Officials with the Rushern Baker campaign Friday questioned the integrity of Tuesday’s election and called for an independent investigation into how the Prince George’s County Board of Elections conducted the primaries.
“The most important thing that needs to be conveyed is the Board of Elections cannot investigate itself at his point,” said Alex Krughoff, Baker’s press secretary. “We just think the integrity of the entire process fell apart, and it fell apart on the one day it’s supposed to be perfect. Or, at least, acceptable.”
Baker conceded the race for Prince George’s County executive to incumbent Jack Johnson on Wednesday afternoon. According to Krughoff, Baker was not at Friday’s announcement because he was meeting with Donna Edwards, who is challenging the vote in her race against Albert Wynn in Maryland’s 4th Congressional district.
Edwards called the election “deeply flawed” Friday afternoon and was consulting with her lawyer about filing a restraining order regarding votes from two or three precincts in Chillum. Edwards questioned the security of those votes between Tuesday night and when they finally arrived, memory cards still in the machines, on Wednesday afternoon at the board’s Upper Marlboro headquarters.
“What concerns me is the integrity of the election,” Edwards said. “The intent of the voter should be honored.”
Krughoff and Chris Perry, a D.C. attorney for Baker’s campaign, said they had heard various reports from voters who tried to vote with their party only to be told there were registered as members of the opposite party.
Other complaints included voters who had to write down their choices on pieces of scrap paper, late openings at some polling places and a vote tabulating process that stretched well into Wednesday before the Board of Elections said it was finished.
However, the board’s tally on its Web site continued to be updated Thursday evening and the number of voting precincts in the county had jumped from 206 to 209. The fate of several thousand absentee ballots and provisional ballots also is not clear.
A call to the board Friday afternoon seeking comment was not returned.
Baker lost the executive’s race to Johnson by fewer than 5,000 votes. Both Krughoff and Perry maintained Friday’s announcement was not about politics but about protecting the county’s voters.
“We’re not contesting the results. That’s not where we stand,” Krughoff said.
Perry echoed that message.
“We’re doing this not for the campaign,” Perry said. “We believe we have a duty. We believe this is the responsible action to take.”
