Election Judges

We would hazard a guess that the average Maryland voter doesn't have all that high an opinion of Diebold Election Systems Inc. Oh, the company's election equipment worked just fine last November - to the surprise of many of its critics. But memories of the breakdowns that plagued the state's September primary are still pretty fresh. And because of their lack of a paper trail, the company's touch-screen voting machines may soon be scrapped anyway - at a cost of $20 million to replace them.

Imagine the job announcement: "State of Maryland seeks temporary employees to safeguard democracy. Candidates must be willing to work for below the minimum wage without benefits or gratitude, enjoy inflexible and long workdays, attend multiple training sessions, and be prepared to deal with angry voters. Interested? We want you to be a Maryland election judge." As the General Assembly considers how to regain the trust of Marylanders in the way elections are conducted, it would do well to look beyond early voting, paper trails and Diebold machine flaws.

In Baltimore CityPolice search for clues in fatal shooting of West Baltimore manPolice had no leads yesterday in the killing of a 20-year-old man who was shot Friday afternoon two blocks from his West Baltimore rowhouse.Eugene Richardson, of the 1100 block of Mosher Street, was found at 1 p.m. on nearby Smithson Street, lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds, police said.Investigators said yesterday that they had no further information on the shooting.Unidentified man found shot to death; no arrest madeBaltimore police last night were investigating a fatal shooting that occurred about 6 p.m. in the 1800 block of N. Montford Ave. in East Baltimore.

WOODLAWN -- Nearly 4,200 people were evacuated from two Social Security Administration buildings yesterday after a suspicious package was discovered in the mail.The evacuation lasted from about 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. while a hazardous material unit was called to the scene and removed the package. Authorities found that the package, a footlocker sent through the mail, contained motorcycle parts and an unknown but nonhazardous liquid.The package was traced to an address in Houston, Texas, said Postal Inspector Doug Bim, who called the incident a hoax.

ClarificationIn a Sept. 4 editorial, we wrote that if city voters fail to push a "cast the vote" button on Baltimore's computerized machines, judges would have to step into the booth to do so for them. The judges are under instructions not to do that. Rather, they have been told to push the orange (not yellow) button by reaching inside the booth, without entering it. The editorial also should have noted Baltimore County computerized its voting machines in 1996, not in 1966.WHEN primary elections are held Sept.

Elections officials in Baltimore and Baltimore County spent yesterday trying to determine what went wrong in tabulating primary election returns, despite the use of multimillion dollar, state-of-the art computerized voting systems.Lack of enough technicians was blamed for a delay in tallying primary votes Tuesday night in Baltimore County as elections judges in some precincts struggled with jammed voting machines.In Baltimore, returns arrived 2 1/2 hours later than expected, despite the purchase of a new $6.5 million system.

YOUR MARCH 18 editorial, "Election Day for teacher planning" was devoid of research and cries out for some response.When a few schools are used for polling sites it is necessary to close all schools because you cannot close part of a school system and leave the rest open for regular classes. The situation requires that all schools be closed.Del. Joseph Getty should leave educational decisions to the state Board of Education. That board really knows what planning days are needed for teachers.

It is time to overhaul this state's election procedures, and the first place to begin the reforms is in Baltimore City. As Republican Ellen Sauerbrey made painfully clear in her unsuccessful court challenge to the November election results for governor, city election officials badly fumbled the ball.They bungled a number of technical jobs: It was too burdensome to purge the rolls of people who hadn't voted in five years. There was inadequate planning for ensuring the security of voting machines after the balloting.

Tuesday's election in Baltimore will feel more like a trial for the city election board.Pilloried and embarrassed during the bitter dispute over last year's gubernatorial election, the election office is determined to use Tuesday's vote to clean up its image.Incompetent election judges have been dismissed, others have been given more thorough instructions, and security procedures have been tightened.If the pressure of running the first election since last year's disputed gubernatorial balloting isn't enough for city election officials, they will be shadowed on that day by a state task force headed by a former federal prosecutor, taking notes on how to improve the state's election laws.

Calling the 1994 election fair, Maryland's Democratic attorney general recommended yesterday 10 election reforms to address problems exposed by losing Republican gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey.In a 41-page report released yesterday, J. Joseph Curran Jr. urged officials to improve the state election system while resisting "the temptation to make radical changes where none are warranted."The attorney general recommended changes in absentee balloting procedures, computerization, the training of election judges and the handling of voter authority cards.

A vote to transcend politics of prejudice On Tuesday, I voted, with my daughter by my side, and I experienced something unexpected: My eyes welled up, and a tear dropped. I suppose I was simply overwhelmed by the fact that I was actually voting for an African-American candidate for president ("Making history," Nov. 5). I am too young to remember the civil rights struggle. But I am a student of history, and I live in this world where prejudice and ignorance still reign. And frankly, I never expected that this day would come.

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.

Election judges at a predominantly black precinct in Annapolis mistakenly required voters to fill out personal information- including party identification and address - during the first several hours of primary voting Tuesday, Anne Arundel County's top election official said yesterday. Joseph A. Torre III said that the chief judge at Mills-Parole Elementary School asked voters to fill out "contingency voter authority cards" between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Those forms are supposed to be used only if the electronic poll books are unusable, Torre said.

Teens and driving to be program topic The central library and HC DrugFree will co-sponsor "Dangerous and Destructive Decisions: Teen Drinking, Speeding and Distracted Driving," an interactive program for parents and high school students on avoiding the tragic consequences of hazardous behavior. The program will be from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at the library, 10375 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia. It will be presented by Laurel Stiff, a Maryland Shock Trauma Center nurse from PADDD (Positive Alternatives to Dangerous and Destructive Decisions)

The Howard County Board of Elections is seeking election judges to serve in 110 polling locations for the Feb. 12 presidential primary election, according to the League of Women Voters. Judges work from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and are paid $165; chief judges are paid $220. There is also compensation for mandatory training. The league also said that those interested in serving on the Howard County Board of Education, the Howard County Circuit Court or as delegates to the Republican or Democratic conventions must file as candidates by Dec. 3. The deadline to change party affiliation has passed.

Last year's primary election in Baltimore was marred by polling places that opened late and election judges who weren't familiar with new voting equipment. But state and city elections officials promise that this year's vote, on Tuesday, will be different. They met Wednesday to go over last-minute details and have shared information on election day do's and don'ts. The University of Baltimore's Schaefer Center for Public Policy is helping to recruit and train judges, and poll workers should be accustomed to touch-screen voting devices.

We would hazard a guess that the average Maryland voter doesn't have all that high an opinion of Diebold Election Systems Inc. Oh, the company's election equipment worked just fine last November - to the surprise of many of its critics. But memories of the breakdowns that plagued the state's September primary are still pretty fresh. And because of their lack of a paper trail, the company's touch-screen voting machines may soon be scrapped anyway - at a cost of $20 million to replace them.

In a glossy brochure for the voter check-in system that Diebold Election Systems debuted in Maryland last year, the state's elections chief offers glowing praise. "Our election judges just love this product, and so do I," says Linda H. Lamone, administrator for the State Board of Elections, whose color photo appears in the brochure. "We in Maryland are extremely pleased with the performance of the system during the general election." What Lamone didn't mention, however, was that the check-in machines crashed during the September primary, leading to long delays at some precincts and prompting then-Gov.

Imagine the job announcement: "State of Maryland seeks temporary employees to safeguard democracy. Candidates must be willing to work for below the minimum wage without benefits or gratitude, enjoy inflexible and long workdays, attend multiple training sessions, and be prepared to deal with angry voters. Interested? We want you to be a Maryland election judge." As the General Assembly considers how to regain the trust of Marylanders in the way elections are conducted, it would do well to look beyond early voting, paper trails and Diebold machine flaws.

Lawmakers have proposed ending the state requirement that two Democrats and two Republicans oversee election returns at every precinct. The move is aimed at avoiding scrambles for poll workers from a minority party on Election Day. The change would allow election officials to hire all poll workers statewide on a nonpartisan basis. The General Assembly is weighing dozens of bills that would fine-tune election laws in response to problems during last year's campaign, such as candidates changing their names to get a better position on the ballot and a shortage of election judges that caused long waits outside polling places.