Robocall

Sen. Lisa Gladden and Del. Sandy Rosenberg, both Democrats, claim in a letter ("Free speech v. voter fraud," Dec. 18) responding to my op-ed ("Schurick's behavior wrong, but not criminal," Dec. 11) that the 2005 "Voter's Rights Protection Act" outlaws tactics intended to "influence a voter's decision whether to go to the polls to cast a vote. " Then they allow that under the law, political speech is "actionable only when it is false or made with reckless disregard for the truth.

Voters in Maryland's 6th Congressional District have been hearing a familiar Arkansas drawl on the phone this week: It's Bill Clinton calling, letting them know he thinks the world of Democratic candidate John Delaney. All over the state, Marylanders have been receiving robocalls from celebrities and elected officials delivering messages for or against state ballot issues or political candidates. The voices of "Desperate Housewives" actress Eva Longoria and magician David Copperfield tout the advantages of expanded gambling.

Old-fashioned reporting and the skilled use of new media helped WBAL-TV score an early and important scoop in election coverage Tuesday night, some 90 minutes before the polls that everyone else was waiting for even closed. WBAL broke the news that robocalls were being made in Maryland telling Democratic voters that Gov. Martin O'Malley, who was up for re-election, and President Barack Obama, who was not, had won. The calls went on to say that no further action was required by Democratic voters — and that anyone receiving the call didn't need to do anything further except stay home and watch the happy results on TV. WBAL first heard of the robocalls through viewer tips called into the newsroom and to reporter Jayne Miller sometime around 6 p.m., when Miller was on the air, according to Michelle Butt, the station's news director.

The campaign arm of House Democrats began running a series of automated phone calls in Maryland's 6th Congressional District on Monday as part of the its latest effort to tie Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett to controversial comments on rape made this month by fellow Republican Rep. Todd Akin. "By now, I'm sure you've heard Congressman Todd Akin's unbelievable comments about rape and his outrageous beliefs about women's rights," the call's narrator says, according to a script released by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The "robocall" incident tells me that we don't need to look far to find democracies under threat ("Former Ehrlich aides indicted," June 17). Julius Henson, who faces criminal charges for voter manipulation in Maryland's last election cycle, is an African-American man involved in urging African-Americans to stay home because Martin O'Malley had "already won. " Paul Schurick, the other man indicted in the case, is a long-standing political operative who...

In the weeks leading up to the Maryland gubernatorial election in 2006, the campaign of then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.commissioned and distributed "voter guides" which were, in fact, filled with misinformation. The leaflets falsely implied that Mr. Ehrlich and Republican Senate nominee Michael Steele were Democrats and that they were endorsed by popular Democratic leaders including Kweisi Mfume and Wayne Curry. Four years later, Mr. Ehrlich's campaign manager, Paul Schurick, commissioned robocalls on Election Day in 2010 in primarily African-American districts, informing voters that the Democrats had already won and that they should stay home.

The election fraud trial of veteran political consultant Julius Henson was postponed Wednesday because of the illness of the state's primary investigator in the case. Baltimore Circuit Judge Emanuel Brown postponed the trial, which centers on an Election Day 2010 robocall, until Feb. 23, when jury selection is expected to begin. Prosecutors believe Special Agent John C. Poliks will have recovered enough by then to participate in the trial. Lawyers in the case finished a motions hearing on Tuesday, during which one of three conspiracy charges against Henson was dismissed because Brown deemed it repetitive.

The last time Election Day shenanigans played out in Maryland, homeless Philadelphians got a day trip to Maryland, a welcome from then-first lady Kendel Ehrlich , $100, a couple of meals and a T-shirt. This time around, the only thing anybody got out of the dirty trick was an annoying dinner-hour robocall. Or in some cases, two calls. Between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — before polls closed at 8 p.m. — Baltimore residents reported receiving an automated call telling them to "relax," that Gov. Martin O'Malley had won re-election.

Political consultant Julius Henson returned to the witness stand Monday and placed blame for a controversial Election Day 2010 robocall on a top campaign aide to former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Henson told jurors in Baltimore Circuit Court that he was eating with his granddaughter at a Baltimore McDonald's at 4:42 p.m. Election Day when Ehrlich campaign manager Paul Schurick called him and authorized Henson to arrange the call — which prosecutors...

The election fraud trial of veteran political consultant Julius Henson has been postponed again due to scheduling conflicts. A hearing on preliminary motions in the case, which centers on an Election Day 2010 robocall, is now scheduled for April 10 with the trial expected to start on April 30. The case was postponed earlier this month because of the illness of a state investigator. Henson, 62, faces two counts of conspiracy to violate election laws, one count of election fraud and one count of failing to include a campaign authority line on the call.

In the weeks leading up to the Maryland gubernatorial election in 2006, the campaign of then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.commissioned and distributed "voter guides" which were, in fact, filled with misinformation. The leaflets falsely implied that Mr. Ehrlich and Republican Senate nominee Michael Steele were Democrats and that they were endorsed by popular Democratic leaders including Kweisi Mfume and Wayne Curry. Four years later, Mr. Ehrlich's campaign manager, Paul Schurick, commissioned robocalls on Election Day in 2010 in primarily African-American districts, informing voters that the Democrats had already won and that they should stay home.

Political consultant Julius Henson on Friday was released a month early from the Baltimore City Detention Center, officials said. Henson was released early because he received jail credits, which inmates can earn for good behavior and for sharing a cell, said Melvin Easley, a jail spokesman. On Tuesday, Henson's attorney, Edward Smith Jr. filed a motion asking jail officials to allow him to visit his elderly mother before she dies. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail on June 13 for his role in a 2010 Election Day robocall that prosecutors said was designed to suppress black votes.

Julius Henson, the former political consultant sentenced to 60 days in jail last month for writing a 2010 Election Day robocall that prosecutors said was designed to suppress black votes, has requested his immediate release so that he can visit his elderly mother before she dies. Henson's attorney, Edward Smith Jr., was advised Monday night that Mary Henson had been admitted to the critical care unit of Good Samaritan Hospital in New York, where she was forced to move to live with her daughter after her son, whom she'd previously lived with, was incarcerated, according to court documents.

In May, I reported on Baltimore-area homes receiving mysterious robocalls voiced by WBFF anchorman Jeff Barnd asking residents a series of questions about Lyme disease, same-sex marriage and the alleged agenda of Gov. Martin O'Malley. Read that here . At the time, WBFF acknowledged commissioning the calls, but WBFF General Manager Bill Fanshawe declined to name the company that executed the robocall campaign. I have since been able to confirm that the name of the company is ccAdvertising, of Centreville, Va. And from its website, the firm appears to be heavily engaged in right-wing politics, including push polling in at least one state against same-sex ballot initiatives like the one Maryland is expected to have in the fall.

I turned on the TV at noon Wednesday to see how Baltimore stations handled what I was thinking of as fluff: the arrival of the first ships for the Star-Spangled Sailabration. I came away instead impressed with the performance of Baltimore's top two broadcast news operations, WBAL and WJZ, in handling serious breaking news without ignoring the kind of culturally important softer stories that make a city into a community rather than just a TV market. And I was reminded of a largely overlooked truth: Baltimore viewers enjoy some of the best local TV journalism in the country.

Political consultant Julius Henson, who wrote the 2010 Election Day robocall that prosecutors said was designed to suppress black votes, was led from a Baltimore courthouse in handcuffs Wednesday after being sentenced to 60 days in jail. Baltimore Circuit Judge Emanuel Brown also ordered Henson, 63, to complete 300 hours of community service. Brown announced his sentence after listening to Henson cast himself as a victim in his final remarks to the court. "The state has a problem with the First Amendment.

As I follow your coverage of the Paul Schurick voter suppression trial ("No plan to suppress the black vote, Schurick says," Nov. 3), I find I'm more amazed at the number of public officials willing to vouch, under oath, for the character of a man who clearly tried to mislead voters on election day, in effect attempting to steal their votes. That it wouldn't have changed the outcome of the election is immaterial. The deviousness and dishonesty of the ploy should have sent former Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and the others running in the other direction when asked to testify on Mr. Schurick's behalf.

The editors of The Sun clearly would love nothing more than to see any Republican Party officeholder be cast in the light of disgrace, and to have Paul Schurick, longtime aide to former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., convicted of criminal wrongdoing would surely suit you just fine. But as Mr. Schurick's trial neared its conclusion, you apparently felt uneasy about a conviction. With the case to go to the jury on Monday, you clearly attempted to improperly influence the jury and published an online editorial on Friday declaring him guilty of criminal conduct involving "political dirty tricks" ("Schurick trial: Mandel as a character witness?"

Baltimore Circuit Judge Emanuel Brown said he wanted to send a message with his sentence of political consultant Julius Henson in the case of the infamous "relax" robocall. He certainly succeeded. It's not often that someone involved in a Maryland political corruption trial is led out of a courtroom in handcuffs, and a 60-day jail sentence is bound to make future political campaigns and consultants think twice before crossing the line. Despite his protestations that the case against him was political payback for his work for a Republican — former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. — what Mr. Henson did was clearly wrong.

UPDATED Tuesday 1: 30 p.m. with confirmed reports of voter-suppression robocalls. While I have had many issues with the partisan nature of Ed Schultz's coverage from Wisconsin in the last year, I have to admit that Monday night the MSNBC host appeared to be providing an important public service to voters of that embattled state. During an interview with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Democratic candidate challenging Republican Scott Walker in Tuesday's recall vote, Schultz asked about reports of robocalls telling potential voters that if they had signed petitions to recall Walker, there was no need to go to the polls Tuesday, because their votes were already registered.