To make a long opinion short: Early voting was simply unconstitutional.
Nearly four months after shooting down a Maryland law allowing voters to cast ballots early, the Maryland Court of Appeals released its 45-page opinion on the issue Monday.
“We find these acts to be unconstitutional, and thus void,” wrote Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert Bell.
At issue were two laws that provided for early voting during a five-day period beginning the Tuesday before a primary or general election through the Saturday before the election, at early voting sites throughout the state. Passed by both the state Senate and the House of Delegates, the bills were vetoed by Gov. Robert Ehrlich. The veto was overridden by both houses.
But on Aug. 25, the Maryland Court of Appeals upheld a ruling of a Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge that early voting violates the Constitution of Maryland, though the judges did not release the reasoning behind their opinion until Monday.
In the high court?s ruling, Bell focused on a portion of the Maryland Constitution that states voting is to occur on “the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November, in the year in which they shall occur.”
“There is no constitutional provision that states that voting shall begin on one date and end on another; it merely provides that the election shall be held on a specific day,” Bell wrote.
