With concern rising over voter fraud, Carroll County Republicans support a statewide petition to prevent early voting before this year?s November election.
“It?s outrageous. There is no funding for infrastructure for early voting, so basically we want to get it on the ballot,” said Betsy Combass, vice chairman of the Carroll County Republican Central Committee.
A new Maryland law allows for voting from the Tuesday through the Saturday before Election Day.
In Carroll County, only one location in Westminster will be open for early voting.
Smaller counties, like Carroll, must have the polling site in the county seat, according to the new law.
Registered Maryland residents can vote at other locations statewide with a provisional ballot, said Linda Lamone, administrator of Elections for Maryland. Such voters could only vote for statewide offices.
Opponents of the new system argue that residents voting for several days outside of their normal precincts could create fraud.
“I am not against early voting, per se. It takes place in most states. What we are opposed to is the legislature not taking any safeguards relative to the legitimacy of the voting,” said Tom Roskelly, chairman of the Fair Elections Committee, the citizens group that last week began circulating the petition to put early voting on November?s ballot.
Roskelly said he needs about 17,000 signatures by May 30, and about 52,000 by June 30, to get a referendum.
Supporters of the new law are more confident in the safeguards that will prevent fraud.
“Electronic poll books will be used across the state. These poll books will be locked into a statewide database, so if you live in Baltimore County, and choose to vote early in Carroll County, it should come up that you already voted in Carroll County,” said Patricia Matsko, election director for the Carroll County Board of Elections.
“The state has not fully developed procedures on how this will be carried out at this time.”
