No Change to Ballot Sought

Removing Perez's Name Would Take Too Long, Board Says

Maryland election officials told the state's highest court yesterday that it would be impossible to remove former attorney general candidate Tom Perez's name from the Democratic ballot in time for the Sept. 12 primary, as the Court of Appeals ordered Friday.

In a motion filed in Annapolis, the State Board of Elections asked that Perez's name be allowed to stay on the ballot and that notices instead be posted conspicuously in each polling location, informing voters of the court order and warning that any votes cast for Perez will not be counted.

Perez, a Montgomery County Council member who gave up a reelection bid to seek statewide office, has scheduled a news conference for today to discuss his plans now that the court has ruled he does not meet state constitutional requirements for attorney general because he has not practiced law in Maryland for 10 years.

His campaign would not say yesterday whether Perez plans to endorse either of his erstwhile Democratic opponents -- Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler or Baltimore attorney Stuart O. Simms.

One key adviser to Perez said he has urged him to back Simms.

Simms's campaign chairman, Larry S. Gibson, would not comment on a possible endorsement but said yesterday that he expected that his candidate would strongly benefit from Perez's departure from the race.

"I am very optimistic that almost all of the supporters and organizers of the Perez campaign are shifting to the Simms campaign," Gibson said.

Gansler also said yesterday that he expected to pick up some of Perez's backing: "Lots of his supporters have been calling in and offering to help."

Montgomery County Sheriff Raymond M. Kight, who had endorsed Perez, was among those who appeared yesterday with Gansler at an event in Rockville where the state's attorney outlined an initiative to fight gangs with a proposed state racketeering statute.

"We had some philosophical differences, but now I'm supporting Doug wholeheartedly," Kight said in an interview.

Gansler said it was hard to predict the fallout from the Perez ruling during the remaining two weeks of the campaign.

Matthew Crenson, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University, said Gansler stood to gain the most because the ruling eliminated a second candidate from Montgomery County. "What was a split in the Montgomery vote has disappeared," he said.