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Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) doubled down on his decision to hold a more traditional November election during a televised interview on Monday 鈥� but his plan to open every polling center in the state is an increasingly daunting task for local election officials.
Hogan appeared on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭he View鈥� as part of an ongoing effort to promote his forthcoming autobiography, and blasted the Maryland State Board of Elections when asked about his decision to open all of Maryland鈥檚 polling centers for the November elections.
鈥淭ens of thousands of people showed up at polls that weren鈥檛 open,鈥� Hogan said. 鈥淭he handful of polls that were open were overcrowded, and it was suppressing people鈥檚 vote because they had to wait in line for four hours鈥�
In addition to every registered voter getting an absentee ballot application, Hogan鈥檚 plan calls for every polling center to be open for in-person and early voting. With less than 120 days until the election, however, many local boards are facing shortages of both poll workers and polling centers.
There were more than 8,000 vacant poll worker positions across the state as of Friday afternoon, David Garreis, the president of the Maryland Association of Election Officials, said. That鈥檚 about a third of the 25,000 workers it takes to run an election.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have polling places that are either understaffed or have no staff at all,鈥� Garreis, who also serves as the deputy director of elections for Anne Arundel County, said. 鈥淭he election starts with your election judges. If you don鈥檛 have the people there, you can鈥檛 run the polling place.鈥�
Fears over the pandemic have prompted poll workers, many of whom are elderly, to call it quits across the United States. Garreis said some local boards are looking to consolidate polling centers due to the shortage in election workers.
He added that 73 privately-owned polling centers across the state have pulled out of the election so far, leaving officials scrambling to find new venues for voters to cast their ballots.
鈥淧rivate locations can refuse to let you use their building, and a lot of them are,鈥� Garreis said. 鈥淸Local boards] are consolidating in schools and consolidating in libraries. That鈥檚 going to be the solution, because there really is nothing else we can do.鈥�
The struggle to find workers has already begun in Baltimore, Armstead B.C. Jones Sr., the city鈥檚 elections director, told members of Baltimore City Council鈥檚 Judiciary and Legislative Investigations Committee during a virtual meeting last week.
鈥淲e would have to find close to 3,000 election judges to staff those locations,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淎 lot of our judges are senior citizens, a lot of them won鈥檛 be able to come out.鈥�
The State Board of Elections has asked local boards across the state to find out which polling locations will be open in December, State Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone said during the City Council meeting, adding that 鈥渋t鈥檚 going to be a very difficult situation to manage.鈥�
Election officials, state lawmakers and advocates alike have demanded that Hogan reverse his decision to hold a more traditional election since it was announced earlier this month. Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) blasted Hogan鈥檚 decision and said it could lead to voter suppression.
鈥淏owing to Donald Trump鈥檚 reckless demands for in-person voting puts at risk the lives of Maryland citizens and risks disenfranchising many thousands of eligible voters,鈥� Frosh wrote. 鈥淕overnor Hogan should immediately reverse course and authorize a vote-by-mail election in the November presidential election.
In requiring voters to apply for a mail-in ballot, Hogan hoped to avoid some of the errors that occurred during the state鈥檚 largely vote-by-mail June 2 primary. Many voters, particularly those in Baltimore City, received late or incorrect ballots in the lead-up to that election. Voters who opted to go to limited in-person polling centers were met with hours-long lines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released guidance on conducting the November elections. The federal health agency says providing voters multiple options to cast their ballot, like drop-off boxes, early voting and mail-in ballots, is the best way to protect the electorate from COVID-19.
Any reversal would have to happen sooner rather than later, election officials said. Lamone warned that the 鈥減oint of no return鈥� was just weeks away as local boards of elections prepare for November.
Garreis said local boards will have to send out vote-by-mail ballot applications in August or September at the latest in order to get everyone their actual ballots before the election, and echoed Lamone鈥檚 warning that the point of no return is quickly approaching. He cautioned that local boards of elections will likely be processing ballots well after Election Day on Nov. 3.
鈥淚n some of your larger jurisdictions, they鈥檙e going to be counting ballots almost until the election electoral college convenes鈥� on Dec. 14, he said.
Marylanders don鈥檛 have to wait to receive a ballot application in the mail. Voters can also request a mail-in ballot online at the .
