Recount Is Likely in House Contest

Republican Leads by 28 Votes in a County That Some Say Is Growing Redder

Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr., a proponent of a same-sex marriage ban, saw his vote deficit reversed after absentee and provisional ballots were counted. "The issues that I hold represent the people of District 31," he said. (By Matthew S. Gunby -- Associated Press)

He is a conservative state delegate who is leading an effort to ban same-sex marriage in Maryland. She is a veteran lawmaker who straddles a moderate line, opposing some gun control measures while supporting the anti-sprawl "smart growth" program.

Yet Republican Donald H. Dwyer Jr. and Democrat Joan Cadden, a state delegate, were separated by just 28 votes in the District 31 House of Delegates contest, a result that is likely to prompt a recount and a political recalibration in a county where Democrats hold a lead in registered voters.

Dwyer was one of three Anne Arundel County Republicans to make election comebacks after the absentee ballots were counted, claiming legislative seats that were tentatively in Democratic hands the morning after Election Day.

Republicans say the results are a sign that the county is tilting to the right, but others say that it's just Anne Arundel politics: Republicans vote Democratic, Democrats vote Republican, and candidates who don't court crossover voters are endangered.

"It shows in our area it's evenly spread," said retiring state Sen. Philip C. Jimeno (D), who said he would not have survived without crossover voters.

Dwyer said he believes that Democrats in Anne Arundel "will cross party lines and vote for the person they truly believe has their best interests at heart," even if they can't bring themselves to switch their voter registration.

"There is a loyalty to party among the Democrats that cannot really be explained," Dwyer said.

Officials are expecting a request for a recount in Dwyer's contest in northern Anne Arundel, where Cadden initially led by 719 votes. "I'm pretty sure we're going to ask for one," Cadden said yesterday.

Officials are also eyeing a possible recount in House District 30, in the Annapolis area, where Republican Ronald A. George won the third available seat by 53 votes over Barbara Samorajczyk (D), who led by 559 votes after Election Day.

"I'm pretty sure we're going to ask for" a recount, Del. Joan Cadden, a Democrat, said.

The duration of a recount would be determined by the method requested by challengers -- anything from recounting absentee and provisional ballots to manually counting printouts from electronic voting machines.

"We will prepare for the worst-case scenario, which would be a manual recount," said Barbara L. Fisher, director of Anne Arundel's Board of Elections.

The county last performed a recount in 1998 in House District 30, Fisher said, before voting was done electronically. If the petitioner did not want to challenge the accuracy of the machines, the focus could be put on the absentee and provisional ballots.