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June 24, 2025

Chestertown Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown

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Md. Department of Education Encourages In-Person Learning as COVID Rates Climb; One School System Has Gone Virtual

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In response to coronavirus case surges and fears of the omicron variant across the state, one Maryland public school veered back to virtual learning while the state is urging schools to stay open for in-person instruction.

In a statement, the Maryland State Department of Education wrote that the agency will support local school systems to keep “each and every public school open.”

The state department will support a transition to virtual learning “only on a case-by-case basis under the most exigent of circumstances and in close consultation with State and local health departments,” the statement read. Local school systems that do transition to virtual learning “will need to immediately and aggressively work to bring students back to in-person normal attendance and learning,” the statement continued.

The announcement came Monday after Prince George’s County Public Schools quickly moved students to virtual learning this week, citing COVID-19 related concerns. Students will return to in-person classes on Jan. 18, around two weeks after winter break ends, according to a statement by Monica Goldson, the chief executive officer of Prince George’s County Public Schools. And students who have been enrolled in a virtual program throughout the fall will remain remote until Jan. 31.

“The increased positivity rates have significantly challenged the ability to [maintain in-person classes], causing anxiety among many school communities and disruption to the school day,” Goldson wrote in a letter to parents, students and staff.

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, before he tested positive for COVID-19 the following morning, Hogan called the shift “a terrible mistake, and something we’re very opposed to.”

“[O]ur duly elected school boards in these counties have the powers to make those decisions,” he said. “Unfortunately, I don’t have that power as governor. But we’re going to make it very clear that we think it’s a mistake.”

Hogan said the county should have “ramp[ed] up testing” rather than “shutting down an entire school system of kids that have already struggled with distance-learning for nearly a year.”

When the state’s COVID-19 dashboard was partially restored Monday after more than two weeks of outages related to a cyberattack, county-specific COVID transmission data was not available; Prince George’s County has seen some of the highest local transmission rates in the state at points in the pandemic.

Other local systems have tried to restrict student activities and others underscored their commitment to keep students in classrooms with as little disruption as possible.

On Monday, Baltimore County school officials promised in a statement that they would keep all schools open for in-person learning unless local or state government officials mandate them to close schools. “As a result of our comprehensive COVID-19 health and safety practices, we can and will maintain in-person learning five days a week for all students,” Superintendent Darryl L. Williams wrote in the statement.

While acknowledging that there is a substantial increase in coronavirus cases in the state, Montgomery County also pledged on Monday to keep schools fully in-person.

One school district tried to restrict school activities, but failed.

Howard County Superintendent Michael Martirano announced last week that all sports and extracurricular activities would be canceled through mid-January due to an “alarming rate” of positive COVID-19 cases, but the county school board quickly overruled his decision and reinstated all activities with a plan to require mandatory testing for students participating in sports and theater.

At the start of the school year, the Maryland State Board of Education voted to require all teachers, students, staff and visitors to wear masks inside public school buildings. This emergency regulation expires on Feb. 25, 2022, and the State Board of Education recently approved a plan that would lift the mandate if local vaccination rates are high or COVID-19 transmission rates are moderate or low.

To keep students in classrooms as much as possible, the Maryland State Department of Education encouraged a “test-to-stay” approach, which allows students who may have been exposed to COVID-19 in school to still attend classes in-person rather than quarantine as long as they test negative for COVID-19 and show no symptoms.

In previous board meetings, state Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury has consistently advocated for schools to stay open for in-person instruction with proper COVID-19 safety measures, contending that in-person instruction is the best way for students — especially historically underserved students — to learn.

“We have seen the devastating impact of school closures and long-term virtual instruction on student learning here in Maryland and across the country. When COVID-19 transmission increases and health measures become a necessity, schools must be the last places to close. With unprecedented federal and State resources and tools, we can keep schools safely open for in person, full-time learning,” Choudhury said in a statement.

By Elizabeth Shwe

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Report: Md. Had Second-Lowest Rate of In-Person Learning During Pandemic

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A States Newsroom report says “a new study shows that racial and geographic gaps persisted as K-12 students went back to their classrooms—with non-Hispanic white kids more often the ones attending a brick-and-mortar school full-time in most states.”

The study, featured in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, looked at in-person and online learning from last September through April.

According to the report:

“The study found that access to in-person learning varied by state: 100% of students in Wyoming and Montana had access to in-person instruction, while Hawaii, Maryland and Washington had the lowest shares of students in their classrooms full-time.

“Only about 2.3% of Maryland students had access to full-time, in-person instruction.

“The new data also found a racial disparity in most states on whether students were learning online or in person. In 43 states, access to full-time, in-person learning was higher for non-Hispanic white students compared to those of color.

“Racial disparities in Maryland were small — students of color were 3.5% less likely to have in-person learning access — because most schools were closed.”

Read the full article by States Newsroom reporter Laura Olson on the Maryland Matters website.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Md. Board of Education Declares All Schools Should Return to Full In-Person Learning This Fall

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Maryland’s State Board of Education passed a resolution Tuesday directing all schools to return to in-person learning for a full 180-day school year starting this fall.

Any exemptions would require state board approval. And the board would be able to revisit the resolution if the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, said Clarence Crawford, the state school board’s president.

According to State Superintendent Karen B. Salmon, 11 school systems are open for 70% of their students for more than three days per week and five school systems are open for less than 40% of their students, for mostly two days a week.

In the largest five school districts — Anne Arundel, Charles, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and Baltimore City — which account for 65% of Maryland students, only about 32% are receiving in-person instruction, Salmon added.  

“That’s way too many students who have not had, or don’t have currently, access to a normal classroom learning experience now for more than a year,” Salmon told board members. “It may be a very long time before we know the true impact of the pandemic on public education.”

Board members agreed that requiring teachers to teach both in-person and virtually was unsustainable. Teachers should not have a continued expectation to teach in a hybrid model next year, board member Susan Getty said. “Our teachers are fatigued, frustrated and looking for the end that’s in sight,” Getty said.

Lori Morrow, the parent representative to the board, said she worried that the resolution was worded with a “negative tone” that “is almost a threat” to certain school districts over others.

Additionally, the resolution was not on the board’s published agenda, which board member Rachel McCusker, the teacher member of the board, raised as a concern. “I believe that we are a public board who should have full transparency in anything that we discuss in our meetings,” she said. “I do believe things like they should have been put out to the public prior [to meetings].

Morrow said board members received the resolution only one day prior to the meeting. The resolution was uploaded to MSDE’s website late Tuesday afternoon.

However, Jean Halle, vice president of the board, said public comment was not necessary because requiring schools to reopen to in-person learning is simply reinstating existing policy and responds to the local school systems’ request for clearer guidance.

“This is really about equity. To have some students have access to an in-classroom experience  and to have others not have access makes a huge difference in terms of … their academic outcomes,” Halle said.

Unlike a mandate, the resolution “is a formal statement of the Board reaffirming existing state law and regulation,” said Lora Rakowski, spokeswoman for the Maryland State Department of Education.

None of the 24 local school systems were consulted about developing the resolution, said Mary Pat Fannon, executive director of the Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland.

Cheryl Bost, president of Maryland State Education Association, the largest teacher union in the state, said she thought the resolution was unnecessary.

“I found it grandstanding on the part of the state superintendent,” Bost said. “All of our schools are working hard to open up schools in full in the fall.”

The state school board also approved a motion to request a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education to postpone federally mandated English and math assessments until fall and to not require science assessments.

Baltimore, Frederick and Howard counties school systems provided written comment that they supported the waiver.

If approved, students will take shorter diagnostic tests, with the English section lasting 2 hours and 20 minutes and the math section lasting 1 hour and 20 minutes. MSDE had initially proposed standardized tests in the spring that could take up to more than seven hours, but changed course when concerns arose that standardized testing this spring would take too much instructional time that students have lost during the pandemic.

The board was also briefed on the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, a sweeping education reform bill that was enacted without the signature of Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) earlier this month.

“It is a very time intensive process,” Salmon said of the 10-year Blueprint implementation timeline. “We’re working very hard every day to plan and try to have the structure to get this work done but it is very, very burdensome.”

Presiding officers of the General Assembly and Hogan have yet to select people for a nominating committee that will be responsible for selecting seven members of a new Accountability and Implementation Board. The board is responsible for developing the Blueprint implementation plan and has authority over the Maryland State Department of Education, if they come into conflict.

Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) is finalizing appointees and will announce them “soon,” said his chief of staff, Yaakov “Jake” Weissmann. House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) and Hogan did not respond for comment.

While the state school board is figuring out how to implement the Blueprint with fidelity, it should also “begin to figure out how [they] will develop a working relationship with the [Accountability and Implementation Board],” Crawford said. “The better off both boards will be and … the children and the taxpayers of Maryland will be better served.”

It will also be important for MSDE to engage the community to ensure that families know what to expect from the Blueprint and to give local school systems the opportunity to participate in the implementation plan, said Shamoyia Gardiner, executive director of Strong Schools Maryland, a grassroots organization advocating for the Blueprint.

By Elizabeth Shwe

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Maryland In-Person Early Voting Begins Monday

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The Maryland State Board of Elections reminds voters seeking to cast their ballots in person that early voting begins Monday, Oct. 26, and runs for eight consecutive days, including Saturday and Sunday. Early voting in Maryland concludes on Monday, Nov. 2, the day prior to Election Day.

Eligible voters may cast their ballots at any authorized early voting center in their jurisdiction of residence. A complete list of early voting centers is available here. Voters may also search here for early voting centers, Election Day voting centers and ballot drop box locations in their area simply by including their zip code.

For voters who missed the advance voter registration deadline, same-day registration will be available at early voting and Election Day vote centers. To prove their place of residence, Marylanders registering in person during early voting or on Election Day will need to bring their Motor Vehicle Administration-issued driver’s license, identification card or change of address card, or a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill or other government document that includes the voter’s name and new address.

“We encourage Marylanders who would like to vote in person to take advantage of early voting,” said Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Linda Lamone. “While many Marylanders have, and continue to, cast their votes using mail-in ballots, voting early is one way to reduce lines and limit wait times at vote centers. The best time to vote in person is on a weekday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.”

Voters who have already requested a ballot should vote the ballot they receive in the mail. Voters simply complete the ballot, sign the oath on the postage-paid return envelope that accompanies the ballot, seal the envelope and submit it by mail or at an approved ballot drop box location.

Voters may not “trade in” their mail-in ballot during early voting or on Election Day, nor can they scan their mail-in ballot at an in-person vote center. If a voter has already requested or received a mail-in ballot and wants to vote early, the voter will have to cast a provisional ballot. This ballot will be held until election officials confirm the voter did not also return a mail-in ballot. This process ensures only one ballot per voter is counted.

Voters may drop off a mail-in ballot at an early voting center, but the ballot must be properly sealed in the return envelope that accompanied the mail-in ballot. Voters must sign the oath on the return envelope in order for the ballot to be counted.

As a reminder, early voting centers and Election Day vote centers will be following approved health guidelines. Voters must wear a mask and maintain a distance of at least six feet between other individuals.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

On Untraditional First Day of School, Hogan Still Hopes For More In-Person Instruction

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Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. visited three schools in Caroline County as they opened for limited in-person instruction on Tuesday, marking the start of a less-than-traditional school year for thousands of Maryland students.

Hogan, along with State Superintendent of Schools Karen B. Salmon, visited North Caroline High School, Lockerman Middle School, and Denton Elementary School on Tuesday. Caroline County is one of 16 jurisdictions that plans to slowly phase in limited in-person instruction this fall.

Plans for in-person instruction vary by jurisdiction, with most counties planning a phased return to masked, socially distanced instruction for certain students. Students with special needs, and those who may not have access to the internet at home, are among those being brought back for in-person instruction, Caroline County Public Schools Superintendent Patricia Saelens said.

Hogan said eight jurisdictions declined to open for any in-person instruction for fall semester, but said he hopes those school systems reconsider and offer some in-person instruction to students who need it.

“We asked them to go back and take another look at that by the end of the first quarter to see if there weren’t some special needs kids and some folks that are really going to suffer by not having in person instruction,” Hogan said of the jurisdictions that decided not to reopen. He noted that the decision ultimately rests with local school boards.

Salmon said local boards of education will be tracking COVID-19 cases in their districts throughout the year. She said she’s hopeful that limited in-person instruction won’t pose a huge threat of infection for students, and pointed out that Worcester and Calvert counties held in-person summer school with no reported cases.

Hogan and Salmon’s visits to Caroline County schools came a week after the State Board of Education mandated school systems across the state to have an average of 3.5 hours a day of live virtual learning by the end of 2020.

The 3.5 hours of live learning was criticized by local school boards and teachers’ unions, with some saying schools weren’t given enough time to meet the new standards.

“I’m still really disappointed in the timing and manner at which this has played out,” Lori Morrow of Prince George’s County, the parent member of the state school board, said during a state board meeting last week.

Some, including Democratic Maryland Comptroller and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Peter Franchot, have warned that in-person instruction could lead to the spread of COVID-19. In a Board of Public Works meeting last Wednesday, Franchot called in-person instruction a “huge medical experiment.”

“I want to applaud the majority of county school boards that have chosen to heed the advice of experts and follow science, and not cave in under pressure from folks down the road in Washington who want to downplay the gravity of this disease,” Franchot said.

By Bennett Leckrone

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Hogan, Md. School Head Press Schools to Reopen for In-Person Learning This Fall

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With the first day of school less than a week away, top state officials are pressuring all local school systems to reopen for at least some in-person instruction this fall.

Every local school system is allowed to begin safely reopening their buildings for in-person learning, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced during a news conference Thursday afternoon. COVID-19 cases are declining across the state, with a positivity rate currently at 3.3%, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

“Nearly everyone agrees that there is no substitute for in-person instruction,” Hogan said.

All 24 Maryland school districts are beginning the year virtually, with some planning to bring in small groups of students for face-to-face learning as early as Sept. 8. However, eight school districts, including the two biggest, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, have indicated that they are remaining virtual for most of the first semester.

It is “simply not acceptable” that some school boards have “not even attempted to develop any safe reopening plans” that would bring students back into school buildings, Hogan said.

Health metrics have drastically improved since these schools made their original decision to shutter schools for half the school year, Hogan said. “I don’t really want to wait until the second quarter.”

“That’s 90 days, that’s a long time to have virtual instruction when we know that virtual instruction is very difficult for parents and very difficult for children, especially young children,” state Superintendent of Schools Karen B. Salmon said at the news conference.

Hogan asked local school systems to reconsider their plans.

“It’s easier to say we are not going to bring any kids back for the rest of the year, as opposed to sitting down and doing the hard work of trying to figure out how could we get kids back for safe instruction,” Hogan said.

The authority to change reopening plans lies with each county board of education, but their decisions must be based on new statewide benchmarks, Hogan said. “We are going to put pressure on them.”

Hogan’s fellow Republicans are already starting to apply pressure.

Earlier Thursday, Del. Michael J. Griffith (R-Harford) and Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings (R-Harford) penned a letter to the Harford County schools superintendent and Board of Education, urging them to consider a hybrid re-opening plan.

“With a population of 255,441 residents, we have only seen 2,344 [COVID] cases in Harford County since March. That translates into a .01% infection rate,” they wrote. “HCPS must take full advantage of this low infection rate, adopt reasonable measures to protect teachers, students, and parents, and greatly expand opportunities for in-school learning.”

Salmon also said she is “strongly encouraging” local schools to reevaluate their mode of instruction by the end of the first quarter of the school year, which is in November.

At least 3 1/2 hours a day should be dedicated to live learning to ensure that all Maryland children are receiving an equal education, Salmon said. The state board will decide whether that should be a new requirement for all school systems early next week.

Dr. Jinlene Chan, Maryland’s acting deputy secretary of public health services, announced new metrics Thursday for school systems to use to evaluate whether it is safe to reopen for at least some face-to-face instruction.

If a school jurisdiction has below 5% test positivity, or five cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period, it should have the ability to hold in-person instruction, as long as students, teachers and staff follow physical distancing and mask-wearing guidance, Chan said.

Even schools with positivity rates above 5% should still be able to open for at least some in-person learning in a hybrid model, she continued.

The decision is not a political issue, Hogan said, but very much the opposite. He noted that “national Democratic leaders” such as Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy similarly encouraged all schools in their states to reopen for in-person instruction in the upcoming school year.

Teachers expressed dissatisfaction with the newly announced guidelines.

“Today, [the governor and superintendent] chose to ambush and second guess the hard decisions that local boards of education, parents, and educators have made to keep students and schools safe. In the continued absence of adequate state and federal funds to help schools open safely — to include measures such as rapid testing, certified ventilation systems, and needed PPE — this is a recipe for chaos, confusion, distrust, and deepening the inequities that too many of our students face,” Cheryl Bost, the president of the Maryland State Education Association, said in a statement after the news conference.

Montgomery County Public Schools, which starts virtually on Monday, quickly responded to the new state guidelines, with officials saying they were “deeply disappointed by the last-minute announcement of this critical information for school systems.”

Prince George schools also start virtually on Monday and are planning to stay virtual until January.

“While I respect Governor Hogan’s desire to move back to in-person learning as soon as possible, we cannot responsibly do so at this time, especially since his reopening announcement today occurs just four days before the first day of school,” Prince George’s County Council Member Mel Franklin (D) said in a statement.

“Our school system has spent months planning this fall’s virtual session. It would be irresponsible to haphazardly discard those plans and throw our school semester into disarray.”

Earlier this month, Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George’s) and Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) held a public roundtable discussion with three school superintendents and agreed that there needed to be clear, uniform statewide metrics for each school district to follow as they work on their reopening plans — ideally made by Chan and Salmon.

Yet these state lawmakers still do not think the newly-unveiled benchmarks are enough.

“MD gov just offered leadership through lip-service to school reopening, offering: minimal metric guidelines — which have already been met — and no guidance for when student/staff Covid cases breakout. Also, no guarantee of PPE equipment to schools,” Pinsky wrote on Twitter soon after the news conference.

Nor do the new guidelines include transmission rate thresholds or contact tracing, he said.

“We’d likely have more local school district consistency on reopening if the State had provided *any* guidance whatsoever prior to TEN DAYS before the planned start of SY 2020-21,” Ferguson tweeted.

Del. Brooke E. Lierman (D-Baltimore City) said she was also disappointed with the governor’s announcement.

“To be clear, this was a no-news press conference. Gov. says that schools can now reopen: that was already a local decision He announced MSDE has created metrics for schools to use — the day AFTER @BaltCitySchools reopened for teachers,” she tweeted.

“He should be embarrassed.”

By Elizabeth Shwe

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Maryland Needs 13,000+ Election Judges

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Local election officials are scrambling to fill more than 13,000 election judge jobs that remain vacant after Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) ordered a more traditional election for Nov. 3 despite health concerns in the COVID-19 pandemic.

About a third of election judge positions are unfilled across the state. Maryland Association of Election Officials President David Garreis said the number of vacancies before an election is unprecedented.

“In my 15 years of doing elections, I can’t remember us ever having a 35 percent vacancy rate,” said Garreis, who is also the deputy director of the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections.

Garreis added that older, more experienced election judges seem to be dropping out in greater numbers. He said many initially agreed to work the election, but dropped out after consulting with their families and friends.

For election day, 27,239 election judges are needed, and 9,654 — or 35% — of the jobs are vacant.

Early voting centers will need 12,831 election judges to run as normal, but 4,083  — or 31% — of the positions are vacant as of the state’s most recent update on July 30.

The risks of conducting an election in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic have led election judges in Maryland and across the country to call it quits. And owners of some private properties used as polling centers have declined to let their properties be used for the November 3 election.

One veteran Maryland poll worker called Hogan’s plan for an in-person election an “unnecessary suicide mission” and said she wouldn’t be working as an election judge in November.

Hogan wants every voting center and early voting location open for the November election, but local election boards have said that a lack of poll workers could mean they will have to consolidate polling centers.

Fewer election judges likely will mean fewer polling locations, David Garreis, president of the Maryland Association of Election Officials, warned members of the State Board of Elections.

“It’s becoming impossible to fill all of these vacancies,” Garreis told the State Board of Elections. “We’re not going to be able to make up for this election judge shortfall.”

Every registered voter will receive an application for a mail-in ballot under Hogan’s plan, instead of automatically receiving a mail-in ballot as they did in the state’s June 2 primary. Turnout was high for the primary, but many voters received late or incorrect ballots, and those who voted in person found long lines at the limited number of voting centers.

Health experts, voting rights advocates, Democratic lawmakers and local election officials have asked Hogan to reverse course and conduct the election largely by mail. They say his decision isn’t just a herculean lift for local boards of elections, but also limits choices for voters in the midst of a pandemic.

The governor has defended his plan for a more traditional election, arguing that he was following state law when he ordered voting centers open. In a WBAL interview last week, Hogan said he took an extra step by sending out ballot applications to every voter, and blasted criticism as “complete nonsense”.

“It’s not my plan for the election, it’s what state law requires,” Hogan said.

Common Cause Maryland Executive Director Joanne Antoine called Hogan’s defense “disingenuous” in a statement Friday and urged the governor to adopt a mostly mail-in election format.  She noted that mailing voters ballot applications is expected to add about $5.6 million to election costs.

“There is still time for Governor Hogan to change his mind and direct the SBE to use the same election procedures as were used on April 28 and June 2,” Antoine said. “It would save at least $5.6 million and a lot of voter confusion.”

Meanwhile, the Hogan administration is encouraging state workers to fill the slew of poll worker vacancies.

In a letter to state employees last week, Maryland Department of Budget and Management Secretary David R. Brinkley offered holiday pay and 16 hours of administrative leave for state employees who volunteer as election judges, compared with the eight hours he has offered in the past.

Registered voters in Maryland who are physically and mentally able to work at least a 15-hour day and can speak, read and write English can sign up to be election judges.

People as young as 16 years old can register to vote and can sign up to be election judges, with a parent or guardian’s permission.  But they cannot vote unless they will be 18 years old by the general election.

By Bennett Leckrone

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Hogan Demands Answers, Action on Delayed Mailing to Voters

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Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) slammed the Maryland State Board of Elections in a letter Monday, demanding to know why voters haven’t been mailed applications to request mail-in ballots yet.

In his letter, Hogan gave the State Board of Elections 48 hours to explain why those ballot applications have not been mailed to voters, and reiterated his call for election officials to open every available polling center for the Nov. 3 general election.

“Under existing law, and to save voters the extra step of having to request an application for an absentee ballot, I directed you to promptly mail applications to every single Maryland registered voter,“ Hogan wrote. “It has now been 26 days, and you have failed to take action.”

Hogan’s letter came as state election officials are looking for a new vendor to do printing for the November election. State Election Administrator Linda H. Lamone has blamed printing vendor SeaChange for late and incorrect ballot deliveries in the June 2 primary.

The State Board of Elections issued a request for proposals from printers last month. Officials hope to have a contract in place by Aug. 17 so the new vendor can prepare for the unprecedented tasks of mailing millions of registered voters both applications for ballots and actual ballots during a pandemic.

Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore city) responded to Hogan’s letter with a detailed timeline that Lamone sent to him and Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince George’s). In that letter, dated July 30, Lamone wrote that the State Board plans to approve a revised mail-in ballot application by Aug. 5.

Maryland voters should start receiving mail-in ballot applications, with pre-paid return envelopes, after they are mailed on Aug. 28, according to Lamone’s letter. Mail-in ballots will be sent starting Sept. 24, according to her timeline.

Election officials across the state have scrambled to find election workers and polling centers since Hogan announced his intent to hold a more traditional election in November. Advocates have repeatedly asked Hogan to reverse course and hold another largely mail-in election, as Maryland did for the June 2 primary. But Hogan said state law requires in-person polling centers to be open.

“Let me be clear — this is not ‘my plan,’ it is what Maryland law requires you to do,” Hogan wrote.

The governor also slammed local officials who want to limit the number of in-person locations for voting in the general election. Hogan wrote that he’d received a letter from Prince George’s County officials requesting to close 229 precincts and only open 15. Hogan said such a move would suppress voters of color.

“Local leaders have suggested massive closures of polling places, particularly in some of our minority communities,” Hogan wrote. “This would likely result in voter suppression and disenfranchisement on a significant scale, disparately impacting Marylanders of color.”

Democratic lawmakers, local election officials and voting rights advocates have, in turn, accused Hogan of voter suppression due to his decision to require voters to apply for a mail-in ballot instead of automatically sending them one.

By Bennett Leckrone

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.