August 7th, 2020 by WCBC Radio
WBAL reports the Maryland State Board of Elections is set to hold an emergency meeting Friday afternoon on a proposal to use all 282 Maryland public high schools as polling places on Election Day in place of the usual 1,800 locations across the state.
The proposal aims to account for a shortage of election judges. Poll workers are frequently retirees and therefore at an age that puts them more at risk of complications from the coronavirus.
School buildings will largely be vacant for the first semester. No public school system in Maryland has announced a return to regular in-school learning.
In a letter to the board of elections, Gov. Larry Hogan argued the proposal is tantamount to disenfranchisement and would lead to long lines. Hogan earlier directed election officials to strive to have all polling places open and to send every eligible voter an application for an absentee ballot.
At a meeting earlier this week, the board's vice chairman, Patrick J. Hogan, asked fellow board members to go a step further. He called for mailing every registered voter a ballot, as was done in the primary and special elections earlier this year, and for expanded early voting.
Some 1,000 state employees have been reported to have volunteered to serve as election judges.
August 07, 2020 at 6:57 pm, mac said:
I’ll just be sitting at home waiting for my ballot to arrive in the mail, thank you very much.