State Elections

Angered by General Assembly proposals to change Baltimore elections and to weaken the mayor's power, City Council members took steps last night to block two of the measures they criticized as impinging upon "local democracy."The council approved unanimously a resolution urging legislators to reject two Senate bills that mandate that municipal elections be held the same year as state elections.Council members also plan to attend Senate Economic and Environmental Affairs Committee hearings at 1 p.m. Thursday to oppose the proposals.

Baltimore's mayoral race, already full of unusual twists and turns, has yet another wrinkle: The next mayor could serve a five-year term, instead of the regular four.At issue is a ballot question, asking voters to change city elections to coincide with the presidential election, which is held the year after Baltimore's municipal elections. If approved, the proposed charter amendment would change the next city election from 2003 to 2004, giving the mayor and other city elected officials an extra year in office.

Mary Rosso said her husband of 42 years died Wednesday believing she won the election for the District 31 House of Delegates seat, and that's all that matters to her.The environmental activist's narrow victory has been thrown into doubt by defeated incumbent Victoria L. Schade's unprecedented request for a recount. But Rosso said yesterday she believes her 18-vote margin will stand.Her husband, Frank Rosso Sr., 61, died Wednesday, two days after the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections certified the vote count and the narrow margin in the District 31 race.

Senate says students must prove vaccinations before 0) enrolling in collegeThe state Senate approved a bill yesterday that would prevent college students from enrolling in classes on Maryland campuses until they show proof of having required vaccinations.The proposal, which passed 28 to 19, now goes to the House of Delegates. It is designed to keep people without vaccinations from spreading illness on college campuses. If enacted, it would affect tens of thousands of students starting next fall.

The state elections board has voted to ask State Prosecutor Stephen Montanarelli to investigate the conduct of Baltimore elections administrator Barbara Jackson.In a Thursday night vote in Annapolis, the board directed Mr. Montanarelli to see if Ms. Jackson broke the law by failing to purge thousands who weren't eligible to vote.The board's vote was based on Ms. Jackson's testimony during Republican gubernatorial candidate Ellen R. Sauerbrey's challenge of the November election, said board member Daniel J. Earnshaw.

The Court of Appeals yesterday ruled that the Baltimore Board of Elections acted properly when it refused to carry out an order by the state elections board to remove more than 32,000 names from the city's voter registration rolls.The court upheld a decision by Baltimore Circuit Judge Joseph H. H. Kaplan, who ruled that changes in state laws nullified the state elections board's March 29 order to purge voters who had failed to vote in the past five years.The lawyer for the Baltimore elections board said the ruling -- a one-sentence order issued a day after oral arguments -- clears the way for a smooth city election Sept.

It's no secret that Maryland's election system needs a thorough review and revamping. And yet Gov. Parris N. Glendening waited six months to name a task force to come up with a plan of action. What was a priority for the governor in January is now a distant memory.Still, you've got to give Mr. Glendening credit for putting together a top-notch panel, headed by George Beall, the former U.S. attorney from a prominent Republican family. The inclusion of Marie Garber, a former state elections board administrator who is a national expert on the subject, is also a decided plus.

In the wake of Ellen R. Sauerbrey's landmark election challenge, state legislative leaders said yesterday that they want to create a bipartisan task force to investigate election-law reforms.The presiding officers of the House and Senate said they are drafting an emergency bill that would set up a legislative-executive commission as early as this winter."In general we want to restore the faith and confidence of the people of Maryland in the election process," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., a Prince George's County Democrat.

For the five years he worked there, Paul L. Oliver was little more than a name to the staff of the state elections office.Everyone knew Mr. Oliver owned a Little Italy restaurant and other properties with the boss, state elections administrator Gene M. Raynor.But veteran employees couldn't say what he did to earn his $23,743-a-year state salary. He rarely appeared in the elections office in Annapolis, and some employees dubbed him "the invisible man."Earlier this fall, employees' whispers gave way to a criminal investigation into allegations that Mr. Oliver was a no-show employee, sources told The Sun.As a state trooper was asking questions, Mr. Oliver, 28, resigned in mid-September, one of the busiest periods for the election office.

Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey's effort to overturn the results of Maryland's Nov. 8 gubernatorial election could go to trial in just 11 days under a plan approved by the court yesterday.Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Raymond G. Thieme Jr. -- who has decided to preside over the unprecedented case -- said he has agreed to an expedited schedule worked out by lawyers on both sides.The schedule calls for a hearing on pretrial motions Jan. 6, just a week from tomorrow, unless Judge Thieme decides no hearing is necessary.

The Maryland Republican Party and state elections officials reached an agreement Tuesday that allows the financially beleaguered party to incrementally repay $75,000 to Michael S. Steele's campaign account so that it can still meet monthly expenses. The State Board of Elections had determined that Steele's account made an improper contribution to the Republican State Central Committee by covering legal fees it incurred during a redistricting fight several years ago. Steele, a former lieutenant governor and now the national GOP chairman, was the state committee's chairman back then.

Do you know where you are supposed to vote? The firehouse, the elementary school down the block, the neighborhood community center? This year, more than any other, where Marylanders vote is critical to having their vote count. That's because a recent Maryland Court of Appeals ruling has restricted the use of provisional ballots. In the past, a voter who showed up at the wrong polling place could fill out a provisional ballot and his or her votes for national or statewide were counted upon verification of registration.

Several state elected officials - including two statewide officeholders - violated an obscure provision of election law that required them to file campaign finance reports more frequently this year because they gave money to Baltimore City candidates. The review of state records by The Sun found that Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler and Comptroller Peter Franchot, along with a half-dozen members of the General Assembly, did not fulfil the filing requirement. But several of the officials vowed to do so after being contacted yesterday by the newspaper.

ABUJA, Nigeria -- Opposition candidates in Nigeria's presidential election, which is scheduled for Saturday, have threatened a boycott unless the polling is delayed to ensure what they have called "a level playing field for all." Their decision, announced Tuesday night, threw a chaotic election season into deeper confusion and raised the possibility that the long-planned vote might not take place Saturday. Nigeria's government rejected the demand, saying yesterday that the vote would proceed.

As the FBI continued its review of the possible theft of the computer code used in Maryland's voting machines two years ago, Diebold and elections officials assured voters that the electronic voting system set to be used in next month's election is safe and tamperproof. But critics of the state elections board and its touch-screen machines said the anonymous package left at a former legislator's office this week was another disturbing sign that Maryland's voting system could face a security threat.

LAST WEEK's ISSUE: -- Elections officials across Maryland faced a bevy of problems on primary election day. In Anne Arundel, at least 100 vacancies for election judges were unfilled, and many judges who participated lacked proper training to operate the electronic voting machines. Those two factors contributed to the temporary mishandling of memory cards holding 6,000 votes and sparked allegations of unrecorded votes. County and state elections officials have said many of the difficulties will be resolved for the general election Nov. 7. Do you have confidence in the ability of Anne Arundel elections officials to correctly run the machines Nov. 7?

ISSUE: Elections officials across Maryland faced a bevy of problems on Primary Day. In Anne Arundel, at least 100 vacancies for election judges were unfilled, and many judges who participated lacked the proper training to operate the electronic voting machines. Those two factors contributed to the temporary mishandling of memory cards holding 6,000 votes and sparked allegations of unrecorded votes. County and state elections officials have since expressed confidence in the electronic voting system and said many of the difficulties will be resolved for the general election Nov. 7. YOUR VIEW: Do you have confidence in these voting machines and the ability of Anne Arundel elections officials to correctly operate them Nov. 7?

State elections officials announced yesterday that Maryland's $18 million electronic voter check-in system will be used during the November general election, saying that the manufacturer has successfully addressed the flaws that snarled last month's primary. Deputy elections Administrator Ross Goldstein said that officials witnessed more than 1,000 mock voters "check in" yesterday on the retrofitted machines, known as e-poll books and that the units did not sporadically stop communicating with each other as they did during primary voting last month.

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.

Time was when a presidential visit was a big deal. A bit less so in Maryland than in other states because the White House is so close chief executives make the trip frequently. Still, local dignitaries could be expected to muster. Especially those from the president's own party. Not this year. When George W. Bush blew into Southern Maryland last week for a Labor Day event, the state's top Republican leaders and candidates were elsewhere. Snubs are rarely so evident, but Mr. Bush isn't flooded with requests from candidates in tight election contests anywhere to come help rally the troops.