Maryland decertifies Baltimore election results, investigates irregularities

[TimothyC]

Maryland state elections officials have ordered that the results of Baltimore’s recent primary election be decertified after watchdogs and candidates complained that the process was flawed.

State Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone said the number of ballots cast in the April 26 contest was hundreds more than the number of voters who checked in at polling places. The state also identified 80 provisional ballots that hadn’t been considered.

“It’s important every ballot is counted,” Lamone said.

It doesn’t appear likely that the investigation will change the results of Baltimore’s Democratic mayoral primary, where Senate Majority Leader Catherine Pugh finished more than 2,000 votes ahead of Sheila Dixon, a former mayor of the city.

Statewide election results in the U.S. Senate and presidential primary cannot be certified until the problems in Baltimore are resolved.

Discrepancies between the number of ballots and voters aren’t unusual and were also spotted in five other counties this cycle, Lamone said. But she said the size of the discrepancy, and Baltimore’s inability to resolve it, prompted an unusual state intervention.

It is possible that election judges prematurely scanned provisional ballots, which are available to people who show up at precincts but whose names do not appear on registered voting lists, she said.

Next week, officials will conduct a precinct-by-precinct review of documents to find out if that was the case, but they will not recount votes. Nikki Charlson, Lamone’s deputy, says that provisional ballots that should not have been counted cannot be removed from vote totals, meaning illegal votes could stand.

Under Maryland’s new paper-based voting system, provisional ballots can be sent through the same scanner as other ballots. Because people casting those ballots are not found on voter rolls, they would not be counted as having checked in at a polling place.

Armstead B.C. Jones, director of the Baltimore City Board of Elections, accused the state of bungling the rollout of new machines and failing to adequately prepare local officials running the elections. He said confusion over provisional ballots was fueled by constant changes in procedures mandated by the state, including after election judges were trained.

“The State Board of Elections basically gives the directions to the local boards and leaves them out to dry,” Jones said. “They want to put me under the bus to try to blame me.”

Election watchdogs had cited numerous problems with voting in the city on April 26, including some polling stations opening late, campaign staffers working as election judges, and shortages of ballots and ballpoint pens at some centers.

They had called on Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to investigate and welcomed the intervention of the State Board of Elections — which operates independently of the governor’s office.

“There was no integrity in the whole election process,” said J. Wyndal Gordon, a Baltimore lawyer who says he is not affiliated with any candidate. “I’m glad the state government is investigating these matters a little closer so we can have a real election where we can have a true victor and not have the specter linger that the presumed winner wasn’t the actual winner.”

Pugh’s office declined to comment on the latest complication with election results. On Wednesday, Dixon said she would not pursue a recount but would continue to seeking answers about problems with the election.

“Additional review is a good thing to ensuring the integrity of the election process,” said Martha McKenna, a spokeswoman for Dixon.

Somebody screwed up.

[Simon_Jester]

Probably, multiple people screwed up in a distributed array of up-screwing, without any coordinated screwing-up going on.

Bureaucracy is like that. Meticulous, precise, reliable systems take work and maintenance. Shambolic unreliable messes of shuddering garbage practically run themselves.

[MKSheppard]

Or it's fucking Baltimore, which has been a boil on Maryland's ass for the last 40 years.

[Vain]

Or it's fucking Baltimore, which has been a boil on Maryland's ass for the last 40 years.

So... What are you tryin' to say?

[Gaidin]

Or it's fucking Baltimore, which has been a boil on Maryland's ass for the last 40 years.

So... What are you tryin' to say?

That it's fucking Baltimore and Simon is right. Bureaucracies take work and maintenance. Neither of which Baltimore is really known for. Someone or someones screwed up by the nature of the mess the system is in.

[Simon_Jester]

Basically, Baltimore is (by Maryland standards) a poster child for urban decay. The city used to be a significant seaport and minor industrial center, but it is much less of either of those things now. Unlike Washington D.C., it doesn't have massive government agencies operating nearby that preserve the vitality of the local economy. Most other cities in Maryland, meanwhile, are either suburbs of Washington (and therefore profit economically from it), or are relatively small and so less vulnerable to the typical urban malaise.

So you get the same pattern as in many other cases. African-Americans moved to the city back when there were jobs there and it was less oppressive than areas further south (though still not good, Maryland had problems with segregation). Now their descendants are trapped as the city spirals into poverty. The city's tax base has shriveled, political corruption is an ongoing problem, the schools are struggling to stay afloat... the usual. It's not as much of a mess as, oh, Detroit, but it's still a mess.

[MKSheppard]

Basically, Baltimore is (by Maryland standards) a poster child for urban decay. The city used to be a significant seaport

It still is. Port of Baltimore actually reinvested in containerization decades ago and so weathered the containerization storm. Now it's a cruise ship departure point.

Problem is the rest of Baltimore is a shithole and should be improved with a thermonuclear detonation, like in the documentary SUM OF ALL FEARS.

[Sea Skimmer]

Problem is containerization employs less then 10% of the people traditional (all of history until the 1950s) break bulk did, and while Baltimore is a major import terminal little is now being exported from it. Also an often ignored but very real factor with the transition to containerization everywhere in the west is, with break bulk theft was rampant. Like as much as 20% of cargoes going missing rampant in the worst of it. However it happened that flow of goods tended to enrich port cities. It still does to a point, several thousands of shipping containers go 'missing' in the US every year but the companies refuse to publish any real details because of insurance and reputation considerations. But this theft is now pretty much completely in the hands of smaller and tightly organized mafia groups since its so much more involved.

I mention the west only because in the developing world containers and even whole ships are still stolen so rampantly its like nothing has changed.

[MKSheppard]

Oh yes, and large parts of Baltimore resemble a demilitarized zone.



See those red Xes?

Those mean "Fuck it, let it burn" for firefighters.

Link to Article describing the marker

Indicates that structural or interior hazards exist to a degree that consideration should be given to limit fire fighting to exterior operations only, with entry only after a risk-versus-reward assessment has been completed.

Saw row after row of houses with those "X"es when I was in Baltimore last year for a funeral.

[Simon_Jester]

I will note that the population of Baltimore has been actively shrinking for several decades. There is good reason for there to be abandoned buildings in the city. And there's not much point for firefighters to save abandoned buildings, especially ones that probably haven't been maintained in a long time.

The problem, of course, is that neighborhoods where everyone with the skills, money, and prospects to seek life and work elsewhere... tend to be extremely horrible places overall. The abandoned areas breed crime.

[Purple]

Wouldn't one good reason be to stop them from igniting stuff nearby and thus producing a firestorm that engulfs everything?

[Esquire]

That's what's meant by 'exterior operations only'.

[Elheru Aran]

That's what's meant by 'exterior operations only'.

Yeah, basically, just pull up the fire trucks, hose down any adjacent buildings, prevent the fire from spreading and hose *that* down, but if it burns down the rest of the building... meh. As long as nobody is in there, the firefighters don't really have a responsibility to save the building, only to keep it from getting worse.

[madd0ct0r]

I'd hope the asbestos has been removed...

[Simon_Jester]

Not likely.