Some Marylanders answer call to serve as election judges amid shortage, told to call back later

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    TOWSON, Md (WBAL) — Some Marylanders answering the call to serve in the November election are surprised by the response.

Maryland counties and cities are scrambling to find judges for the November election amid the coronavirus pandemic, and it appears more people are applying on the state Board of Elections website.

An Owings Mills woman said she was surprised by the response she received when she applied. Mary McDermott talks about the importance of voting and serving at a polling place as an election judge, saying she applied but was told to call back later.

“This is a presidential election and I was stunned,” McDermott said.

In early July, McDermott applied with Baltimore County to serve as an election judge. She said she didn’t get an immediate reply. Then, an e-mail arrived.

Portions of the e-mail read: “Thank you for your interest in serving as an election judge. We are still in a tremendous state of flux when it comes to the coronavirus and how it has affected all of our lives and specifically, elections.

“If you would, please give us a call in mid-August, and we will then be able to bring you on and schedule you for training. Looking forward to a successful election season!”

“It’s not confidence inspiring to get the response I got, telling me to call back in August. That, to me, says you don’t have a plan,” McDermott said.

As the 11 News I-Team has reported, Maryland has a shortage of more than 14,000 election judges. The state Board of Elections said that because of media reports about the problem, about 1,000 people have applied to serve.

Howard, Carroll and other counties are consolidating precincts to try to make sure they have enough judges.

In Baltimore County, the elections director told 11 News it takes more than 4,600 judges to run 11 early voting sites and 230 Election Day precincts, and more than 2,200 judges are still needed.

Training will start in mid-August. McDermott worries about preparing too late for a difficult voting situation that could cause long lines at polling places.

“It’s really important that everyone who wants to vote, whether Republican or Democrat, needs to be able to vote, and we need to be able to say it was done right, it was done safely,” McDermott said.

The state Board of Elections said it normally doesn’t get involved in recruiting judges, but this year, it is seeking approval from the Board of Public Works to hire a public affairs company to work on an extensive recruitment campaign.

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