Primary Election

Dixon keeps up brisk pace in campaign fundraising In the final weeks of a campaign that was hers to lose, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon managed to collect nearly $330,000 in political donations - part of a fundraising effort that officials said will continue through her term. Dixon, who won the primary election in September with 63 percent of the vote, received nearly 700 donations between the end of August and mid-October, according to campaign finance reports released yesterday. "They mayor takes very seriously the fact that she does have a challenger in the general election and, of course, she will maintain a very active fundraising schedule through her term as mayor," spokesman Anthony McCarthy said.

A proposed charter amendment that Baltimore voters will consider in November could place the city's primary more than a year ahead of the next election for mayor.The ballot question asks voters to move the mayoral elections to coincide with the presidential race, a move that could save taxpayers up to $4 million, according to the City Council member who pushed for the ballot issue.Under state law, Baltimore voters can decide the timing of the general election, held every four years in November.

City Council President Lawrence A. Bell III finished his recent political quest for mayor much the way he began his career for public office 12 years ago -- by borrowing money from his mother.After building a campaign treasury of more than $1.16 million for his mayoral bid, Bell borrowed $5,000 from his mother, Elinor Bell, days after September's primary to pay debts, his latest campaign report shows.His cash balance at the close of the reporting period that ended Oct. 17 was $1,182.40 in his active fund-raising committee account and $1,434.

Angered by an invitation he said might "deceive" the public, Baltimore Mayor-elect Martin O'Malley threatened to withdraw his support of a fund-raising dinner for former mayoral candidate Carl Stokes, who is seeking money to repay $23,000 in campaign loans.The invitations for the the $500-a-plate fund-raiser billed the Dec. 5 event as "Unity Dinner `99 In Honor of Mayor Elect Martin O'Malley." Although the invitation prominently presents O'Malley's name, it mentions nothing about Stokes' debts.

Angered by an invitation he said might "deceive" the public, Baltimore Mayor-elect Martin O'Malley threatened to withdraw his support of a fund-raising dinner for former mayoral candidate Carl Stokes, who is seeking money to repay $23,000 in campaign loans.The invitations for the the $500-a-plate fund-raiser billed the Dec. 5 event as "Unity Dinner `99 In Honor of Mayor Elect Martin O'Malley." Although the invitation prominently presents O'Malley's name, it mentions nothing about Stokes' debts.

A proposed charter amendment that Baltimore voters will consider in November could place the city's primary more than a year ahead of the next election for mayor.The ballot question asks voters to move the mayoral elections to coincide with the presidential race, a move that could save taxpayers up to $4 million, according to the City Council member who pushed for the ballot issue.Under state law, Baltimore voters can decide the timing of the general election, held every four years in November.

Marylanders go to the polls today to choose Democratic and Republican nominees for almost every elective office from the courthouse to the State House in a primary election that is expected to be an important barometer of the mood of the voting public.Despite the large number of races, with as many as 2,442 candidates, only a few are hard-fought. Office-seekers and local analysts fear the lack of attention-grabbing party contests for governor, coupled with fallout from the Clinton scandal, will cause many voters to stay away.

WASHINGTON -- While President Clinton awaits the verdict of the House on impeachment, he can at least breathe easier on the matter of his 1996 campaign fund raising, thanks to Attorney General Janet Reno.Ms. Reno's decision not to appoint another independent counsel to look into allegations that Mr. Clinton violated federal law in soliciting and spending funds for his re-election campaign was not unexpected, after her repeated unwillingness to do so in the past.But the evidence remains that Mr. Clinton blithely thumbed his nose at the law. A clear condition of the federal campaign subsidy that he accepted for the 1996 general election campaign was that he not raise or spend any additional money for his own election.

Four years ago, Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey was a long-shot candidate for governor who pumped up her chances by taking advantage of Maryland's public campaign financing system. Money from the fund helped her knock off the front-runner in the GOP primary -- and nearly put her in the governor's office.This year, the tables are turned.A well-financed Sauerbrey is out front and declining the money. But Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker is expected to use the public financing program to bolster his dark-horse bid and try to knock Sauerbrey out of the Republican primary in September.

The Carroll County Board of Supervisors of Elections will have extended office hours for residents who need to register to vote or make changes to their registration before the September primary election.The office will be open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday and Aug. 15 at 224 N. Center St., Westminster.The last day for residents to register or make changes in their name or address is Aug. 17.Information: 410-386-2080.Pub Date: 8/05/98

Gov. Martin O'Malley is working with state lawmakers to pass emergency legislation that would allow him to call a special general election to replace Rep. Albert R. Wynn, the Prince George's County Democrat who is leaving Congress in June to join a Washington lobbying firm. O'Malley wants to skip the special primary election now required under Maryland law and go straight to a general election to get the seat filled before Congress concludes its business for the year. With the 4th Congressional District leading the state in housing foreclosures, and service members from the region "coming back from Iraq in body bags," O'Malley said, constituents should not go unrepresented in Washington.

The Maryland State Board of Elections is expected to reverse a recent policy change that would prevent 17-year-olds from voting in February's primary election. The attorney general's office released an opinion yesterday recommending that 17-year-olds be allowed to vote in the primary if they will be age 18 by the time of the general election. As a result, the board is likely to vote at its meeting today to allow those teens to participate in the election, a top state elections official said.

Dixon keeps up brisk pace in campaign fundraising In the final weeks of a campaign that was hers to lose, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon managed to collect nearly $330,000 in political donations - part of a fundraising effort that officials said will continue through her term. Dixon, who won the primary election in September with 63 percent of the vote, received nearly 700 donations between the end of August and mid-October, according to campaign finance reports released yesterday. "They mayor takes very seriously the fact that she does have a challenger in the general election and, of course, she will maintain a very active fundraising schedule through her term as mayor," spokesman Anthony McCarthy said.

A special election has been scheduled in Annapolis for the alderman's seat vacated by Michael Christman, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer said yesterday. The primary election in Ward 2 will be held Nov. 27, with the special general election Dec. 19. The winner will fill the final two years of Christman's term. The Republican, one of only two on the eight-member city council, was elected in 2005 but officially resigned last week, noting frequent travel for his job. His wife also recently accepted a job in Australia.

Dreary weather and lackluster races were the quick excuses for the turnout in Tuesday's Democratic primary being the city's lowest in decades. But political observers say a more powerful explanation might be at work - the increasing ability of campaigns to identify their base voters and turn them out on Election Day. In municipal contests in Baltimore and across the country, campaign officials no longer troll through neighborhoods trying to drag every...

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.

With less than four weeks to go before the general election, the debate over electronic voting and other problems in Maryland's 2006 electoral process has become as important as the political races themselves - and The Sun should continue to cover all aspects of this continuing story. As Maryland officials try to fix the technical and human problems that created havoc during the September primary election, the integrity of the election system hangs in the balance. Since the primary, a number of articles have documented how the new voter check-in process kept some voters waiting for hours.

After a daylong test of the state's retrofitted voter check-in computers, it remained unclear yesterday whether the $18 million system works well enough for the state's elections chief to deploy it in the November general election. The machines experienced 10 problems yesterday, including someone accidentally kicking out a power cord, as more than 7,000 votes were cast during a mock election at the BWI Airport Marriott. Three of the glitches were identical and isolated to one of the 13 machines.

Baltimore election judges will get a boost in pay for the general election this year, a move backers say they hope will cut down on the widespread tardiness and absenteeism that added chaos to this month's primary. A bill increasing city election judge pay by $25 a day and $50 for chief judges - passed long before the primary problems - goes into effect tomorrow, along with dozens of other measures, including stiffer penalties for teenage drunken drivers. City election officials say recruiting enough qualified election judges in the city - especially enough Republicans - is a chronic problem exacerbated by the long hours workers must put in at the polls and the low pay. Now, city election judges will make $150 and chief election judges $200 for a workday that can stretch beyond 14 hours.

Maryland's primary-election failures dampen what might have been a celebration of our system. To say the least. Every election has potential for exhilarating uplift. Challengers - such as Del. Peter Franchot, who won the Democratic primary for comptroller - took big risks and won. Voters did their part. They sorted through their many primary options and made their selections. Mr. Franchot's opponent in the general election, Anne M. McCarthy, took an even bigger gamble, dismissing the idea that a Republican can't win in Maryland, a state where Democrats have a 2-to-1 advantage in registered voters.