|
Early voting safe from fraud, Lamone says |
Ehrlich grills state elections chief on 'e-poll books' at meeting
By Kristen Wyatt
The Associated Press
Originally published May 17, 2006, 3:10 PM EDT
State elections administrator Linda H. Lamone, responding to concern
that Maryland's newly passed early voting law will allow unscrupulous
voters to cast multiple ballots, maintained today that such fraud won't
be possible.
Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. grilled Lamone on early voting
for about half an hour during a Board of Public Works meeting. Lamone
insisted throughout that the primary and general elections this fall
will be fair and safe from would-be cheaters.
"We will be ready" to safeguard the polling, Lamone said.
Many of Ehrlich's questions were about electronic polling books that
will be used this year. The "e-poll books" will record when a person
has voted. Lamone said they'll be networked to prevent a person from
voting in one precinct and then going to another precinct to try to
cast a second ballot, she said.
Ehrlich said he didn't know that the e-books would be in real time,
preventing voters from cheating by voting more than once before
elections administrators figure it out.
Ehrlich asked if the elections office was ready today to hold a secure
election. Lamone replied that elections administrators didn't have the
books yet, but they will before the September elections.
The governor appeared unmollified by Lamone's answers, and he repeated
his earlier vow to challenge early voting in court. Ehrlich vetoed
early voting and other ballot-access measures passed by the
predominantly Democratic legislature, but his vetoes were overridden.
"I think you're going to see court action in the fairly immediate
future," Ehrlich said. Republicans are also attempting a recall
petition that could delay early voting.
The Board of Public Works also heard from Gene Raynor, who is in charge
of elections in Baltimore. Ehrlich and Democratic Comptroller William
Donald Schaefer both raised questions about a bill giving Raynor a
short leash in overseeing elections there, and Raynor asked if he
should resign.
No, answered Schaefer and Ehrlich. Raynor, a Democrat who supports
Ehrlich, said he thought limits on his job were "political" because
he's friendly with the governor. But he said the elections in Baltimore
would be run fairly.
"I firmly believe that it'll come together," Raynor said.
After talking about early voting for nearly an hour, the board voted
unanimously to pay for software maintenance on the electronic voting
machines. That funding was held up two weeks ago amid Ehrlich's
questions about voting fraud, but it is not directly related to early
voting.
The board will decide later whether to pay for the electronic polling books.
|
