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GOP Fliers Apparently Were Part Of Strategy
Republicans bused in workers to pass out "Democratic Sample Ballots," which included Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Michael S. Steele.
(Associated Press)
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But this time he was not alone. Democrat Barry Cyrus of Fort Washington was so incensed by the flier that he traveled to six different polling places to urge voters to ignore them.
Even many of the Philadelphia workers began to question the plan, saying they had no idea they were going to be misleading people. Many were upset, and some even appeared at a Democratic news conference to vent.
On the afternoon of Election Day, the state Democratic Party's attorney, Bruce Marcus, contacted his Republican counterpart to complain. The two took the matter before Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Ron Silkworth in a tense conference call. Marcus argued that the fliers were fraudulent and should be pulled from circulation. Ehrlich attorney David Hamilton argued that it was too late to take action and noted the fundamental free-speech issues at stake, according to Marcus.
By the time they finished, it was nearing 6 p.m. "The judge said, 'I'm not going to do it. It's too late,' " Marcus said.
A few hours later, the buses headed back north, with a weary group of poll workers starting to doze as they left Baltimore.
Antoinette Aziz, who rode with them, said she did not take umbrage with the day's work.
"With elections, you see a lot of trickery. With elections, you see a lot of deceptions," she said. "My whole objective was to get that population of people working. . . . Nobody was injured. Everybody got paid. Everybody was safe, and everybody was happy at the end of the day."
Staff writer Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.
