By Raymond McCaffrey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 2, 2006

An Anne Arundel County Democrat who narrowly lost a bid for the state legislature announced yesterday that she was dropping a court challenge of the November election results and had conceded to her Republican opponent.

Barbara Samorajczyk, who lost to Ronald A. George by 53 votes in House of Delegates District 30, said she conceded by phone yesterday after deciding that "there wasn't any meaningful way to do a recount" with electronic voting machines. "We cannot recount the machine," Samorajczyk said.

On Monday, an appeal was filed in Anne Arundel Circuit Court on behalf of Samorajczyk and Joan Cadden, a Democratic delegate who lost by 28 votes to Republican Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. in the District 31 House contest in northern Anne Arundel. Samorajczyk said Cadden had joined her in dropping the appeal, which challenged an Anne Arundel Board of Elections decision to not count more than 200 provisional or absentee ballots. "It just was such a difficult and procedurally consuming case," Samorajczyk said.

Cadden has not conceded and is planning to ask for a recount once the State Board of Elections certifies the results, Samorajczyk said. Cadden could not be reached yesterday.

Samorajczyk, a County Council member, led by 559 votes after Election Day, before the counting of provisional and absentee ballots. She said her defeat, in a district covering the Annapolis area, has led her to question whether the state should use paper ballots that could be reviewed.

George said that Samorajczyk's call was "very gracious" and that he supports finding a way for the electronic voting machines to generate "a paper trail." George, owner of an Annapolis jewelry store, said he is "anxious to move on."