Donna Edwards seeks court order to keep polls open in Baltimore
The Senate campaign of Rep. Donna Edwards is seeking a court order to extend the hours of polling sites in Baltimore for the Democratic primary, alleging that several polling locations opened late, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Edwards is running against Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for the seat now held by outgoing Sen. Barbara Mikulski. The lawmaker who loses the race will effectively be out of a job, as Maryland law prevented them from running for reelection in the House.
{mosads}With the stakes high, Baltimore attorney William H. Murphy Jr. went to court Tuesday to seek the order for Balitmore. He filed a complaint that alleges some polling locations in the city opened up to an hour late.
Polls were supposed to be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; the complaint requests that polling places in the city remain open until 10 p.m.
The complaint, published by The Washington Post, says voting equipment and disorganization resulted in to 30- to 60-minute delays at multiple locations.
The complaint says that if the hours at the polling locations are not extended, it would “threaten to prevent thousands of eligible residents from effectively exercising their right to vote in violation of federal and state law.”
“Defendant’s failures to promptly open polling sites at 7:00 a.m. prevented thousands of voters from casting their ballots,” it said.
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