Conduit Street

A recurring theme throughout the 2010 midterm elections was the spending of the federal government and how to address the $13.73 trillion national deficit.  As the election result rolled in,  it became increasingly evident that change was afoot as Congressional and committee control and membership altered.  Now with over 60 new members to Congress, local governments throughout the nation are concerned that in an effort to reduce government spending, Congress may tighten funds on domestic programs. The National Association of Counties (NACo), an organization representing county interests to the U.S. Congress,  recently published an article on how the decisions made by the incoming Congress could fiscally impact counties.  NACo reports:

“Defending the programs that directly affect county constituents, small businesses and other partners in our nation’s counties is essential,” said Ed Rosado, NACo legislative Affairs director. 

“To make that case, it is important to inform the incoming Congress of the effects any reductions would have on the people who are served by the programs counties run, and alert them to tax increases counties will need to implement in order to continue providing the services their residents require,” he added.

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On the proverbial “chopping block” are funding for secure rural schools, payments in lieu of taxes, community and economic development, workforce investment, justice assistance programs, airports, highway, rail-transit, bridge and water infrastructure development, broadband deployment, rural development, health safety net responsibilities, social welfare programs and others. Rumors are in the 5 percent to 20 percent cut range, which still would only produce a sliver of what would be needed to make a dent in America’s debt problems.

Counties will be challenged to do more with less, reform what exists and meet the needs of constituents in creative new ways. NACo’s Legislative Department is analyzing these changes and how they may affect the issues it advocates for. As of this writing, committee leadership and assignments have not yet occurred.

NACo provides a further breakdown of the committee composition and the possible implications this has for local governments. Click here to read.

Today MACo’s staff will be following and posting county general election results. We are working with the most current published results-most of them unofficial but at least nearly complete, while some races remain close. Please check back throughout the day to see updated information on results in county races and gain insight on trends from the statewide elections.

MACo’s most current county general election results information can be found here: County General Election Results Summary

An additional analysis of the overall turnover among county officials is also posted here: 2010 County Elections Analysis

A county-by-county listing of local election results can be found here:

An October 29 Daily Record article describes a ruling by a Federal judge to extend the absentee ballot deadline by 10 days to accommodate service members and other who may be overseas.

The absentee ballot deadline for Tuesday’s election was to be Nov. 12. Judge Titus’ order would push that deadline back to Nov. 22. The ballots must still be postmarked by Nov. 2.

On Oct. 8 — the Friday before the Columbus Day postal holiday — the state began sending ballots for the state and federal races.“Given that international mail to military personnel can take 36 days for round-trip processing, and some absentee ballots for state office sent to these individuals were not likely postmarked until October 12, 2010, even the most diligent absent uniformed services or overseas voter might be unable to return his ballot by November 12th,” Titus wrote.

While the judge was “reluctant to interfere with Maryland’s election machinery,” he found the state’s interest in timeliness was outweighed by the risk of disenfranchising overseas voters.

Additional coverage can be found in the Baltimore Sun.

The tabulation of early-voting totals, which caused delays in tallying votes in the primary election, should not be a problem in the general.  As reported by the Gazette, the State Board of Elections approved an emergency regulation requiring all early-voting totals to be processed and submitted two hours before polls close on the night of the general election.

For the general election, local boards will be permitted to start canvassing early votes anytime on Election Day, Nov. 2. They must submit figures to the state elections board by 6 p.m., allowing several hours for officials to upload and properly format the results before they are posted online once polls close at 8 p.m.

“We recognize that people are anxious for this information and part of how we’re going to be judged is how quickly this information gets out,” Ross K. Goldstein, the deputy state elections administrator, said Monday.

Early voting, which began last week in Maryland and will continue through Thursday of this week, has been very well received in many jurisdictions across the state.  While some areas yielded fewer voters than others, the Baltimore Sun reports that “participants in the primary elections expressed surprise at the ease with which they moved through the lines” and that turnout in the Baltimore region was good.  The Washington Post reports that turnout was light in Silver Spring and Landover, but according to the Gazette, other areas of Prince George’s saw much larger turnout.

According to the Cumberland Times-News, early voting is working well in Allegany County, and although it started slow in Washington County, the Herald-Mail reports, election officials believe it will pick up as residents become more familiar.

More local coverage of early voting can be found on the following sites:

• The Capital
• Towson Times
• Arbutus Times

Tune into WBAL for a discussion of early voting by the State Board of Elections Deputy Administrator Ross Goldstein.