Early Voting

So this is what all the fuss was about? Maryland's first experience with early voting turned out to be an anticlimax on par with the U.S. invasion of Grenada. No problems at the 46 polling places, no signs of widespread fraud and not all that many voters either. Perhaps the most eventful moment of the six days came last week when early voting's newest disciple, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., cast his ballot and urged others to vote early, too. As governor, Mr. Ehrlich described early voting an invitation to fraud, vetoed legislation authorizing it and then (after the General Assembly overrode his veto)

This year's election is expected to draw record turnout at the polls, perhaps even higher than the 81 percent of registered voters in Maryland who cast ballots in the 1992 presidential race. For many, this will mean long lines during peak hours as Marylanders try to squeeze in the time to vote either before or after work. Such inconvenience might be lessened if voters approve Question 1, a constitutional amendment that would permit voting up to two weeks before Election Day. It's a sensible approach that should improve voter turnout, and that's why this newspaper strongly endorses the measure.

Maryland Democrats and Republicans appear to be on a legal and political collision course over a plan to allow early voting in November - with the GOP mobilizing to force a referendum to overturn an election bill the General Assembly passed in January over the governor's veto. The Republicans' new drive to gather the more than 50,000 signatures needed to force a referendum continues a battle that has already involved two vetoes, two overrides and vituperative charges of partisan machinations by both sides.

The Maryland Court of Appeals' order striking down early voting is unfortunate on any number of levels but it's hardly a death knell for democracy. As we've noted many times before, about two-thirds of states have adopted early voting and it's been proven to help raise voter turnout, albeit modestly. But thanks to numerous acts of partisanship including Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s vetoes, his delaying actions on the Board of Public Works and the various court challenges, the public was left thoroughly confused and local election boards exhausted by the on-again, off-again gyrations.

Democrats are taking advantage of early voting in greater proportion than Republicans, the state elections board reports, suggesting that the party in power is turning out its base more effectively. In the first three days of early voting, registered Democrats, who make up 56 percent of the Maryland electorate, cast 63 percent of the ballots, according to elections board. Republicans, who make up 26 percent of the electorate, cast 27 percent of the ballots. Some good news for the GOP: Republican voters are outpacing Democrats in the 1st Congressional District, where state Sen. Andy Harris is trying to unseat Rep. Frank Kratovil in the Maryland's most competitive House race this year.

An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge heard arguments yesterday in a case that could decide whether Marylanders will have an additional five days to cast votes this fall - a General Assembly effort that two Baltimore attorneys with close ties to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. say violate the state's constitution. M. Albert Figinski, who is married to Ehrlich's budget director, and Christopher R. West, the former legal counsel to the Maryland Republican Party, filed suit against the state elections board and its administrator, Linda H. Lamone, after the Democrat-controlled General Assembly overrode two Ehrlich vetoes and authorized early voting.

The Maryland Constitution makes it clear that elections must be held on a single day in November, and that voters must cast their choices in home election districts, the state's highest court said in a written decision released yesterday elaborating on its August ruling striking down multiple-day early voting. Still, the debate over the practice could continue during the 90-day General Assembly session that begins next month, one lawmaker involved in the issue said. The General Assembly passed early-voting legislation in 2005 and refined it this year, authorizing selected polling places in each county to open five days before Election Day. Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. vetoed both bills, arguing in part that they opened the state's election system to fraud, and that they were pushed through by Democrats who were trying to gain an upper hand in this year's election.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Hoping to avoid another presidential election fiasco, Broward County officials scrambled yesterday to replace tens of thousands of missing absentee ballots, reduce long waits for early voting and shore up a telephone system deluged with calls from angry voters. A day after acknowledging that as many as 58,000 absentee ballots have not reached voters who requested them, elections supervisor Brenda Snipes decided to mail new ones. She will pay extra for overnight delivery for those sent outside Broward in hopes of ensuring voters can return them before Tuesday's deadline.

There he goes again. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. is trying to undermine public confidence in Maryland's fall elections. He's repeating the claim that early voting is a "transparent attempt to commit fraud." And this time, he persuaded Comptroller William Donald Schaefer to delay a contract (involving management of the State Board of Elections' computer system) for a couple of weeks to make his point. What a load of hanging chads. If early voting is tantamount to an act of fraud, Mr. Ehrlich better call on the FBI to investigate those 34 other states that have it (including many governed by Republicans)

An Anne Arundel County circuit judge ruled yesterday that the General Assembly's plan to allow voters to cast ballots in the week before Election Day is unconstitutional, a victory for the governor, who has made opposition to early voting a central issue in the fall campaign. Judge Ronald A. Silkworth ruled that the General Assembly's plan violated the clear language of the Maryland Constitution, which says that citizens may vote in their local election districts on a specific day, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.