As many as 50,000 potential voters in Maryland could be barred from casting ballots in February?s primary election under a policy change denounced Monday by political leaders from both major parties.
Maryland?s Board of Elections recently ? and quietly ? ended a practice that allowed 17-year-olds to register and vote in a primary election if they turn 18 by the general election. State Republican and Democratic leaders on Monday sent letters to board administrator Linda Lamone requesting members reinstate the policy, and indicated they may consider legal action if the board refuses.
The political leaders argued the constitutional statute on voter registration permits 17-year-olds with birthdays prior to the general election to vote in the primary.
“It makes logical sense,” said John Flynn, Maryland GOP spokesman. “If you are 18 and you are going to vote on that general election ballot, you should be able to vote on who is going to be on that ballot.”
Democratic party spokesman Dave Paulson called the policy “unfettered” for four decades. Political leaders estimated as many as 50,000 Marylanders will turn 18 between the Feb. 12 primary election and the Nov. 4 general election.
But far fewer have actually applied to vote and were denied based on age, said Ross Goldstein, the state?s deputy elections administrator. Goldstein said 3,600 17-year-old applicants have been put on “pending status” until they turn 18. The policy switch was based on the interpretation of a 2006 Maryland Court of Appeals ruling, which struck down an early-voting statute, and an opinion of the state?s attorney general, Goldstein said.
In a memo to Lamone, assistant attorney general Mark Davis said the ruling imposes a deadline on Maryland?s residency qualifications for voting, but does not qualify age restrictions.
The board has scheduled a meeting Thursday afternoon, he said, to review the policy.
“We followed the advice of the attorney general, which is what we are required to do,” Goldstein said.
Sarah Boltuck, a student at Whitman High School in Bethesda who turns 18 in July, was among the denied applicants.
Her father, semi-retired economics consultant Richard Boltuck, said that after his daughter received a denial letter in October, he fruitlessly searched for information on the new policy in the board?s public meeting minutes and the attorney general?s Web site.
“She had been anticipating voting in the February primary based on the state?s very, very long-standing policy,” Richard Boltuck said. “I promised my daughter at that time to do everything I could to see that she will.”
DEADLINE COMING UP
The deadline for voter registration for the February primary is Jan. 22.
