NEWS
By Ivan Penn | February 23, 1999
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.
NEWS
By Ivan Penn | August 26, 1999
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.
NEWS
By Tanya Jones | November 20, 1998
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.
NEWS
January 26, 1996
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.
NEWS
By From Staff Reports | March 4, 1995
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.
NEWS
By Dennis O'Brien | June 17, 1995
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.
NEWS
July 28, 1995
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.
NEWS
By Marina Sarris | January 20, 1995
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.
NEWS
By Thomas W. Waldron | December 3, 1994
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.
NEWS
By John W. Frece and Dennis O'Brien | December 29, 1994
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.