LOCAL

State election board proposes 'vote centers,' but Hogan must agree

Madeleine O'Neill
USA Today Network

ANNAPOLIS — The Maryland Board of Elections unanimously agreed on a slimmed-down voting process Friday, though the recommendation still must be approved by Gov. Larry Hogan.

The five-member bipartisan board supported a proposal to use a limited number of vote centers, instead of traditional polling places, to ease the burden on local election boards struggling to recruit election judges amid COVID-19.

At the suggestion of Board Vice Chairman Patrick J. Hogan, the board suggested that counties use public high schools as voting centers, though the local boards could use alternative facilities if necessary.

The counties, under the board's proposal, would be required to open as many vote centers on Election Day as there are public high schools in that county. There are 282 public high schools in Maryland, according to the board.

The board also proposed offering voting at the state's 80 early voting centers from Oct. 29 through Nov. 3.

Vote centers differ from traditional precincts because voters can cast a ballot at any location in their county rather than being assigned a specific polling place.

The suggestion to use a limited number of vote centers came from the Maryland Association of Election Officials, which on Wednesday raised an alarm about the huge number of election judge vacancies across Maryland.

The fate of the State Board of Elections' recommendation is now in the hands of Gov. Larry Hogan, who has indicated he does not support "wholesale closures of polling places."

Washington County Board of Elections Deputy Director Barry Jackson said in a phone interview Friday afternoon that he considered the state board meeting a "small victory" for the county. The board's recommendation for fewer voting centers than the governor instructed to be open on Election Day would be easier to operate.

In July, the Washington County Board of Elections approved consolidating 20 polling places to ensure there are enough election judges. Ten other counties also sought approval from the state board on early voting and polling site changes.

The state board did not talk about the consolidations as its motion made the requests moot, Jackson said.

Still, he said the conversation could have gone worse if the state board had not challenged the governor's call to open all polling places at all.

"It's not really what we asked for, but we're happy with voting centers. It's best for voters and it's best for us," Jackson said.

Jackson said Washington County Public Schools has already agreed to work with the county election board.

All county high schools except Washington County Technical High School, Smithsburg High School and Barbara Ingram School for the Arts are already used as polling places, he said.

The governor in July ordered that every polling place would be open for in-person voting on Election Day and that every eligible voter in Maryland would be sent an application to vote by mail.

The decision has come under sharp criticism from those concerned about holding in-person voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the June primary, the state sent ballots to every voter and conducted the election mostly by mail.

Local elections officials have also said there are not enough election judges to staff every polling place in November. There are more than 14,000 election judge vacancies statewide.

Since the primary, Jackson said around 100 Washington County election judges said they would not work the general election and 363 said they would. He estimated around 500 would be needed.

Hogan announced his plan for the election after the board split along party lines at a meeting in July over how to conduct voting.

As of Friday evening, Hogan had not announced whether he would agree to the Board of Elections' plan. But in a letter issued Thursday, Hogan warned the board against "wholesale closures of polling places that could disenfranchise Marylanders."

Regardless of the eventual outcome, Jackson said Washington County will continue to promote early voting and voting by mail to its nearly 100,000 registered voters.

Staff writer Alexis Fitzpatrick contributed to this report