Baltimore County?s top elections official said fears when the county moved her operations four years ago have been realized: The new headquarters are already cramped and inaccessible, she said.
County Board of Elections Director Jacqueline McDaniel told lawmakers last week that she sent letters “from the governor on down” when county administrators moved election board headquarters from Towson to Catonsville in 2003. Acknowledging that offices in Towson were overgrown, she said the bottom line motivated county officials to choose a less-than-ideal building off Bloomsbury Avenue against her warnings.
As an example, McDaniel said, staff recently had to call in an engineer to distribute voting machines throughout the building, worrying their weight would be too much for aging floorboards.
“In my heart of hearts, I think an election offices that serves all types of people belongs closer to the county seat,” McDaniel said. “And when things calm down, I?ll be writing a letter to the county executive to please take into consideration that, as the county grows, we grow.”
At least one lawmaker seemed to agree. Citing complaints from elderly voters who like to submit absentee ballots in person, Delegate Pat McDonough, R-District 7, suggested the county build a satellite office near Towson.
But county officials said no location along the Beltway could be considered central. The county invested nearly $6 million in renovating the county-owned building, which the elections board shares with the recreation and parks department.
The county has not received complaints on the location, spokesman Don Mohler said.
“It has more than adequate space and was truly the fiscally responsible thing to do,” he said.
Legislators have also tried to boost incentives for poll workers after McDaniel had to scramble to find 200 Democratic judges just one month before the November election. It was the first time the county was in need of new judges, she said.
A bill sponsored by Delegation Chair Eric Bromwell, D-District 8, significantly increases compensation and could establish a position of assistant election chief judge or divide the workday into shifts. A hearing is scheduled Wednesday.
