It May be Happening Again

Check out the following May 1st story at www.delmarvanow.com

Sneak peak at voter info is criticized

Snow Hill absentee ballot tactics raise questions

By Jenny Hopkinson
Staff Writer

Excerpts from the article:

"Using absentee ballots, (Eddie) Lee said, is a tactic he has used to win several campaigns in Snow Hill and Pocomoke City, including Councilman Eric Mullins' Eastern District race last year.

"I employ and encourage people to vote absentee who are not going to come to the polls," Lee said. "It's a form of citizen participation in their government. If you have to take the ballot to them, you take it to them -- whatever you have to do to get people to vote, you do it."

With more than 250 absentee ballots applied for in the Snow Hill election, town Mayor Stephen Mathews is worried that widespread absentee voting in Tuesday's election will cast a shadow over the results.

"I've been watching Pocomoke City, and that has been my concern," Mathews said. "I thought about having the council look at it and tighten it up, but when you tighten it up, you create an environment that says if you are around, then you have to come downtown and vote."


At least Mayor Stephen Mathews is concerned and realizes that Snow Hill's elections procedures need to be looked at.

If the trend is increased voting by mail or absentee ballots, government officials have a duty to put in place procedures to assure, to the extent possible, that elections are fairly conducted without voter coercion and intimidation. Having observed Pocomoke elections over the last 14 years, I know it happens. I too have seen voters arrive at the polls and go up to one of the candidates to say "I'm here, now who am I voting for." When I campaigned in 1996 for the District 5 seat in Pocomoke I had numerous citizens tell me about being offered money, drugs, and alcohol for their votes. It wasn't me that made these offers.

While I agree it is good for all citizens to participate and vote in elections, I find the practices discussed in this article and observed by me at Pocomoke elections to be perversion of our rights and duty to vote our conscience. At least one voter in the recent Pocomoke election has said online in a comment that this was the first time they have voted in a Pocomoke election and probably the last time. The voter went on to say they didn't really care about the election. Is this the type of citizen stewardship we want to encourage in getting people to vote? I hope not. What a manipulation of one of our most basic civil rights!

The duty of election officials is to assure fair, honest elections. Unless there are good procedures in place, election officials can't assure this when absentee ballot practice is exploited, as it appears happened in Pocomoke. Hopefully the absentee ballots that will be cast in Snow Hill will receive sufficient scrutiny so the election is fair to all that vote.