Afro American: Maryland Voter Protection - A Promise Kept

Maryland Voter Protection - A Promise Kept

While too many Republican-dominated state legislatures have been making it more difficult for minorities, young adults and the elderly to vote, Marylanders have taken important steps toward the democratic ideal of “every voter counts, every vote is counted.”

Those who are imposing more onerous voter registration and voting requirements on groups that voted for President Obama in 2008 often seek to justify those measures as protection against “voter fraud.”  They do so despite the evidence that actual voter fraud cases are few, the legal penalties are more than sufficient, and the prosecutions for those frauds that do occur are vigorous and nonpartisan.

In sharp contrast to this “myth of voter fraud,” America has known since the 2000 presidential election in Florida and the decision in Bush v. Gore that undemocratic voter suppression efforts are alive and remain dangerous to the future of our nation.

Closer to home here in Maryland, fraud by voters is rare.  Unfortunately, in the past, we have experienced frauds upon our voters far too often.

In 2002, for example, a brochure distributed in African American precincts by the campaign for Republican Bob Ehrlich included a picture of Mr. Ehrlich and me at my church, along with other African American leaders.  That brochure declared the patently untrue assertion: “Democrats for Ehrlich.”

In fact, I was a leading supporter of Mr. Ehrlich’s opponent, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, in that election.

Then, in 2006, running against Martin O’Malley, Mr. Ehrlich’s campaign once again distributed fliers designed to trick African American Democratic voters into voting for him.  Those fliers again suggested (inaccurately) that Mr. Ehrlich was supported by African American Democrats. 

These examples are not meant to impugn former Governor Ehrlich personally.  Political campaigns are difficult to manage, and I have no way of knowing the extent to which he was aware of these schemes, approved them or made efforts to prevent them.

What had become clear by last year, however, was that those of us who believe that we should  encourage (not suppress) voter turnout had to make a major effort to protect Maryland voters. We had to have an organized effort to counteract unjustified challenges to our right to vote and fight deceptive efforts to influence the voters’ decision-making process.

On October 20, 2010, I joined Senator Ben Cardin, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Delegate Sandy Rosenberg and other leaders at a televised press conference in which we announced the Maryland Democratic Party’s “Voter Protection Initiatives” for the 2010 General Election.

In addition to extensive efforts to better inform Maryland voters about their rights, our voter protection efforts enlisted hundreds of volunteer lawyers for election work to protect the voting public throughout our State.

We also established a toll-free “Voter Empowerment Hotline” designed to provide us with the real-time intelligence on Election Day that would allow us to respond rapidly to unjustified challenges against legitimate voters and other “dirty tricks . . . .”

On General Election Day 2010, this rapid response capability would prove critical to assuring a fair and honest election.

Late in the day, when a large number of voters typically cast their ballots, a “robocall” was transmitted to 110,000 Democratic voters in Baltimore and Prince George’s County.  That robocall sought to persuade these voters that there was no need to vote.

Even more reprehensible, both by intention and design, no “authority” was given for the call.  This deception made it appear that the robocall had come from Democrats, rather than (as we now know from the trial and guilty verdict in State of Maryland v. Paul Schurick) from the Ehrlich Campaign.

However, because of our Voter Protection initiative, we were able to respond immediately to the deceptive call.  We communicated the accurate information that the election was not over – and that people still needed to vote.

Here in Maryland, we kept our promise to protect voters, and a fair and honest election was the result.  This, not actions that suppress voter turnout, is how American democracy should be protected.

Whether grounded in statute or in the unscrupulous schemes of political campaign operatives, attacks on the honesty and legitimacy of our elections are attacks on America.  Our response, both as citizens and as elected representatives, must be serious, effective and

Congressman Elijah Cummings represents  Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.