The sheriff of Talbot and the state elections director are arguing with election judges

Maryland law requires two election judges — one each from the state’s main minority and majority parties — for a county with fewer than 200 voters.

However, finding enough election judges is often a challenge. Baltimore City, Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties have historically had difficulty finding Republicans to vote. In many rural jurisdictions, finding Democrats to serve as judges has been a challenge.

The pandemic and age — election judges tended to be of retirement age — have exacerbated the problem. In response, the General Assembly voted to make it easier to fill these positions.

In larger districts that require six or more judges, these positions may be filled by registered Democratic or Republican voters as well as independent voters. Minors aged 16 and over can also serve as election judges.

“The reason for expanding the hiring of election judges was simple. We need individuals to serve,” DeMarinis said in his statement.

Gamble said he doesn’t think there’s anything “nefarious going on,” but rather that the people he’s hearing from are frustrated.

“It creates the question in people’s minds: Why aren’t they following the law? Is there something nefarious going on? I don’t think that’s the case,” Gamble said. “I just think on the Republican side they may not have a certain number of applications by a certain date, and they just trained what they trained and then they moved on.”

“I just think they’re lazy,” he said. “I mean, it’s the government.”

However, DeMarinis said the justices would be appointed nearly three months before the primary. Training is “an ongoing process,” he said, adding that local election officials “must balance operational needs with the realities of managing a massive, temporary workforce when assigning election judges to positions and locations.”

The issue first came up during a Talbot County Council meeting last week, when Councilman Dave Stepp said county Republican Party leaders had been trying to find additional judges, but their applications were being held until 2026. During that meeting, Stepp asked the council to send a letter to Stafford asking the board of elections to “follow the law,” but his request was denied.

Gamble said he became involved in the matter after being contacted by county residents about the imbalance. In his letter to Stafford, Gamble noted that deputies from his office will “conduct security checks of polling locations and escort ballots to your office to ensure we have a safe and fair election.”

“I urge you to abide by Maryland law,” Gamble wrote. “Talbot County citizens and poll workers need to feel confident that the law is being followed. Anything less than compliance can lead to frustration for those who feel disenfranchised. This could easily be mitigated to prevent potential safety issues.”

“I have a duty to protect the rights of all residents of Talbot County,” Gamble wrote, asking county elections officials their intention to “correct the current representation on the election judges” and a time frame for doing so.

In an interview, Gamble described the security checkpoints as drive-by patrols. Escorts are typical, he said, when election judges transport ballots to the election center. Both are standard and have been done in the past, he said.

But some of Gamble’s language was rebuked by DeMarinis.

“The Sheriff’s Office has no legal authority to conduct security checks or play a role in securing ballots at a polling place,” DeMarinis wrote. “The sheriff also does not enforce the requirements of the election law article. The election judge has the legal authority to keep the peace, protect the integrity of the voting process, and maintain order at the polling place. In fact, a police officer must obey the order of the election judge at the polling station.”

He also disagreed with Gamble’s statement that “Republican voters are not represented” and that this could make them feel disenfranchised.

“Voters decide the outcome of elections. An election judge’s party affiliation does not prevent him from casting his vote or disenfranchising a voter. And to say otherwise is disingenuous,” DeMarinis wrote.

“Any complaints about an election judge regarding his or her fitness, qualifications or performance should be immediately reported to the local election board, which has the authority to investigate and dismiss that election judge.”

Gamble said he couldn’t help how people interpreted things, but nothing in his letter was meant to be threatening.

“I think the letter is worded as if I had a complaint. I understand that these are the numbers. That’s what the law says. Please follow the law,” he said.

The sheriff acknowledged that the electoral law does not provide for a criminal sanction. He added that he was “not sending anyone there to arrest anyone.”

But he flagged the possibility of legal action, saying “any citizen” could go to court and file a mandamus petition to get a judge to issue an order telling election officials what to do. Gamble wasn’t sure he would be the one to do it.

“I don’t have time for this,” said Gamble, who noted that his agency is in the process of moving to new offices.

“I mean, if we had to, I would try to figure out how to write a mandamus writ,” he said. “I’ve never written one before, but I can sit at my computer and ask the AI ​​to do it for me, right? And then I can go before the judge if necessary. But you know, I would rather they followed the law.”