Anne Arundel County, City of Annapolis Enter Into Strategic Election Partnership

From the City of Annapolis:

ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 15, 2016) – In a continuing effort to bring greater government efficiency to county and city government, Annapolis Mayor Mike Pantelides and Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh today announced a strategic partnership where the independent Anne Arundel Board of Elections will assist in the administrative processing of both the 2017 city primary and general elections.

“This partnership is not only incredibly cost effective for the city, but it offers proficiency in the process,” Mayor Pantelides said. “The county board of elections is a group of professionals that is staffed year-round for the sole purpose of conducting elections, compared to the city which adds one temporary elections staff member, every four years.”

“Elections are the foundation of our democracy,” said County Executive Schuh. “Bringing the expertise of the county board of elections to the city will bring more efficiency and smoother operation to our electoral system.”

Through an agreement between both the County and the City, the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections (BOE) will provide for the administrative processing of the 2017 City of Annapolis Elections - both primary and general.

The County BOE will provide the voting infrastructure and personnel for the conduct of the 2017 elections, and will also work in conjunction with the city to provide:

• election judges to staff the Polling Places and operate the voting infrastructure on Election Day;
• voting system staff to prepare the voting infrastructure;
• administrative staff to perform voter registration transactions, recruit, hire, and train election judges, and review absentee and provisional ballots at canvassing and present recommended dispositions to the City Board of Supervisors of Elections;
• canvassing staff to assist the City with the conduct of the Absentee Ballot and Provisional Ballot canvasses and assist the City with the conduct of any recount.

The 2017 primary and general elections will be conducted in accordance with the City’s Election Code, and under the agreement, the ultimate decision making authority granted under the City’s Election Code to the City’s Board of Supervisors of Elections will remain totally intact. This includes the sole authority to certify as final the 2017 primary and general elections. The employment status of city personnel will not be affected by the agreement.

The agreement is ready for City Council consideration at its September 26th meeting. The agreement will also go before the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections for review on Tuesday, September 20.

The proposed agreement would be in effect for only the 2017 City Elections, and will be evaluated by city and county officials for renewal after a thorough review.

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