Dismissing attacks as “partisan politics,” Gov. Larry Hogan on Wednesday defended his decision to conduct an “all of the above” election in November, with absentee ballots, early voting and regular polling places open on Election Day.
Under the plan Hogan unveiled on July 8, all Marylanders will receive an application for an absentee ballot rather than a ballot itself.
The decision drew criticism from Democrats in the Maryland General Assembly, Attorney General Brian Frosh and the watchdog group Common Cause Maryland, all of whom argued it would be dangerous to have voters go to the polls in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a July 6 letter to Hogan and other state officials, a group representing local election boards across the state said there would be “devastating consequences” from sending out absentee ballot applications rather than ballots.
Officials pointed to the June primary election Georgia, where election boards were overwhelmed with last-minute applications flooding in.
Speaking today, Hogan said mailing the applications and offering other options “allow this election to be an ‘all of the above’ election with the most choices possible.”
In compliance with state law, Maryland will have eight days of early voting and polling places across the state will be open for Election Day on Nov. 3, Hogan said.
“I will be strongly encouraging Marylanders to vote by mail,” Hogan said. “And I’m calling on the leaders of both parties to stop all the political nonsense and to join me in encouraging people to make sure that we get everybody the chance to vote on Election Day whichever way they choose.”
Quoting Comptroller Peter Franchot from this morning’s Board of Public Works meeting, Hogan said the June 2 primary election, where everyone was supposed to vote by mail, was an “unmitigated disaster,” with tens of thousands of people not receiving ballots or getting ballots late, or receiving ballots for the wrong district or in the wrong language.
“We cannot have a repeat of the primary, where people were unable to cast their vote,” he said, adding that confusion and mistakes amounted to acts of voter suppression.
He also pointed to June 22 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that call for “a wide variety of voting options,” more days for voting and choices that reduce the likelihood of large crowds congregating inside a voting site.
Hogan also cited a recent tweet from former President Barack Obama, who said, “Everybody should be able to request an absentee ballot, and make their voice heard in every election.”
Earlier today, protesters in cars drove around Church Circle in Annapolis to call for a vote-by-mail election, arguing that a normal election is an act of voter suppression.
According to Maryland Matters, Del. Shaneka Henson (D-Anne Arundel County) appeared at the rally organized by the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and said making voters apply for a ballot “stepped on people’s voting rights.”
“We have to push back when we have a governor who makes decisions that are hostile,” Henson said. “What we are seeing now is the real Governor Hogan.”
David Garreis, deputy director of elections for Anne Arundel County, previously told the website there are 8,000 vacant positions for poll workers across the state.
“We’re going to have polling places that are either understaffed or have no staff at all,” said Garreis, who is also president of the Maryland Association of Election Officials.
Shortly after Hogan’s decision earlier this month, Senate President Bill Ferugson (D-Baltimore City) and Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones (D-Baltimore County) issued a joint statement expressing concern about local election boards having the resources to process all the applications for absentee ballots.
Earlier this week, Jones created a video showing Marylanders how to request an absentee ballot through the Maryland State Board of Elections’ website, before they even receive an application for one in the mail.
SBE’s website doesn’t make it easy to request your mail-in ballot online. I made this video to show you step-by-step how to make your request. Take time to request your ballot.
I urge SBE to streamline this process so voters won’t need a tutorial video to exercise their right. pic.twitter.com/xzvkI3qZRY
— Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (@SpeakerAJones) July 20, 2020
Ferguson, however, pushed back on a claim the governor made during a television appearance on “The View” that Democrats wanted only a vote-by-mail election. In a July 20 tweet, he shared a letter from senators to election officials calling for a “hybrid mail-in preferred election.”
That option would be similar to the June 2 primary where everyone received a ballot, but with more drop-off boxes, early voting centers and in-person voting sites.
“New decision must be made in days, not weeks,” Ferguson tweeted. “Make the right call now, @GovLarryHogan while there’s still time.”
