Register To Vote

Felons who have completed their sentences will be able to register to vote in Maryland under a new law signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday. The law, which takes effect July 1, was one of 178 measures the governor signed, including legislation to require stricter emissions limits on new cars and protect the diamondback terrapin. Advocates say more than 50,000 Marylanders will be eligible to vote as a result of the legislation. Thirty-eight other states allow ex-convicts who have completed their sentences - including any parole or probation - to vote.

"Register to vote?""Register to vote?""Register to vote?"Ten workers from Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development -- BUILD -- have fanned across East Monument Street near Northeast Market, clipboards in hand, trying desperately to interest people in their civic rights.Many of the shoppers and Johns Hopkins Hospital workers who clogged the sidewalks here at midday treated the yellow T-shirt-clad registrars as if they were solicitors or con men, out to make a buck. They shouldered past, eyes averted.

THOSE of us who organize in the interest of the dispossessed are burdened with the fact that they are just that. For the most part, they do not vote. Consequently, politicians can, more often than not, ignore their needs.Many don't vote because they don't know of any electoral candidate who would truly represent their interests.Many others don't vote because the government has disenfranchised them.There are three categories of the disenfranchised that I am particularly concerned about: the young, felons and legal aliens.

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

Middle school students to help register votersSixth-graders from Harper's Choice Middle School will help register people to vote at three west Columbia village centers this weekend and next weekend.About 25 students will be setting up voter registration tables this Saturday and Sunday and June 8 and 9 from 9 a.m. to noon at the village centers in Harper's Choice, Hickory Ridge and Wilde Lake.The students will encourage people to register to vote, and several parent volunteers have been trained to fill out the paperwork.

If you walk into a Motor Vehicle Administration or social service office today, be prepared for a new question: Are you registered to vote?It is the result of the National Voter Registration Act and a companion Maryland bill that went into effect Jan. 3, allowing citizens to apply to register by mail, in motor vehicle offices and many other government agencies.In Maryland, with a population of 5 million, there are 2 1/2 million registered voters, but 3 1/2 million licensed drivers. The statewide goal of the so-called "Motor Voter" law is to register an additional 1 million voters, said Gene Raynor, state administrator of elections.

Carroll election officials said yesterday they need to add two employees, about 120 election judges and create seven new voting precincts to handle the county's growing population and comply with the federal "motor-voter" law.The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires the Motor Vehicle Administration and social service agencies to give people the opportunity to register to vote.The law also says local election boards no longer may cancel voter registrations if people have not voted in an election in the past five years, said Rosemary McCloskey, Carroll's chief clerk.

IS the nation's new system for quick sign-ups of potential voters working? Here is what the Prince George's Journal thinks:"Motor-voter registration is a darn good idea, even if certain conservative governors from other states disagree. Some election officials in Maryland say the law, in effect since January, adds to their bureaucratic headaches and expense. But they say the problems don't seem insurmountable."If more people register to vote and then vote -- hurray! The whole idea of lining up at the Motor Vehicle Administration to get a driver's license and then getting to register to vote almost instantly on the same visit is a brilliant one. You almost want to wave a flag and eat apple pie, it's so democratic.

County residents have until 9 p.m. Aug. 15 to register to vote in the forthcoming elections. Voter registration applications are available at the following locations:The election office in Glen Burnie, 110 N. Crain Highway, Room 305; all county libraries; most banks and savings and loans; and most post offices.Information: 222-6600.The Anne Arundel County Board of Supervisors of Elections needs registered voters to staff polling places during the primary election Sept. 13 and the general election Nov. 8. Staffers are paid $75 for each election worked.

WASHINGTON -- House and Senate negotiators agreed yesterday on the final wording of legislation making it much easier to register to vote, apparently resolving a feud between Republicans and Democrats over which party might gain an electoral advantage from the change.The compromise bill would allow citizens to register to vote by signing a form whenever they obtain a driver's license, apply for welfare or disability benefits or enlist in the military. It also establishes a standard form enabling citizens in any state to register by mail.

By any reasonable standard, the U.S. does a terrible job of registering eligible citizens to vote. According to the most recent estimates, only about 68 percent of eligible voters age 18 and over are likely to be registered in 2010. A study of voter registration systems in other democracies around the world released last week by New York University's Brennan Center For Justice underscores this country's failure. France registers 91 percent of its eligible citizens. Germany and Britain do even better.

State taxes slow but don't reflect world economy yet Maryland tax collections are slowing more than expected but don't yet fully reflect the economic downturn that is roiling the world, state officials said yesterday. Collections for the first three months of the budget year are above those from the same period a year ago, but nowhere near as much as once expected. A spending panel will vote next week on up to $400 million in budget cuts recommended by Gov. Martin O'Malley to bring the current fiscal year's budget into balance.

Nominations sought for Women's Hall of Fame The Howard County Commission for Women is accepting nominations of outstanding women to be admitted into the 2009 Women's Hall of Fame. The 13th annual Hall of Fame will induct up to five contemporary women and one woman from the past who have achieved distinction in their work, made lasting contributions to the community and improved the quality of life for others. Nominees must be natives of Howard County or residents for at least 10 consecutive years.

With less than five weeks before the Nov. 4 presidential elections, organized campaigns to disenfranchise large swaths of the electorate are popping up like evil weeds across the country, especially in the crucial battleground states likely to decide the contest. Even in Maryland, where access to the polls has been relatively unfettered, officials are fighting persistent rumors that people who lose their homes to foreclosure won't be allowed to vote. It's unclear who's circulating the false information, but officials have taken it seriously enough to post a rebuttal on the State Board of Elections Web site.

More than 11,000 17-year-olds have registered to vote in Maryland and are eligible to participate in the state's Feb. 12 presidential primary if they turn 18 before the general election, officials say. By noon yesterday, 11,252 17-year-old voters - including 6,009 Democrats and 3,162 Republicans - had registered, said Roger Stitt of the State Board of Elections. Because local boards are sifting through paperwork and mailed applications are still arriving, final figures won't be available for several days, Stitt said.

Felons who have completed their sentences will be able to register to vote in Maryland under a new law signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday. The law, which takes effect July 1, was one of 178 measures the governor signed, including legislation to require stricter emissions limits on new cars and protect the diamondback terrapin. Advocates say more than 50,000 Marylanders will be eligible to vote as a result of the legislation. Thirty-eight other states allow ex-convicts who have completed their sentences - including any parole or probation - to vote.

Lawyers for a civil liberties group filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Baltimore yesterday that accuses the Maryland Transit Administration of imposing an unconstitutional ban on voter registration efforts at local bus stops. In its petition for a preliminary injunction, the American Civil Liberties Union alleges that the MTA improperly required community activists to seek a "free speech" permit before trying to sign up voters on state property near bus stops. Even when a permit was obtained, the suit alleges that the community organizers were routinely barred by MTA police from registering mass transit riders.

As we approach another Election Day, once again a significant portion of our community will be banned from the voting booths. More than 110,000 people in Maryland, 1 out of 37 residents, are disenfranchised because of criminal convictions. Three-quarters of them are not incarcerated but are living in Maryland's communities. Nearly half have completed their full sentences. Maryland's disenfranchisement laws sit outside the mainstream in the United States. Maryland is one of only 11 states that permanently disenfranchise some residents.

The cotton candy was free yesterday for students at Towson University, as were heaping mounds of popcorn. There was just one catch: Students had to register to vote in the general election in November. The gratis munchies were among many incentives offered during Voter Registration Day at the university, the culmination of a series of events aimed at getting students to sign up to vote. Other enticements included the opportunity to enter a weekly raffle for iPods for those who filled out a voter survey.

Shannon Barber is working the busy corner of Howard and Lexington streets with a stack of voter registration forms, hawking the political franchise like so much beer at the ballpark. "You can vote now or cry later. Don't complain about it, be about it," Barber, a tall, slim 25-year-old working for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now cries out to folks strolling by during a recent lunch hour. "What's going on, chief, can I register you to vote - 30 seconds," he says to a young man in a baseball cap. "Chief" shakes his head, shoots Barber an indifferent glance, saunters by. Ballpark beer might be an easier sell.