Poll workers are in high demand in Maryland – especially Republicans

From Caley Fox Shannon and Morgan Leason

As local election boards work around the clock to recruit and train workers before early voting begins this week, some Maryland counties are under pressure to hire more Republican election judges.

Election officials across the state told Capital News Service they are still working on the challenge of hiring an equal number of Republican and Democratic election judges to conduct the vote and then count the ballots.

“Parity is something we always strive for,” said David Garreis, Anne Arundel County elections director. “But you will often find that the participation rates between the parties are very different.”

Under Maryland law, local election boards must make every effort to staff polling places with an equal number of judges who are registered Democrats and Republicans – although election judges who are not affiliated with either party can be used if the officials can do so make up the difference I don't get an exact partisan match.

Striving for that balance is what Garreis and other local election officials are currently working on.

But officials in some counties aren't disclosing their recruiting numbers or providing updates to the public — even amid concerns from local Republicans who say they'd like to volunteer but can't seem to get their foot in the door.

“I think they're not being fair to me and not being transparent about the situation,” said Shawn Poulson, a Kent County Republican and former local party official who says his bid for judge was rejected by his local board.

CNS spoke with nonpartisan election officials, party leaders and aspiring Republican judges in several counties to understand this issue.

Anne Arundel County

Garreis said his team works tirelessly to recruit judges through events at churches and schools, as well as through direct mail and social media. These efforts include a partnership with both the Democratic and Republican Central Committees in Anne Arundel County.

“The first question we ask our election judges is usually, ‘Do you have a pulse?’” Garreis said.

“Because it’s usually very difficult to find election judges. The only reason we would really turn someone away is if they are in a precinct and we have already filled all the spots in the precinct.”

Garreis said he has hired more than 2,100 judges so far and needs to hire about 400 more. Of these judges, more than half are Democrats, just over a quarter are Republicans and the rest are unaffiliated.

Registered voters must attend a three-hour training session in person before they can serve as election judges.

Calvert County

Kristen Scott, deputy elections director in Calvert County, said she has hired 368 election judges: 181 Democrats, 140 Republicans and 47 unaffiliated. She said the uneven split between the parties should not worry voters.

“The one thing we really want to emphasize to our election judges is that this is a nonpartisan position,” Scott said. “When you're at this polling station, there are no political conversations. It’s very nonpartisan and you’re there to serve the voter no matter what party they are.”

Scott, like Garreis, said she doesn't dismiss judges outright but puts them on a standby list. In the event that someone is unable to serve, she can replace those individuals with on-call Republicans. She said she prioritizes equity at the district level.

Scott said voters can also be poll watchers. Observers, sometimes called “challengers,” register with their party and are allowed to be on site at voting precincts to observe election judges. Observers are unpaid and do not interact with voters or make decisions regarding voting, but may report misconduct or other concerns.

Talbot County

In an Oct. 1 letter to the local election board, Talbot County Sheriff Joseph Gamble said he had received 25 complaints from citizens about the unequal distribution of election judges between parties.

Among those complaints, Gamble said, were several Republicans who wanted to take office but were instead put on standby and told there were no vacancies at that time. Elections are not within Gamble's purview as sheriff, but he said he would comment on them based on the number of complaints he has received.

Jared DeMarinis, the state elections director, quickly tried to reassure the public in a press release following Gamble's letter.

“An election judge’s party affiliation does not affect or determine the outcome of the election,” he wrote. “Voters decide the outcome of elections.”

DeMarinis could not be reached for comment for this story. But the chairman of the local authority said the numbers were fairly balanced.

Talbot County elections director Tammy Stafford said last week that she had hired 124 election judges, including 61 Democrats, 53 Republicans and 10 independent judges. She emphasized that these numbers are subject to change.

Stafford said 106 of the election judges in her district are returning after working in the primary. She said her office is still accepting applications from interested voters, but currently the 10 polling locations across Talbot County are full.

Kent County

Poulson, 47, of Worton, said he ran to be a Republican election judge in Kent County and was placed on an on-call list instead of being assigned to a polling place.

Poulson previously served as an election judge and chaired the Kent County Republican Central Committee. After resigning from the committee in the spring, Poulson said he immediately applied to be an election judge. He said he wanted to be chief judge — one of two judges who run a polling place and supervise other judges.

Instead, Poulson was disappointed when he received a letter last month saying he had been appointed as a replacement judge. Poulson said he was unaware of an update from Kent County Elections Director Cheemoandia Blake.

Blake declined to speak to CNS or provide an update on the number of election judges the party has hired in Kent County.

Cecil County

Cecil County elections director Gary Holmes said he has fully staffed his precincts, hiring about 150 Republicans, 140 Democrats and 46 independent or outside judges.

Although President Joe Biden won Maryland in the 2020 general election, voters in Cecil County overwhelmingly went for Donald Trump.

Holmes said that when he attends training sessions, he tells future election judges: “You are not here to be political. You are not here to express an opinion.”

Holmes said his team is proactively combating misinformation about the election by distributing appropriate links through social media and directing citizens to the state's election rumor tracking page.

Holmes said the state's strict system of checks and balances ensures the security of the vote.

“We don’t care who you vote for, as long as you have the opportunity to vote, and we can assure you that we are very careful about how those records are kept,” he said.

Montgomery County

Gilberto Zelaya, public relations officer for the Montgomery County Board of Elections, said he couldn't say how parity is shaping up between Democrats and Republicans because his team is still in the middle of recruiting.

To hire between 3,500 and 4,000 election judges, Zelaya said his team conducts an average of 500 events per year. Zelaya said he works closely with both parties and has held at least four meet-and-greet events at the local GOP office in Rockville this year.

Stacey Sauter, vice chair of the Montgomery County GOP, also plays a role in voter education and recruiting election judges.

“This is an overwhelming task for the election committee,” said Sauter. “And what I've seen so far is that what they're doing is very fair and balanced, but they're the machine. You can't control what happens to people when they go to the polls.”

Sauter ran for office as a Republican and previously served as an election judge. She said she has seen some things that she thinks require better training. She said she once saw a woman checking in to vote who couldn't speak the language or fill out the ballot.

“The question was: Is this someone who is eligible to vote?” Sauter said. “These are things where you can have some kind of debate or discussion in the chamber, and you want to make sure that there's a Republican and a Democrat there to be able to settle the matter in an official way.”

Some election observers consider this a worrying trend. Kate Sullivan is a member of the advocacy group Maryland Election Integrity. The group is a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the State Board of Elections over its alleged failure to maintain voter rolls and use secure voting systems.

“We have great concerns about (local election boards) following the letter of the law,” Sullivan said. “The parity requirement is intended to ensure that no party feels disenfranchised during an election.”

Sullivan's lawsuit against the state was dismissed on motion by a U.S. District Court judge in May, but she said an appeal hearing was scheduled for December.