Henson and Schurick, two strategists for former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of using automated phone messages to suppress votes in overwhelmingly black Maryland jurisdictions on Election Day. A judge in Baltimore set a Sept. 22 trial date for the pair. Ehrlich’s campaign initially denied placing the calls to more than 110,000 Democratic voters in Prince George’s County and Baltimore before Henson said he was responsible — and that the former governor had no knowledge of the calls. Schurick was Ehrlich’s de-facto campaign manager.
