By Steve Vogel
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 8, 2006

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. reluctantly agreed to buy the computer equipment needed for early voting in Maryland yesterday after warnings from state election officials that a failure to do so would leave the state unprepared for the primary elections in September.

The three-member Maryland Board of Public Works, which includes Ehrlich, approved a $2.4 million contract for 200 electronic poll books, which can track voters who cast a ballot at select locations in the week leading up to an election.

Despite his contention that early voting legislation passed by the General Assembly "is a joke and a fraud on the people," Ehrlich agreed that the state had an "obligation" to support a voting measure required by law.

The Republican governor has warned of the potential for fraud with early voting and has used previous meetings of the board to assail the measure. He vetoed legislation last year that authorized early voting but was overridden by the Democrat-controlled legislature. At the Board of Public Works meeting yesterday, he again questioned the reliability of the e-poll books, as they are known.

"What assurances do we have that e-poll books will be linked in real time" to catch voters as they cast an illegal ballot? Ehrlich asked.

Linda H. Lamone, state elections administrator, said the e-poll books would immediately detect anyone trying to cast a second vote. The machines have proven reliable in other states, including Virginia and California, and have been certified for use by an independent testing agency, she said.

Lamone told the board that election officials had left "a lot of things on hold" while awaiting approval of the contract, including training election workers, printing brochures and notifying voters.

"My opinion is we need to get the contract approved . . . so local electoral boards can move forward and prepare for the elections," she told the board, which is responsible for approving large state contracts.

Ehrlich is leading a petition drive that seeks a referendum to overturn the law, and he suggested that the issue will face legal challenges. "This will play out in court and potentially in a referendum," he said at the meeting. "Our job is to make sure [Lamone] has the tools to deal with a bad situation."

Supporters of early voting accused Ehrlich of seeking to dampen voter turnout in a state in which Democrats outnumber Republicans on voter rolls by nearly 2 to 1. Ehrlich is "displaying an absolute and utter contempt for the democratic process by engaging in constant scare tactics about nonexistent voter fraud," said Del. Peter Franchot (D-Montgomery), who held a news conference outside the State House before the board meeting.

Franchot, who is challenging incumbent William Donald Schaefer for the Democratic nomination for state comptroller, asserted that Ehrlich has earned a place with White House strategist Karl Rove, Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) and former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) on the "Mount Rushmore of voter suppression."

Craig Simpson, political director of Progressive Maryland, an advocacy group affiliated with labor and civil rights organizations in the state, said early voting is a necessity for many whose long hours at work prevent them from getting to the polls on Election Day.

Ehrlich was joined by State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp (D) in approving the purchase. Schaefer, the third member of the board, abstained and had critical words for all concerned about delays in preparing for early voting. "You've had a year to get ready, and all of a sudden you're not really ready," Schaefer told Lamone. "We're all just sitting here playing patty-cake."

Lamone said that despite the controversy, "the elections are in good shape." She added that with yesterday's approval, election officials can go forward with preparations for early voting. The e-poll books, which are being purchased from Diebold Inc., have been awaiting the board's action to be shipped to Maryland.

The state will need 5,500 machines at a cost of about $16 million for the general election in November, according to Ross Goldstein, deputy administrator for the election board.