Absentee Ballots

Some voters in Montgomery and Prince George's counties have received absentee ballots that are missing a page containing referendum questions, state officials said Wednesday. The state Board of Elections has found that fewer than 20 absentee voters received ballots missing a second page, Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement. "Residents who have requested an absentee ballot should check to make certain they have a complete ballot with a second page that includes Questions 4-7, as well as any of the local county-related questions," O'Malley said.

Absentee ballots must be received at Stonehouse by no later than 4 p.m. on Friday April 19. But here's the problem: I haven't received mine yet (as of Monday April 15), and I've heard that I am not alone. If/when they do arrive, even if we complete them and drop them in outgoing mail immediately, they may miss the deadline. Voting can be done in person this week, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. I just voted. So if you can't make it to the official elections on Saturday (between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.)

Baltimore City Councilwoman Belinda Conaway, who is running a write-in campaign to keep her seat in the Nov. 8 election, accused the city elections board Tuesday of committing "major fraud" by mailing out incorrect absentee ballots to 7th District voters. Conaway said she has confirmed that at least seven voters in her district received 6th District absentee ballots in the mail, and worries that the problem could be more widespread. Conaway said she sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., asking him to intervene in the administration of the election.

Starting Saturday, Marylanders can go to the polls and cast their votes for president and other matters on this fall's ballot. But those who wish to enter the voting booth before Election Day shouldn't wait too long. Maryland's early-voting period runs only through Thursday, a six-day window that is one of the shortest in the country and that could be cut even shorter by Hurricane Sandy. After that, voters will need to wait until Nov. 6. The State Board of Elections is anticipating that as many as 20 percent of Maryland voters will join millions of their fellow Americans in the increasingly popular practice of casting their ballots in person before Election Day. Other Marylanders who like to get a jump on things have been voting by mail, using absentee ballots, since Sept.

Absentee ballots counted late last week apparently left the results of Tuesday's elections unchanged, although Republican county executive candidate Christopher J. Merdon did gain some ground on Democrat Ken Ulman. According to a county elections board tally of 10,099 ballots completed Friday afternoon, Merdon gained 1,650 votes on Ulman, which still left him more than 8,000 votes behind the Democrat. Merdon conceded his loss Wednesday. In the nonpartisan school board election, Janet Siddiqui, who finished sixth, gained 78 votes on fifth-place finisher Ellen Flynn Giles, although Giles is still more than 1,200 votes ahead.

Wilde Lake village officials are asking residents expecting to receive mailed absentee ballots to come to Slayton House, the village association headquarters, and pick them up instead. The bulk mail of roughly 2,800 absentee ballots, mailed late last month, have not been accounted for, said Bernice Kish, the village manager. She said the post office is trying to trace the mailed ballots. Wilde Lake elections are scheduled for April 22. Kish said the absentee ballots have to be signed by residents and returned by the election date.

Absentee ballots for Manchester's May 18 Town Council election should be requested by 4 p.m. May 15, said Marianne Warehime, chairwoman of the Board of Elections Supervisors.Mrs. Warehime said people must request ballots in writing from the town office.She said that ballots are being printed and that she expects them to be ready this week.The town will notify people when the absentee ballots are ready, she said.Town officials prefer to mail absentee ballots to voters, Mrs. Warehime said, but a voter can pick up the ballot or designate another person as an agent to get it.If a sudden illness or other emergency prevents a voter from going to the town office to vote on Election Day, a person may request an absentee ballot, in writing, that day and designate a person to get it.To be valid, absentee ballots must be returned to the town office by 7 p.m. May 18.Mrs.

In this presidential election year, people on the move can register to vote or change their voter information online through HomeAdvisor, Microsoft's real estate Internet site. HomeAdvisor (www.homeadvisor.com) is working with election.com, a global online election services provider, to offer voter registration and absentee ballots. Users are asked to fill out an online form. A state is selected, voting requirements are displayed, and the user provides requested information. Users can report a change of address on the same form.

Rita A. Dather, the Harford County election administrator, says she was angered by the contentious atmosphere at election board headquarters in Bel Air Thursday night as 2,095 absentee ballots were counted."

The outcome of two extremely close races in Baltimore will hinge on absentee ballots due to be counted today at the city election board.With 257 absentee ballots to be counted in the 43rd Legislative District Democratic primary, Martin O'Malley, a former city prosecutor, holds a slim 35-vote lead over incumbent state Sen. John A. Pica Jr., according to the unofficial tally.In the citywide Baltimore Circuit Court judgeship contest, District Court Judge Paul A. Smith, who is challenging three incumbents, has a mere 11-vote lead for the second spot in the Democratic primary.

Some voters in Montgomery and Prince George's counties have received absentee ballots that are missing a page containing referendum questions, state officials said Wednesday. The state Board of Elections has found that fewer than 20 absentee voters received ballots missing a second page, Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement. "Residents who have requested an absentee ballot should check to make certain they have a complete ballot with a second page that includes Questions 4-7, as well as any of the local county-related questions," O'Malley said.

Maryland's Board of Elections has acknowledged sending out some incomplete absentee ballots and some with incorrect address information, but officials say both problems were limited in scope and have been resolved. A handful of voters in Montgomery and Prince George's counties received ballots that did not include a page with some of the state's controversial referendum questions - including whether to allow same-sex marriage, expand gambling and extend in-state tuition discounts to some illegal immigrants.

The fact that Democratic congressional candidate Wendy Rosen voted in both Maryland and Florida proves that voter fraud does exist even though it still is a tiny fraction of the total votes cast. However, we need to look a bit more closely to see the full implications of this incident. Ms. Rosen presumably has a government issued picture ID, yet that did absolutely nothing to prevent voter fraud. Why? Because Ms. Rosen didn't vote in two states in person. Instead, she used absentee ballots, and a picture ID wouldn't have prevented her from doing so. In fact, almost every documented case of voter fraud has been perpetrated via absentee voting, not by in-person voting.

Two Democratic candidates in Maryland's 1st Congressional District remained locked Thursday in a too-close-to-call contest for the party's nomination, after an initial tally of absentee ballots left them separated by fewer than 100 votes. In the only still-undecided race from Tuesday's statewide primary, Cockeysville businesswoman Wendy Rosen had an 86-vote lead over physician John LaFerla of Chestertown, out of more than 25,000 ballots cast. Rosen has declared victory, but LaFerla has said the race remains too close for him to concede.

The top six vote-getters in the school board race (listed in bold below) have moved on to the general election in November, where three will win seats. Here's how the candidates fared: Janet Siddiqui, 11,732 Ann De Lacy, 8,415 Ellen Giles, 7,612 Jackie Scott, 7,326 David Gertler, 7,286 Bob Ballinger, 6,232 Pat Gordon, 5,984 Allen Dyer, 5,285 Leslie Kornreich, 3,624 Mary Jo Neil, 3,572 Jim Adams, 3,424 Olga Butler, 3,422 Corey Andrews, 3,147 Owen Hanratty, 2,116 *Kelly Van Horn, 1,512 *Withdrew from contest too late to be taken off ballot Provisional and absentee ballots not included

Not everything in Tuesday's primary election came in by deadline for the print edition of The Sun . Here's a look at few races that didn't make today's story . - Republican Daniel Bongino beat Richard J. Douglas in the Senate primary by nearly 9,000 votes, unofficial results show. Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, got into the race early and ran an aggressive grassroots campaign. Douglas, a former Pentagon official with an impressive military and legislative background, was never really able to catch up in support or fundraising.

The Baltimore election board will begin opening more than 3,500 absentee ballots tomorrow at 10 a.m.More than 4,200 ballots were issued for the election. As of late yesterday, 3,564 had been returned to the election office. Of those, roughly 3,100 were cast by Democrats, according to city election officials.In addition, any ballot that arrives in today's mail and that was postmarked by Monday will be accepted.City election administrator Barbara E. Jackson said the counting of the absentee ballots should take less than a day.Baltimore election officials predicted that the absentee-ballot counting process should go much more quickly than it did in last year's disputed gubernatorial election.

The Maryland Senate gave final approval yesterday to a bill that would make it easier for voters to cast absentee ballots in state elections. The Senate voted 33-14 to override a veto by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. of a bill (HB 622) that eliminates conditions - such as illness, death of a family member or enrollment in an out-of-state college - now required before voters can obtain absentee ballots. Supporters of the measure said it would increase voter participation, but Ehrlich and other critics argued that the potential for voter fraud outweighed any benefits.

Votes have been counted from both Ward 1 and Ward 2 polling locations, as well as early voting ballots and any absentee ballots received so far. Results do not include 24 provisional ballots; 11 absentee ballots; and four provisional absentee ballots. Mayor Valerie Cunningham, 454 Craig Moe, 953 Michael Sarich, 496 Council at-large Michael Leszcz, 1,058 Adrian Rousseau, 727 Council Ward 1 Valerie Nicholas, 562 H. Edward Ricks, 598 Council Ward 2 Donna Crary, 708 Frederick Smalls, 665 These results have been updated.

Baltimore City Councilwoman Belinda Conaway, who is running a write-in campaign to keep her seat in the Nov. 8 election, accused the city elections board Tuesday of committing "major fraud" by mailing out incorrect absentee ballots to 7th District voters. Conaway said she has confirmed that at least seven voters in her district received 6th District absentee ballots in the mail, and worries that the problem could be more widespread. Conaway said she sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., asking him to intervene in the administration of the election.