Registration Forms

Joyce L. Terhes, chairman of the Maryland Republican Party, says she's just trying to register new voters. Gene Raynor, administrator of the State Board of Election Laws and a Democratic appointee, says she's wasting taxpayers' money."

James Massey, director of the Harford County Board of Elections, typically carries voter registration forms with him. They came in handy last week when he went to the barbershop. Before his trim was complete Thursday, he had given out all the forms - to the barber, the receptionist and a few other customers. "I call it voter outreach," said Massey, whose staff is handling nearly 500 new registration forms a day. "It has been frenetic. A lot of people are saying that they want to vote this year.

After handing over 31,000 voter registration forms to the Maryland Republican Party since April, the head of the state Board of Election Laws thinks enough is enough.Gene M. Raynor yesterday cut off the flow of forms to the Republicans, citing a cost to the state of $75 per 1,000 and no evidence that the forms are being filled out."I don't see any return on them," Raynor complained. "I will go anywhere in the state to register 2,000 people or two people, but this is ridiculous."But Joyce L. Terhes, who heads the Republican Party and the voter registration drive that's using up the forms at a hefty clip, said she suspects Raynor, an appointee of Gov. William Donald Schaefer, and Democrats in general are nervous about GOP registration gains.

MIAMI - Not a single ballot has been counted in the presidential election, yet Florida is already teeming with lawsuits charging the state and its county elections supervisors with voter disenfranchisement, a legal muddle that will likely grow worse before Election Day. Yesterday, the state Supreme Court heard arguments in a suit seeking to require election officials to count provisional ballots regardless of where they are cast. And Tuesday, labor unions and voting-rights groups sued to stop the disqualification of more than 10,000 incomplete registration forms in Florida, accusing the state of overly restrictive rules that disproportionately hurt minority voters.

Tomorrow is the deadline to register to vote in the Sept. 12 Baltimore primary election. Voter registration forms must be returned to the Baltimore City Board of Supervisors of Elections at 417 E. Fayette St. by 9 p.m. tomorrow, according to Barbara E. Jackson, chief of the board. Registration forms may be picked up at any branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

When Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley appeared at the University of Maryland, College Park last week, his student supporters were out in front of the hall handing out voter registration forms to the student-dominated audience. At Frostburg State College, Chris Sekelsky, a student there and supporter of Republican contender Sen. John McCain of Arizona, has been downloading registration forms from the Internet and giving them out on campus. Today is the deadline for registering to vote in the March 7 primary, when Maryland residents will make their choices for the presidential nominations.

James Massey, director of the Harford County Board of Elections, typically carries voter registration forms with him. They came in handy last week when he went to the barbershop. Before his trim was complete Thursday, he had given out all the forms - to the barber, the receptionist and a few other customers. "I call it voter outreach," said Massey, whose staff is handling nearly 500 new registration forms a day. "It has been frenetic. A lot of people are saying that they want to vote this year.

In this presidential election year, people on the move can register to vote or change their voter information online through HomeAdvisor, Microsoft's real estate Internet site. HomeAdvisor (www.homeadvisor.com) is working with election.com, a global online election services provider, to offer voter registration and absentee ballots. Users are asked to fill out an online form. A state is selected, voting requirements are displayed, and the user provides requested information. Users can report a change of address on the same form.

A boisterous presidential contest, the canceled crusade of Ross Perot and an abortion question on the Nov. 3 ballot in Maryland have helped fuel voter registrations this summer, political professionals say."Yesterday and today the phones have been ringing off the hooks, and more than a normal amount of people have been coming in," Lolita Fales, deputy administrator of the Baltimore Board of Election Supervisors, said yesterday.The interest was apparently sparked by the Republican National Convention, she said.

Yesterday's voter-registration deadline saw a last-minute surge of voters filling out registration forms at post offices, the Motor Vehicle Administration and the Howard County Board of Elections office.U.S. Postal Service workers at the Columbia post office on Oak Hall Lane said they were handing out forms all day to people taking advantage of their last opportunity to register.About 2: 30 p.m., three hours before the post office closed, customer service supervisor Donna Chappell said she would have to ask the Board of Elections for more registration forms.

Besieged state election officials are staying late, working weekends and hiring additional help to process a record number of people registering to vote for the fall election. Days before the deadline, nearly 3 million Marylanders are eligible to cast ballots next month, more than 10 percent more than the number who signed up in time for the 2000 election. Voters in Maryland have until 9 p.m. Tuesday to complete their registration forms and get them by mail or in person to their local boards of election.

The more than 1 million vehicle registration renewal forms being sent to Maryland motorists over the next year will be accompanied by something extra - ads for a free oil change and $25 off on an eye exam. The advertising packets are part of an agreement between two state agencies and a Waltham, Mass.-based company that saves the Motor Vehicle Administration $100,000 a year and helps the Department of Business and Economic Development promote in-state tourism. Imagitas Inc. has taken over the printing and mailing of the MVA's vehicle registration forms in exchange for the right to include advertisements in the envelope.

Stars share recipes You can eat like the stars with the help of the Canned Food Alliance's "Five Star Celebrity Cookbook." The book features 31 recipes, including 15 from celebrities like Rosie O'Donnell, Isaac Hayes and Patti LaBelle. The book is available now through March by making a donation of any amount to the Share Our Strength program, which fights hunger in America. For more information, click on www.mealtime .org. Shopping for diabetics Area Giants are offering store tours on healthy shopping practices for people living with diabetes.

In this presidential election year, people on the move can register to vote or change their voter information online through HomeAdvisor, Microsoft's real estate Internet site. HomeAdvisor (www.homeadvisor.com) is working with election.com, a global online election services provider, to offer voter registration and absentee ballots. Users are asked to fill out an online form. A state is selected, voting requirements are displayed, and the user provides requested information. Users can report a change of address on the same form.

WORMS WILL be plentiful, and, hopefully, so will the fish at this summer's Downs Park children's fishing derby, sponsored by the Pasadena Sportfishing Group (PSG) and the Friends of Downs Park volunteer group. The event is set for Aug. 12 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., at Downs Park. Children ages 5 to 15 will have a chance to reel in white perch, spots, catfish and other Chesapeake Bay creatures. Free bait will be provided, but contestants should bring their fishing rods and reels to participate in the derby.

When Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley appeared at the University of Maryland, College Park last week, his student supporters were out in front of the hall handing out voter registration forms to the student-dominated audience. At Frostburg State College, Chris Sekelsky, a student there and supporter of Republican contender Sen. John McCain of Arizona, has been downloading registration forms from the Internet and giving them out on campus. Today is the deadline for registering to vote in the March 7 primary, when Maryland residents will make their choices for the presidential nominations.

WORMS WILL be plentiful, and, hopefully, so will the fish at this summer's Downs Park children's fishing derby, sponsored by the Pasadena Sportfishing Group (PSG) and the Friends of Downs Park volunteer group. The event is set for Aug. 12 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., at Downs Park. Children ages 5 to 15 will have a chance to reel in white perch, spots, catfish and other Chesapeake Bay creatures. Free bait will be provided, but contestants should bring their fishing rods and reels to participate in the derby.

BOSTON -- Jemima isn't yet 25, so she never had a chance to ''vote often and early for James Michael Curley,'' who died in 1958. But the crooked legend of Boston politics -- who was, not always at different times, a congressman, mayor, Massachusetts governor and prison inmate -- would surely have admired Jemima's electoral diligence in 1996.Not that Jemima went to the polls last week. She didn't even leave the house. She didn't have to. Weeks earlier, she had gotten an absentee ballot from the Board of Elections in Cleveland, Ohio.

Yesterday's voter-registration deadline saw a last-minute surge of voters filling out registration forms at post offices, the Motor Vehicle Administration and the Howard County Board of Elections office.U.S. Postal Service workers at the Columbia post office on Oak Hall Lane said they were handing out forms all day to people taking advantage of their last opportunity to register.About 2: 30 p.m., three hours before the post office closed, customer service supervisor Donna Chappell said she would have to ask the Board of Elections for more registration forms.