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Citing Voter Fraud, Ehrlich Skeptical of Election Laws |
By Matthew Mosk and Fredrick Kunkle
Thursday, May 18, 2006; Page B02
From the Washington Post
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that his escalating
concerns about voter fraud now have him preparing for a court fight
over the election law changes that Democrats passed this year.After grilling the state's election administrator at a public meeting,
Ehrlich (R) said he has broad concerns about the upcoming elections and
predicted that "this will all end up in one or more courts."
Ehrlich has mustered a petition drive targeting a law that would enable
voters to cast ballots during the week leading up to Election Day.
Yesterday, he laid out concerns that were far more extensive.
He questioned the reliability of voting machines and "e-polling
machines" that are supposed to alert election officials instantly when
someone is trying to vote a second time. He questioned a law aimed at
curtailing the powers of Baltimore's election administrator, Gene
Raynor , who is a political ally of Ehrlich's.
It was the second time in a month Ehrlich used a meeting of the Board
of Public Works, a three-member panel that must approve contracts for
the purchase of voting equipment, to attack the current system. This
time, Linda Lamone , the state's top elections official, stepped up to
defend that system.
"During the last election, with 2 million people voting, only one person tried to vote twice," Lamone told Ehrlich.
Democrats said Ehrlich's concerns are not about secure elections but
his political fate. They accused him of fighting early voting
provisions to suppress Election Day turnout, because a high turnout in
Maryland tends to benefit Democrats. |
