS ‘SAFE, SECURE:’ Maryland’s top election official said voters across the state can trust the electoral process on Election Day, despite claims by some of potential voter fraud and rigged elections nationally. “It is safe, secure, verified,” said Jared DeMarinis, Maryland’s state administrator of elections. “I think the verified part is important. It’s open and transparent.” DeMarinis said voters should also not be dissuaded by threats of intimidation. Joe Wicke/Capital News Service.
VOTING OPTIONS ABOUND, BUT IT’S NOT IDEAL FOR VOTE COUNTING: It’s easier to vote in Maryland than in many other states: It’s one of 17 to allow same-day registration through Election Day, one of 29 where voters don’t need a reason to vote by mail and among 47 to include early voting as an option. While the array of voting options is great for voters, it’s not ideal for knowing the outcome of every race — particularly close ones — on election night. Mail-in ballots will keep being counted until Nov. 13, and local elections officials who need more time to tally can continue counting until vote certification on Dec. 3. Kasturi Pananjady/The Baltimore Banner.
THOUSANDS OF POLL WORKERS KEEP ELECTIONS ON TRACK: On the last day of early voting Thursday, nearly 40 poll workers at a Montgomery County election site directed voters from one station to the next, guiding them through the process of casting their ballots. The poll workers were just a few of thousands who show up at polling sites across Maryland to help voters and to ensure elections run smoothly. They spend long hours training, helping voters navigate elections and responding to unexpected challenges. Calista Sybrant/Capital News Service.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ABOUT QUESTION 3: The campaign to redraw Maryland’s congressional map faces a decision after Tuesday’s vote: If voters approve Question 3, how quickly will Democratic leaders move to draw new districts? If voters reject it, will supporters keep pushing? Tinashe Chingarande/The Baltimore Sun.
- As Maryland voters prepare to decide a proposed constitutional amendment that could change how congressional districts are drawn and challenged in court, campaigns on both sides are making competing claims about what Question 3 would actually do — including how much power lawmakers would gain and what protections voters would retain. Konner Metz/The Baltimore Sun.
HUTZELL: LET’s PRAISE THOSE WHO RAN KNOWING THEY WOULD LOSE: No one likes to lose. But in an election, that’s what most candidates do. Wednesday will be about the winners. There will be talk of plans and promises fulfilled, prerogatives and priorities set. But for today, let’s thank the losers. They are dreamers, the diehards, the discounted optimists who, despite all evidence, just. Won’t. Give. Up. Rick Hutzell/The Baltimore Banner.
BA CO COUNCIL OKs $210M, 30-YEAR TAX BREAK FOR ANDURIL: The Baltimore County Council on Monday unanimously approved a 30-year property tax credit that aims to incentivize the development of Anduril Industries’ proposed submarine manufacturing shipyard in Sparrows Point. The deal, valued at $210 million over 30 years, will create a 100% personal property tax credit for eligible maritime manufacturing property — machinery, cranes and other equipment — used at the proposed Arsenal-2 facility. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
- The credit is part of a nearly $500 million package of county and state subsidies the company is expected to receive for the $3.7 billion facility at Tradepoint Atlantic, where it plans to produce submarine parts for the U.S. Navy. Sapna Bansil/The Baltimore Banner.
HOWARD EXEC BALL TO STEP DOWN BEFORE END OF TERM TO LEAD BCCC: Howard County Executive Calvin Ball has announced that he is stepping down, effective Nov. 16. The announcement came a day before Tuesday’s election to choose his successor. The term-limited Democrat has held the position since 2018. Ball, the first Black Howard County executive, said he will become Baltimore City Community College’s interim president. The installation ceremony for a new County Council and county executive is set for Dec. 7. Howard’s chief administrative officer, Brandee Ganz, will serve as acting county executive from Nov. 16 until the Dec. 7 installation. April Santana and Kiersten Hacker/The Baltimore Sun.
- Ball, 51, returns to the city’s two-year college where he worked as director of its Complete College program before being elected county executive in 2018. The Complete College program provides resources to help students transition to a community college career. “To return to an institution that holds such a special place in my heart is a full-circle moment,” said Ball, who has a doctorate in education from Morgan State University. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
FORMER CECIL EXEC WANTS SHERIFF’s STAFF FIRED OVER RAPE CONVERSATION: Maryland State Police have finished investigating three Cecil County Sheriff’s Office employees over a 2023 voicemail in which four men fantasized about sexually assaulting the county executive. A county committee has yet to decide whether they should face administrative charges, and the employees in question remain suspended with pay. Former County Executive Danielle Robinson, the subject of the recorded conversation, called the scope of the investigation inadequate and vowed to pursue other avenues for justice. She called for the three officers under investigation to be fired. Kate Cimini/The Baltimore Sun.
ANDREWS AFB JET FUEL LEAK CONTINUES TO CONTAMINATE MARYLAND CREEK: Seven months after jet fuel leaked into Piscataway Creek from Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, the U.S. Air Force has yet to find and fix the leak and begin cleaning up the lingering contamination, according to state environmental regulators. Timothy Wheeler/The Bay Journal.
‘BOBBY’ CURRAN, EX-CITY COUNCILMAN & MEMBER OF POLITICAL FAMILY, DIES AT 76: Robert “Bobby” Walter Curran, a member of a Maryland political family, died at home Friday, according to an obituary from Ruck Funeral Home. He was 76. Curran, a Democrat, served on the Baltimore City Council for over 20 years. He was the council’s vice president in 2007. Curran successfully pushed to ban smoking in most of the city’s public spaces in 2007. The city’s ban paved the way for a similar statewide ban that same year. Courtney Bell/The Baltimore Sun.
- Bobby Curran “was a person who cared about what a councilman was supposed to be doing,” said his brother, former Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. “He went to the community meetings, found out what was going on, who was happy with what was happening, what city services needed to be improved.” Cayla Harris/The Baltimore Banner.
