By Mary-Eileen Russell
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Fair elections are the foundation of our republic. Without fair elections we have no true democratic process. It is the law of the State of Maryland that both political parties have equal representation by Election Judges for the primary and general elections in all precincts. It has come to the attention of the Talbot County Republican Central Committee that the law is not being upheld. Not only do Democrats make up the majority of election judges at several precincts, many Talbot County Republicans are complaining to the Central Committee that they were either turned down in their applications to the Board of Elections or else never called.
The people who have notified the Committee, saying they have been rejected, are American citizens and registered voters who have no reason to be disqualified from service on Election Day. An Easton woman and registered Republican wrote: “I applied to be an election judge in April 2024. I took the online training and passed. I am still waiting….” One non-Democrat woman in Royal Oak was informed in March that all positions were filled but that she could be a stand-by judge if she wanted. This is odd because some citizens we know who have applied and been accepted to be election judges have said that more judges were desperately needed.
According to Wikipedia, as of March 2024, there were 11,631 registered Republicans and 10,543 registered Democrats in Talbot County. But the statistics offered by the Talbot County Board of Elections as of April 2024 show that there are 54 Republican judges and 62 Democrats. This number should be equal. While the needs of various precincts no doubt differ one from another due to varying populations, it is still unacceptable for there to be more Democrat than Republican election judges when we know that many Republicans who have applied for the job. We hope that the balance of election judges is made more equitable in all precincts by November. We also encourage more Republicans to apply to the Board of Elections to be election judges so there is no excuse for lack of GOP representation.
