For the first time in a quarter-century, the Maryland Board of Elections on Thursday chose a new administrator to oversee state elections at a time of heightened scrutiny and technical challenges.
Maryland
Md. Board of Elections chooses new administrator after 25-year run
![Md. Board of Elections chooses new administrator after 25-year run Md. Board of Elections chooses new administrator after 25-year run](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/V5FQF6QXY4I6XC62QFGKK3QTRM.jpg&w=1440)
“This is a tremendous honor and opportunity,” DeMarinis said following the board vote.
He called voting a “sacred right” that generation after generation has fought for and added that he is committed to taking proactive action against the perils facing democracy in Maryland, particularly efforts to spread misinformation that undermines elections.
Board members emphasized DeMarinis’s longtime service as a staff member for the election board and highlighted his nonpartisan approach as two key factors in their decision. On Thursday, in a swift meeting that lasted less than 10 minutes, they unanimously voted to install DeMarinis after 18 years leading the division that oversees campaign finance issues in Maryland elections.
“We were particularly impressed in the interviewing process with how Jared has run his division, with a premium on customer service and a nonpartisan approach,” said board member T. Sky Woodward.
Election Board Chairman William G. Voelp said the board expects DeMarinis will work closely with the outgoing Lamone to ensure a smooth transition later this summer.
With Lamone set to retire in September, the Board of Elections raced to fill her seat so that the new appointee would have time to transition into the role. The board opened applications for a two-week window last month and quickly narrowed the pool down to three finalists. Board members chose to keep the applicants’ identities secret despite public pressure to bring more transparency to the process.
Lamone, 80, announced her retirement this year amid a push by state legislators to make it easier for the Board of Elections to remove and replace the elections administrator. State Sen. Cheryl C. Kagan (D-Montgomery) introduced the bill that would have made Lamone’s ouster possible had she not retired. That bill passed unanimously in the state House and with just two dissenting votes in the state Senate.
For legislators such as Kagan, a fresh face heading up the state’s elections has been a long time coming. Kagan had criticized Lamone for not communicating well with legislators or the public.
“There was, and is, strong consensus that it was time for new leadership,” Kagan said. “Especially as elections are under a microscope, we need an administrator who can communicate and collaborate with all of the stakeholders.”
Those stakeholders include the state legislators who frequently pass new election-related bills that the administrator must implement; county election officials who deal with many of the on-the-ground details of each Maryland election cycle; and the public, which relies on the election administrator and their staff to ensure that elections are open, fair and transparent.
Lamone was first installed as elections administrator by Gov. Parris Glendening (D) in 1997. She had been a trial attorney who represented Glendening’s campaign in an election challenge.
Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich attempted to remove her in 2004 and install a new elections administrator. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D) blocked Ehlrich’s efforts and passed legislation that made it extremely difficult to remove Lamone from that office for nearly 20 years.
Lamone declined to comment on her tenure as elections administrator, her retirement or the board’s vote to replace her.
The language protecting Lamone’s position was removed from state statute this year after Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed Kagan’s bill into law. Now, the State Board of Elections, which must include representatives from both major political parties, holds the power to hire and fire the elections administrator.
DeMarinis will oversee the 2024 election, which will be a major test of public trust in the democratic process after widespread and unproven conspiracies about the 2020 election results burdened state and county election officials across the country. Maryland emerged from that election cycle without any major scandals, but increased scrutiny of the process in 2020 and 2022 has highlighted hiccups and delays in counting votes caused by an increasing preference for mail-in ballots.
“The conspiracy theorists and the election deniers need to be reassured that elections in Maryland and accurate and transparent,” Kagan said.
She said she believes DeMarinis has the necessary experience and open-mindedness to make sure leaders of both political parties remain confident in Maryland’s election process and results.
The new administrator will also have the opportunity to play a key role in choosing new voting machines for the state, which are intended to be ready for use by 2026, Kagan added.
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Maryland
Pre-Snap Read: Michigan State vs Maryland
![Pre-Snap Read: Michigan State vs Maryland Pre-Snap Read: Michigan State vs Maryland](https://on3static.com/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/09/06191517/tunnel.jpg)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Michigan State has an excellent chance to make a strong statement this weekend that the rebuilding job under new head coach Jonathan Smith is ahead of schedule, if the Spartans can take down 8-point favorite Maryland on Saturday.
A Michigan State victory would be a strong statement within the football industry, but maybe not as strong from a fan perspective. I’m not sure Maryland’s football brand is as respected in the state of Michigan and regionally as it should be, for a program that has gone 8-5 in the past two seasons and defeated Auburn and North Carolina State in bowl games the past two years.
Maryland is good. The Terrapins are coming off a 50-7 victory over a weak UConn team last week. Maryland’s offense looked very good against a weak, soft, conservative UConn defense.
Michigan State’s defense was ahead of schedule last week against a mediocre Florida Atlantic offense. Michigan State’s offense was behind schedule, experiencing inconsistent accuracy and decision-making at the quarterback position, which was somewhat understandable considering it was sophomore Aidan Chiles’ first start as a college player. MSU’s running game also lacked consistency, especially in short yardage and in the red zone.
The big news from Maryland last week in my opinion was the excellent play of new starting quarterback Billy Edwards. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt-junior had waited behind the outgoing, record-breaking Taulia Tagovailoa for three years. Tagovailoa left Maryland as the Big Ten’s all-time passing leader. He went undrafted and is now playing in the CFL.
Edwards looked good last week. He’s strong in the pocket, is a physical ball carrier on designed runs or scrambles. He was accurate over the middle on intermediate routes, and seemed to do a good job processing coverages, although UConn’s coverages were simple, slow and soft.
I saw this Michigan State vs Maryland game as a swing game on the schedule prior to the season. But considering how well Edwards and his receivers looked last week, and Michigan State’s sputtering start on offense, this game goes from being a swing game to uphill slog for the Spartans.
Maryland
Student shot in Joppatowne, Maryland high school
![Student shot in Joppatowne, Maryland high school Student shot in Joppatowne, Maryland high school](https://media.nbcwashington.com/2024/09/image-50-1.png?resize=1200%2C675&quality=85&strip=all)
One teen shot another during a dispute in a Maryland high school bathroom Friday in what authorities called an isolated incident.
The victim, a 15-year-old student at Joppatowne High School, was in serious condition after being airlifted to a hospital, the Harford County Public Schools said in a news release, citing information it received from the county sheriff’s department.
A 16-year-old student whom police identified as the shooter fled shortly afterward but was caught minutes later nearby, according to the news release. Officials said no information would be released immediately about the weapon, which had not been recovered.
The state’s attorney has said the suspect will be charged, the release said, citing Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler.
Shortly after the shooting, the sheriff’s office asked people to avoid the area, but emphasized that the confrontation was an “isolated incident, not an active shooter.” A parent-student reunification center was established at a nearby church. More than 100 personnel responded to the high school about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Baltimore, Gahler said.
The fight happened two days after a shooter whom authorities identified as a 14-year-old student killed four people at a high school outside Atlanta. Wednesday’s attack renewed debate about safe storage laws for guns and had parents wondering how to talk to their children about school shootings and trauma.
Maryland
How to watch, listen and stream Michigan State football at Maryland on Saturday
![How to watch, listen and stream Michigan State football at Maryland on Saturday How to watch, listen and stream Michigan State football at Maryland on Saturday](https://spartanswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2024/08/USATSI_24116620.jpg?w=1024&h=576&crop=1)
Michigan State football heads out east looking to open Big Ten play with a big-time victory.
The Spartans will play at Maryland on Saturday afternoon in their first conference game of the year. Michigan State enters this matchup with a 1-0 record on the year following last week’s win over Florida Atlantic. Maryland is also 1-0 thus far on the season, picking up a blowout non-conference win over UConn last week.
Maryland enters this game as a more than touchdown favorite depending on the sports book. The Terps have won the last two meetings between these two schools.
Below are the details for Saturday’s matchup between the Spartans and Terps:
Game time: 3:30 p.m. ET on September 7
Location: SECU Stadium (College Park, Md.)
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)
Listen: Spartan Media Network or MSUSpartans.com
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.
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