ANNAPOLIS — Following early morning arguments, the Court of Appeals of Maryland ruled Friday against Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox’s effort to halt the early counting of mail-in ballots for the Nov. 8 general election.
Ed Hartman, Cox’s attorney, said that the candidate’s team does not have any next steps. They will read the court’s opinion before deciding, he said.
“We appreciate and respect the Court of Appeals’ recognition that this was a very important constitutional matter,” he said. “We obviously disagree with a ruling, but that happens,”
A lower court has already given the Maryland State Board of Elections permission to begin counting the ballots as early as Oct. 1. The board says it needs to begin counting earlier, so it can have the results of the election soon after the polls close instead of weeks to a month later.
Cox’s claim that only the General Assembly can change the date for when the ballots can be counted was rejected weeks ago by the Montgomery County Circuit Court.
In court Friday, Hartman, rehashed his previous arguments that the need to change the date is not urgent, and only the General Assembly can legally make the change.
Hartman argued that the board should have foreseen the influx of mail-in ballots by looking at the large numbers that were cast during the July primary. The board could have prepared in various ways, he said, such as hiring more workers.
Assistant Attorney General Daniel Kobrin said the board’s emergency petition is valid because elections workers could not have anticipated the increase of mail-in ballots. Additionally, he said, officials do not have the space for more election workers and space to store the ballots until they typically would begin counting them Thursday after election day.
After the hearing, Cox claimed he does support early counting of votes, “but not without the safeguards and the adequate protections that the constitution and law mandates.”
Sen. Cheryl Kagan, D-Montgomery, was at the court and spoke to the media afterward.
“This case should not have been necessary,” Kagan said