Tag: State Board of Elections
State Roundup: Three options for November balloting offered
State Board of Elections offers three options for November balloting
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State election official wants to set record straight on Hogan ruling
State Elections Board Vice Chairman David McManus wants to set the record straight. The board did not find a campaign violation had occurred when it investigated a finance complaint filed against Larry Hogan Jr., the Republican nominee for governor, he said.
The state elections board voted Thursday to waive a $50 fine in the case. McManus, one of two Republicans serving on the five-member state election board, said he wanted to set the record straight after reading several media reports indicating Hogan and his grassroots organization Change Maryland had run afoul of campaign finance regulations.
Major complaints of violations in Brown-Hogan race unlikely to be resolved till after election
State election officials are scheduled to rule Thursday on the first of three campaign finance violation complaints filed in the contentious race for governor, but the two most serious complaints won’t likely be resolved till after the election. Civil penalties could be imposed on Larry Hogan’s Change Maryland organization. Another complaint involving possible collusion between the Brown-Ulman campaign, its chief fundraiser and a political action committee (PAC) supporting Brown is still under investigation.
Read MoreMd. election board rejects bid to certify online ballot marking system
Wary members of the state election board said they could not certify a new voting system for use in the June primary election until more security measures are put in place.
Read MoreUse of old voting machines angers state senators
Sen. Richard Madaleno said Thursday on the floor of the Senate he was shocked by the news that Maryland will not be replacing old touchscreen voting machines with more advanced technology before the 2014 election. “I was under the impression that we were going to have new voting machines in place by then,” Madaleno said during debate on a bill to make voting easier.
Read MoreOutdated Md. voting machines will not be replaced before 2014 election
When the gubernatorial election rolls around next year, most of Maryland’s touch-screen voting machines will be past their prime.
The state is already facing a shortage of voting machines, with only four jurisdictions in the last election providing enough to meet state regulations.
In 2014, voting machines in 23 of the state’s 24 jurisdictions will be at least 10 years old, reaching the limit of the manufacturer’s guarantee.
State voters will have to wait three years before they can use upgraded voting machines with a verifiable paper trail, a delay which is angering election reformers.
Md. Democratic leaders cry foul as watchdog group trains 200 poll watchers
The Maryland Democratic Party and some of its top elected officials are complaining that a Maryland voter watchdog group is training people in voter suppression.
Election Integrity Maryland, an offshoot of the Texas-based TRUEtheVOTE, has trained up to 200 poll watchers across the state this year to monitor what should be one of Maryland’s most contentious elections in memory.
Read MoreCleaning up Maryland voter rolls with new national system won’t happen till after the election
A new, national voter registration data exchange Maryland joined earlier this year to help clean up its voter rolls will not deliver necessary data to the State Board of Elections in time to scrub the lists before the Nov. 6 elections.
The group – Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), did however provide timely data to the state board of elections that would help increase the number of registered voters, according to David Becker of The Pew Center on the States, the group that created the program.
Read MoreEarly voting costs counties $2.6M, but hasn’t increased turnout yet
Forty-six early voting centers will open Oct. 27 in Maryland for the 2012 presidential election, but it is not clear that the convenience is worth the $2.6 million price tag taxpayers are paying for the new benefit.
Overall, voter turnout has not increased, and one national study suggests early voting may have depressed turnout in several states, possibly because election day loses its stimulating effect on non-voters.
Read MoreMaryland election board looks at online ballot marking
The State Board of Elections may move to implement an online ballot marking system for all absentee voters in time for this year’s elections, depending on an opinion from the attorney general. But some voter advocacy groups worry about the potential for fraud.
Read MoreState election board provides petition signature database to Casa de Maryland
Responding to a Public Information Act request, the State Board of Elections gave immigrant advocacy group Casa de Maryland a disk with names, addresses and signatures of people who have signed the petition to bring in-state tuition for illegal immigrants to the ballot in 2012.
Read MoreLibertarians, Greens get back on the ballot
The Libertarian and Green parties regained their official status on election ballots Tuesday after retired Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Eugene Lerner found they had collected enough signatures on petitions.
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