Election ends in tight races are more likely to come days after Maryland’s July 19 main as a pandemic-era shift to mail-in voting runs up towards the state’s prohibition towards counting ballots early, officers warn.
Maryland
Maryland primary results may be delayed as mail-in votes are counted
![Maryland primary results may be delayed as mail-in votes are counted Maryland primary results may be delayed as mail-in votes are counted](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/BJJLWFX6CII6ZM45OEYJC2ABJM.jpg&w=1440)
“Be affected person,” suggested William G. Voelp, chairman of the Maryland State Board of Elections, for which members are appointed by the governor. “Each authorized vote will probably be counted, after which the State Board of Elections will certify primarily based on no more than and never lower than each authorized vote being counted.”
The recognition of voting by mail shot up in the course of the coronavirus pandemic as Maryland and different states sought to make voting safer. Maryland, nevertheless, is the one state that prohibits processing these ballots earlier than the polls shut, based on the Nationwide Convention of State Legislatures. The regulation, created in an period when mail-in, or absentee, voters had been a tiny portion of the voters, addressed considerations that mail-in outcomes may very well be leaked earlier than Election Day and sway the general final result.
In April, the Maryland Normal Meeting permitted a invoice to allow processing mail-in votes earlier than Election Day, giving election staff a head begin. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) supported the measure however vetoed the bigger invoice, saying it didn’t include election safety measures he favors.
The Might 27 veto shocked many election officers and caught them flat-footed. The State Board of Elections thought of asking a court docket to waive the principles, however as time ran quick, it determined towards it. By late final month, when the board made the choice, there was little time for election officers to behave forward of early voting, when processing mail-in votes is possible, Voelp mentioned. It’s troublesome for native election officers to concurrently course of mail-in ballots and handle early voting.
Voelp, who cautioned he couldn’t converse for the board, mentioned he “would hope that we might search reduction from the courts for the final [election in November] in a well timed sufficient style that the native boards may arrange for that and deal with that.”
Whereas the 2020 main and basic election noticed large volumes of mail-in voting, a now-expired emergency order by Hogan in the course of the well being disaster allowed for processing mail-in votes earlier than Election Day.
Whereas it’s troublesome to foretell what portion of voters will vote by mail within the main, there are indicators will probably be important. As of Sunday, native election workplaces had acquired simply over 115,000 mail-in ballots. Almost 500,000 folks had requested mail-in ballots. Of those, 35 p.c got here from voters who requested them particularly for the first or for each the first and basic elections, election officers say. The remainder had been from voters who requested in some unspecified time in the future to be “everlasting absentee voters.”
In Maryland’s 2018 main, which like this yr had no presidential race, 872,207 folks — 24 p.c of eligible voters — voted. Of these, 30,122 solid mail-in ballots.
Delayed ends in tight races have lengthy been the norm. In 2018, it took two weeks to declare the winner of Montgomery County’s Democratic main for county government, which got here all the way down to absentee and provisional ballots. Marc Elrich noticed his Election Day lead drop with every new spherical of ballots counted. In the long run, he received by simply 80 votes.
This yr, with a excessive quantity of mail-in ballots awaiting tabulation, candidates will want extra decisive margins amongst in-person voters to declare victory on Election Day.
“I don’t know actually what to anticipate, besides that I believe it’ll take some time, and I believe that individuals will probably be impatient as a result of they wish to know the outcomes,” mentioned David A. Naimon, a secretary of the Board of Elections in Montgomery County, which has the biggest variety of eligible voters of any jurisdiction. “We’re going to do it as effectively as we will, however clearly an important factor is that we do it precisely.”
Many officers and observers are involved concerning the chance {that a} candidate may make the most of delayed outcomes to assert fraud. Former president Donald Trump (R) did this within the 2020 election; in a number of states, he led in-person voting tallies, solely to have his lead later wiped away by mail-in ballots. Trump falsely claimed the mail-in votes had been invalid.
Although Trump’s claims of election fraud had been backed by no credible proof and comprehensively rejected by judges throughout the political spectrum, they proceed to undermine confidence, notably amongst Republicans, within the integrity of elections.
One of many candidates within the Republican main for governor, Del. Daniel L. Cox (Frederick), is endorsed by Trump and has perpetuated his election-fraud claims. Cox, following like-minded election-result deniers in states equivalent to Arizona and Pennsylvania, is asking for a “forensic audit” of the 2020 ends in Maryland, the place Joe Biden (D) received with 1,985,023 votes towards Trump’s 976,414.
Cox didn’t return an electronic mail or telephone message on Monday. A current Goucher School ballot, carried out in partnership with the Baltimore Banner and WYPR-88.1, discovered him in a statistical useless warmth towards his opponent, Kelly M. Schulz, amongst determined Republican voters.
“Any time you could have delays, it sows these of us who wish to come out and discuss conspiracy theories, and so they wish to inject some doubt in our system,” mentioned Kevin Kinnally, legislative director of the Maryland Affiliation of Counties. Such claims breed threats and intimidation of election staff, amongst different issues, he mentioned.
“Principally what we’re attempting to do is be sure that folks have the proper expectations right here,” Kinnally mentioned. “That they shouldn’t anticipate all the outcomes on election evening, that they might have to attend a while.”
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Maryland
University of Maryland reverses decision to allow anti-Israel protest on October 7
The University of Maryland on Sunday reversed its decision to allow an anti-Israel protest on the first anniversary of the October 7 Massacre, following backlash from local Jewish groups.
UMD Students for Justice in Palestine and UMD Jewish Voice for Peace had been set to hold their October 7 vigil for Gazans killed in the Israel-Hamas War at the campus’s Mckeldin Mall, but the University System of Maryland (USM) said in a statement that on the day of the Hamas-led pogrom it would limit campus events requiring permits or approval to those supporting “a university-sponsored Day of Dialogue.”
“From the beginning of the war, we have come together as a University System to urge that we use this moment to encourage conversation, compassion, and civility; to engage with one another across our differences and draw on our shared humanity and our shared values to bridge what divides us,” said USM. “These dialogues aren’t new. Many of our universities have been hosting this kind of programming for several months. Reserving Oct. 7 gives us a chance to continue these urgent conversations and to mark this solemn anniversary in a way that gives students—all students—the time and space to share and to be heard.”
USM said that its intent was not to infringe of the free expression and speech of students, but to be sensitive to the needs of students as October 7 was a “day of enormous suffering and grief for many in our campus communities.”
UMD Jewish Student Union, Maryland Hillel, Terps for Israel, and Israeli American Council Mishelanu at Maryland welcomed the USM decision and thanked UMD leadership in a joint social media statement on Sunday.
“October 7, the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, is a day of mourning for the Jewish and Israeli community,” said the UMD JSU. “We are relieved that SJP will no longer to be able to appropriate the suffering of our family and friends to fit their false and dangerous narrative.”
The Jewish groups said that it was distraught that the decision to only hold university-sponsored event had to be made at all, and wished to used the campus space to “grieve together as a community” to promote unity at the university. The unideal situation was necessary, according to the Jewish groups, to ensure the physical and psychological safety of students on the day of mourning.
UMD JVP and SJP attacked the decision to cancel the event, claiming that the vigil for Palestinians killed since the October 7 Massacre was attacked without familiarity of the content. The anti-Israel groups said that the discourse was “the continuation inherently racist, Islamophobic, and dehumanizing rhetoric surrounding Palestinians.” JVP and SJP said that the actions against their event were an attempt to paint “Muslim, Arab, and anti-Zionist Jewish students as barbaric.”
The anti-Israel groups asserted that their vigil for Palestinians who died in the war was no threat to the campus’s Jewish community, but conflation of Zionism and Judaism did threaten UMD and the Jewish community.
“To claim that Palestinians cannot hold a day of remembrance in mourning one year of genocide, or lay claim to that date is an insult to every life lost in the Zionist entity’s genocidal campaign,” UMD SJP and JVP said on Instagram on Sunday. “The disproportionate scale of suffering experienced by the Palestinians over the past year necessitates their remembrance and our solidarity on this day. The suffering of all innocents killed must not be monopolized and necessitates a fair and just representation.”
SJP and JVP demanded the right to organize and exercise their right to free speech, accusing Zionists of attempting to stifle Palestinian voices.
The organizations indicated on their Sunday Instagram post that they still planned to hold their all-day event at Mckeldin Mall, and on Monday a link to register still active and listing the campus building as the rally location.
UMD Jewish groups said that they would be holding their own event to memorialize the victims of the October 7 pogrom at the Maryland Hillel.
Maryland
Sunshine for your Labor Day in Maryland
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Maryland
Michigan State Has Several Things to Fix Before Heading to Maryland
![Michigan State Has Several Things to Fix Before Heading to Maryland Michigan State Has Several Things to Fix Before Heading to Maryland](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4622,h_2599,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/spartan_nation/01j6q3dyp4hhn9f949m6.jpg)
Michigan State’s football team emerged with a 16-10 win against Florida Atlantic, but it was far from a convincing victory. The Spartans struggled throughout the game, exhibiting a range of issues that need immediate attention if they hope to find more consistent success moving forward.
With less than a week to prepare for its next opponent, Michigan State has a critical opportunity to address these shortcomings and refine its game plan.
The win over FAU exposed several areas of concern for Michigan State, particularly on offense. The Spartans were plagued by poor execution and missed opportunities, with several drives stalling due to penalties and miscues. The offensive line, in particular, struggled to establish a rhythm, which led to limited success in both the running and passing games.
Quarterback play from Aidan Chiles was inconsistent, with errant throws and a lack of cohesion with the receiving corps contributing to the team’s inability to sustain drives and put the game away early.
Defensively, Michigan State managed to hold FAU to just 10 points, but there were still some worrying signs. Despite the Spartans having multiple interceptions and a safety, they gave up several big plays, revealing potential vulnerabilities in the secondary and raising concerns about the unit’s ability to maintain discipline and focus throughout the game. Missed tackles and lapses in coverage could prove costly against more formidable opponents, making it imperative for the coaching staff to address these issues in the coming week.
Special teams were another area where Michigan State faltered. On multiple occasions, the Spartans gave up more punt return yards than they should have because of missed tackles.
With less than a week before its next game, Michigan State has a valuable window to regroup and make the necessary adjustments. The coaching staff will need to focus on tightening up execution across all phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams. This includes refining the game plan, improving communication and instilling a greater sense of urgency and discipline among the players.
The Spartans cannot afford to let the issues that plagued them against FAU carry over into their matchup against Maryland. If they hope to be competitive as the season progresses, the team must use this time to correct course and demonstrate growth in all facets of its game.
Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
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