Boosting the size of the Howard County Board of Elections is unnecessary, critics said, and the state delegation dropped the measure.
“There was no reason to change something that was working well,” said Board of Elections President Guy Harriman, who was among those opposing the bill.
The measure, proposed by Del.Frank Turner, D-District 13, was intended to bring the county board in line with the state by increasing the membership from three to five voting members.
The League of Women Voters of Howard County “was puzzled by the proposed legislation,” Co-President Grace Kubofcik recently testified before the delegation.
The league?s relationship with the board has been “positive” and “effective,” she said.
In the case of a vacancy, the governor would appoint a person of the same political party to the seat, according to the measure.
The problem with the board structure is that replacing a resigning member takes too long, Harriman said, but this bill doesn?t fix that.
Rather than increase the number of members as a remedy for vacancy delays, the state should expedite the appointment process, Harriman said.
He suggested the political central committees appoint a replacement, who would serve until the governor appointed someone from a list of candidates. This would ensure the vacancies are filled more quickly.
Most Maryland counties have three members plus two alternates, who can vote when a regular member is gone, Harriman said.
Prince George?s County recently passed a measure increasing the board to five members, and the Montgomery County state delegation agreed to push a similar measure, Turner said.
But Turner said he didn?t have any expectations for the bill.
“I was putting it out there this year for discussion,” he said, adding that is often the only way to open discussion. “We?ll see what happens in the future.”
