Poll problems reported in Maryland

MMontgomery County election officials are seeking to keep polls open an extra hour, until 9 p.m., after they forgot to deliver electronic voting cards to election judges and were forced to turn away voters this morning.

County Board of Elections officials did not discover that the electronic voting machines at the county’s 238 precincts lacked supply cards, which are needed to record votes, until 6 a.m., an hour before the polls were scheduled to open.

Elections board spokeswoman Marjorie Roher said all polling places had the supply cards by 10:30 a.m. and that the board has voted to petition the Montgomery County Circuit Court to keep polls open. Officials are encouraging voters who were turned away to return later today, she said.

“The majority of people were able to vote using provisional ballots,” Miss Roher said. “The important message is that if people weren’t able to vote this morning, they should return to the polls.”

The breakdown was caused by staff at the elections board who failed to include computer voting cards in supply packets that had been mailed out to election judges.

“The packets are assembled by permanent Board of Elections staff with assistance from temporary employees. We regret the error,” Miss Roher said.

Voters, election observers and candidates were outraged by the mistake, which happened despite a pledge by county election officials to post election results by 9 p.m.

“People were walking away because they couldn’t stand in line,” said Frances Sparacino, 73, of Silver Spring, who voted at Pinecrest Elementary School. “This smacks of hanging chads.”

Bette Petrides, a candidate for an at-large seat on the Montgomery County Council, said she had received reports of voters being turned away at several polling places in Bethesda.

“I can only say there were some unhappy people this morning,” Miss Petrides said. “I would certainly have hoped that in a county as large as Montgomery we’d be better prepared.”

It’s not clear whether the errors could prompt any legal challenges to the election results.

“We’re absolutely monitoring the situation,” said Audra Miller, spokeswoman for the Maryland Republican Party. “We really have to assess what the problems are and how broad they are.”

Arthur Harris, spokesman for the Maryland Democratic Party, said other election problems were being reported in Baltimore because election judges were showing up late.

He said those problems weren’t as widespread as the problems in Montgomery.

“Obviously, the process in Montgomery isn’t going smoothly,” Mr. Harris said.

Alex Zeese, spokesman for Takoma Park-based True Vote Maryland, which has campaigned against the state’s electronic voting systems, called the polling problems “a big meltdown.”

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings said the Democratic Party was recruiting a “Voter Protection Team” of lawyers and law students to monitor the polls in today’s primary and the Nov. 7 general election.

“It is vital that we join together to ensure that no one interferes with any Marylander’s right to cast his or her ballot,” said Mr. Cummings, Baltimore Democrat and chairman of the party’s voter protection committee.

He also directed voters who encounter intimidation, interference or other problems at the polls to call a Democratic Party hotline.

“Now, more than ever, because of new voting machines and recent changes in Maryland’s election law, it is essential that we work to uphold our strongly held Democratic belief that elections in our state must be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner,” he said.

Voters can call the Voter Empowerment Hotline at 1-888-678-VOTE to report problems or get information about new voting laws.

The Democrat-controlled General Assembly this year overturned vetoes by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, to pass a series of new voting laws, including expanded use of absentee and provisional ballots.

The governor said the new laws tempted voter fraud.

The Legislature also struck down a bill supported by the governor that would have required a paper record of votes cast on new touch-screen voting machines being used statewide for the first time this year.

Last month, the Court of Appeals voided the early-voting law the Legislature passed over Mr. Ehrlich’s veto to allow in-person voting at certain polling places during the week before Election Day.

The court ruled the law violated the state constitution, which authorized voting on a single day and prohibits voters from voting outside their home precinct.