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The Town of Oxford, Maryland is violating its own voter eligibility rules as they get ready to elect a new Town Commissioner on June 18th. The question is WHY?
Here are the rules for voting in an Oxford election:
Section C5-1. Eligibility to Vote.
Every person who is a citizen of the United States; is at least eighteen years of age; has resided in the
State of Maryland for at least thirty (30) days next preceding any Town election; has resided within the
corporate limits of the Town for thirty (30) days next preceding any Town election and is registered in
accordance with the provisions of this Charter, shall be a qualified voter of the Town. Every qualified voter of the Town shall be entitled to vote at any or all Town elections.
Section C5-6. Registration.
Any person who can qualify as a voter in the town of Oxford (see C5-1) may register in the town office
on any day that it is open for business. However all registrations for the next election must be made no later than four (4) weeks prior to the day of that election. Registration shall be permanent, and no person shall be entitled to vote in Town elections unless he is registered. It shall be the duty of the Board of Supervisors of Elections to keep the registration lists up to date by striking from the lists persons known to have died or to have moved out of the Town. The Commission is hereby authorized and directed, ordinance, to adopt and enforce any provisions necessary to establish and maintain a system of permanent registration, when necessary
Here are the rules and who to call about them from the Oxford website:
Also there:
First, the qualifications are very clear as they are stated above. There's no other eligibility like registered with the Talbot County Board of Elections, State, etc.
That being true, why is the town telling people that in order to check their registration for the OXFORD ELECTION, they must call the Talbot County Board of Elections? Doesn't the town have a list of qualified voters? Doesn't the website tell people to contact the Oxford town office?
Turns out that, when pressed, they DO have that list and they will check. They just don't WANT to. Also, if no county registration is required to vote in the town, why would the county have the only list of qualified voters in Oxford? Seems odd.
Another qualification for voting in Oxford is being a U.S. citizen. I'll share a weird side note to that later.
If you walk into the Oxford Town Office today to register to vote, they will ask you if you meet all the qualifications, including if you are a U.S. citizen. You will have to provide proof.
Here is the U.S. Department of State link to determine what that proof is:
Get Citizenship Evidence for a U.S. Passport (state.gov)
If you take that proof into the Town Office of Oxford, they will tell you that you have verify that info through...wait for it...THE COUNTY. Seems odd that the COUNTY would have to verify that info for a town election.
Oxford's rules for voting in the Charter seem fairly standard. As a resident of Oxford with my husband for almost fifty years, I fit the requirements. My husband should also, one would think. He voted in town elections almost as many times as I did. The only difference between him and me is that he has never voted in federal, state, or county elections and I have. However, according to the Oxford Charter, that shouldn't matter. There is no requirement that you must have registered and voted in county, state and federal elections.
But when he checked with the Oxford Town Office yesterday, his name wasn't on the list of voters. I can verify that he has not died or moved away. There was no explanation provided for why his name was purged. Doesn't it say that your name on that list is PERMANENT and not dependent on voting record? My son, who moved overseas three years ago, is still on the Oxford voting list.
So my husband went to the town office and re-registered using the COUNTY form, which is not a requirement. The deadline for eligibility is TODAY. He was not asked about citizenship. When he finished filling out the form, he was told, "Now you are registered to vote in the town, county, state and federal elections."
He's not the only one who has had issues. Others were turned away because of the citizenship verification even though they were citizens and had been their entire lives. They were told to go to the county to resolve that issue. Seems odd that some are asked and some are not.
This brings up many questions. First, is the town following their own charter regarding eligible voters? If so, who is purging the voter rolls in Oxford and how are they verifying that people need to be purged because they have died or moved out of town? Why are they asking the county to verify citizenship for some, but not all, registrants? (Remember, my husband didn't verify his citizenship) Finally, is this voter suppression?
There are some in town who want to control who gets to vote and who doesn't, regardless of the rules. These are the same people who refuse to allow citizens access to information about how town funds are spent, how decisions are made, etc.
If they have to suppress the vote to keep that power, they will.
A word to the wise if you live in Oxford and wish to vote in the June 18th election. CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION TODAY!
Call the town office at 410-226-5122. Don't be surprised if you don't get an answer.
*Don't blame the staff at the town office who are caught in the middle of this mess. They are just doing as they are told by administration.
This is not the first time problems have been discovered in Oxford:
Oxford Needs A Forensic Audit - Video By Scott Rensberger - Easton Gazette
Oxford, Maryland: Lack Of Transparency, Part 2- Video - Easton Gazette
