Absentee

Howard County residents must register by Friday to vote in the March 7 presidential primary. Feb. 29 is the last day to request an absentee ballot application for the primary. The Board of Elections is at 8659 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City. Hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The board will remain open until 9 p.m. Friday. Residents registered to vote can apply to the Board of Elections to serve as election judges for the primary. Compensation is $150. Applicants must attend a training class and be prepared to work from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Information: 410-313-2727.

An outbreak of flu that sent absentee rolls soaring is starting to dissipate, area school officials report.In Baltimore County, the flu outbreak appears to have peaked after reaching its zenith about the middle of last week, said William L. Follett, a spokesman for the county Health Department."

One million, three hundred thousand votes later, we still don't know who's the next governor of Maryland. Not until ballots, cast in absentia, are counted today will the suspense end for candidates Parris N. Glendening and Ellen R. Sauerbrey.In yesterday's Howard County and Final (single-sales) editions, an editing error led to publication of an editorial that incorrectly indicated a narrow Glendening victory. The editorial that was scheduled to run, entitled "Too Close to Call," more accurately reflected the uncertain situation then -- and now. While Democrat Glendening clings to a 6,100-vote lead, absentee votes (50,000 ballots were requested)

NATIONAL McCain looks to 2008 Sen. John McCain, considered the front-runner for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, intends to launch an exploratory committee next week, GOP officials said yesterday. pg 3a House races undecided House races in eight states - Ohio, Connecticut, Georgia, Wyoming, Washington, North Carolina, New Mexico and Florida - remain without winners after Tuesday's election, with Republican incumbents in tight contests to keep their seats and state officials not rushing to end the dispute.

Maryland may not be a "swing" state for the presidency, and its congressional races may all be romps, but you wouldn't know that from the way politicians and party activists are carrying on. Republicans, Democrats and their interest group allies went into overdrive yesterday in their efforts to get sympathetic voters to the polls Tuesday. Their efforts are expected to continue through the weekend amid signs that interest in the election is picking up. Turnout was the top priority for both parties as Republicans rallied in Little Italy and Democratic officials crisscrossed the state.

Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens apparently defeated Republican challenger Phillip D. Bissett yesterday amid a backdrop of GOP victories at state and county levels. Unofficial results showed that Owens had about 52 percent of the vote to Bissett's 48 percent. Absentee ballots had not been counted as of late last night, and Bissett said he would not concede the race until all ballots had been tallied. "The race is going to be decided by absentee ballots," Bissett said. At midnight, he was trailing by 6,576 votes, with some 6,900 ballots yet to be counted.

When Carroll County voters step into polling booths during Tuesday's primary election, only one locally related race will be on the ballot: the 6th Congressional District. Seven Democratic candidates are vying for their party's nomination for the congressional seat. Frederick County State's Attorney Scott L. Rolle is challenging Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett in the Republican primary. Bartlett is seeking a seventh term in the heavily Republican district, which includes Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties, and parts of Baltimore, Harford and Montgomery counties.

JERUSALEM -- Florida voter Sandra Raphaelson is hopping mad. Her vote for president will never be recounted, either by machine or by hand. Despite being registered in Miami-Dade County for the past 21 years, this time she never got to vote at all. Ms. Raphaelson, an 80-year-old artist, has lived in Israel since 1993. Although she mailed in a timely application for an absentee ballot in September, Election Day came and went without its arrival. Ms. Raphaelson first voted for FDR in 1944 and has cast her ballot in every presidential race since.

The state Senate began debate yesterday on a constitutional amendment that would let voters decide whether they want a limited number of polls to open several days before an election. Early voting has turned into a multiyear legislative effort among Democrats in the face of creative and persistent Republican opposition. Republicans have long argued that early voting is a political maneuver to make it easier for voters in heavily Democratic areas to reach the polls. Sen. Roy P. Dyson, a Southern Maryland Democrat, said it's about convenience for everyone.

As tabulation of ballots in the governor's race crawls forward, lawyers argue and politicians fume. But only Gene M. Raynor counts.The 59-year-old state administrator of election laws is charged with compiling returns from Tuesday's election, and is supposed to present a state board with a final set of numbers Friday.Despite the pressure to come up with the name of the next governor, intense scrutiny from political partisans and a lack of sleep, he seems calm."I believe in correctness, in absolute correctness in the counting of ballots," he said yesterday, rocking in a swivel chair at the Baltimore board of elections, his unofficial headquarters since Tuesday's balloting gave Democrat Parris N. Glendening a paltry 6,187-vote edge.