Voter Guide 2022: Howard County Sheriff's Office Race

HOWARD COUNTY, MD —Maryland's general election falls on Nov. 8, meaning there are dozens of positions on the ballot in Howard County, including the race for county sheriff.

Sheriff Marcus Harris, a Democrat, is seeking a second term, and is challenged by William John McMahon.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Residents must vote at their assigned polling place on election day. Voters can look up their polling place by using this search tool. To read more about the general election, visit this website.

Here are some of Harris' priorities, according to his campaign website:

One of the promises I made during my campaign was to restore the community’s trust and confidence in the Sheriff’s Office and to reverse the undercurrent of bias that has echoed in the past. In order to fulfill that promise, I created a Community Outreach Section in the Office.

The Office is now more involved in the community than ever before through events such as the Black History Expo, Special Olympics, HopeWorks and our partnership with the Howard County Public School System. Within the Office, I have established “Voices for Deputies” which is a group that consists of members of the Sheriff’s Office, both sworn, civilian and special police officers that meet monthly with the Chief Deputy and myself to discuss any issues or concerns within the Office. “Voices for Deputies” has created a more open and engaging relationship between the command staff and the individuals they supervise, leading to a significant boost in morale.

During my term, I made it a priority to educate the public on the roles and responsibilities of the Sheriff’s Office as well as create solid partnerships with the Howard County Police Department, Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office and many other vital community stakeholders. We have established a partnership with the Police Department on the Drone Program and are working with the Police Department and the State’s Attorney’s Office on the Body Worn Camera Program.

I have increased the type of training that the Office receives in regard to Use of Force by including de-escalation tactics and have transitioned to less-lethal “bean-bag” shotguns. I have revamped the scheduling to ensure no deputy is working a shift by themselves and a supervisor is working during every shift. All of this has been done to ensure that my deputies are providing the best service and support to the community that we serve.

Harris does not have a campaign site filed with the state elections office.

Statewide races include those for governor, comptroller and attorney general. Federal contests feature battles for the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.

Here is everything you need to know about the 2022 Maryland general election in Howard County.

What District Am I In?

Voters can see which districts they live in by using this tool. That resource also lets Marylanders their:

• Review their voter registration record.
• Request a duplicate voter registration card.
• Learn where to vote.
• Find out their voting districts
• See their current state and federal representatives.
• Contact your local board of elections.
• Check the status of their mail-in or provisional ballot.
• View their sample ballot.

Who Is Running For County Government?

All the candidates are posted below.

Patch asked every county executive and County Council candidate to complete a questionnaire. The names of candidates who completed our survey are linked to their responses.

We also included all the campaign websites listed on the Maryland State Board of Elections candidate portal.

Sheriff

• John Francis McMahon (R)
• Marcus Harris (D): marcusharrisforsheriff.com

County Executive

• Allan H. Kittleman (R): kittleman.com
• Calvin Ball* (D): VoteCalvinBall.com

County Council District 1

• Sean J. McCurdy (R): mccurdy4hoco.com
• Elizabeth "Liz" Walsh (D)

County Council District 2

• Sheila P. Jennifer (R): sheila4hoco.com
• Opel Jones (D): opeljones.com

County Council District 3

• William H. Campbell (R)
• Christiana Rigby (D): christianarigby.com

County Council District 4

• Deb Jung (D)

County Council District 5

• David Yungmann (R)
• Joan U. Pontius (D): joanpontius.com

County State's Attorney

• Rich Gibson (D): richgibson.net

Board of Education (two seats)

• Tudy Adler: adler4BOE.com
• Linfeng Chen: chen4boe.org
• Jacky McCoy
• Dan Newberger: votenewberger.com

Is Anybody Else Running?

Yes. Several court positions and party central committee seats are also on the ballot. A full list of every race in Maryland is posted at this link.

For any other questions, visit elections.maryland.gov.

Are There Any Referendums?

Marylanders will decide five ballot measures in the Nov. 8 general election. The one with the widest impact is the question of whether recreational marijuana should be legal, known as Ballot Question 4.

If passed, residents 21 and older could use and possess up to 1.5 ounces of usable cannabis or 12 grams of concentrated cannabis on or after July 1, 2023.

More than half of Maryland's registered voters support legalizing recreational marijuana, multiple polls suggest.

The other statewide ballot measures, as explained by Ballotpedia, if approved would:

• Rename the Maryland Court of Appeals as the Supreme Court of Maryland and change the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to the Appellate Court of Maryland.
• Amend the Maryland Constitution to require that state legislators live in and maintain a residence in the district they wish to represent at least six months before an election.
• Amend the Maryland Constitution to increase the amount in which the right to a jury trial may be limited by state law from $15,000 to $25,000.
• Amend the state constitution to require that Howard County Circuit Court judges serve on the orphans' court and repeal the county's need to elect three judges to the orphans' court.

The exact wording of each ballot question is listed here. A non-technical summary of each question is available on this webpage.

Several jurisdictions also have local ballot questions. Howard County's single question, by petition, would:

• Create a law prohibiting the use of county resources for enforcing federal immigration and nationality laws, helping enforcement by collecting or sharing a person's information, asking a person about their citizenship, nationality or immigration status or the status of another person or sharing a person's status with another person.

When Will The Results Be Certified?

Election officials will not certify the final results for at least 10 days. Officials must wait for every mail-in and provisional ballot to come in.

Soon after polls close on Nov. 8, the Maryland State Board of Elections will release the jurisdiction-specific tallies from in-person early voting and mail-in ballots counted up to Election Day.

Officials will start releasing the Election Day vote counts over the following hours on election night.

All 24 jurisdictions will start releasing their early voting and Election Day tallies on Nov. 8. Only 10 will release the mail-in ballot results tallied before Election Day.

The Maryland Court of Appeals on Oct. 7 ruled that local election offices can opt to start counting mail-in ballots before Election Day. They cannot release these results until after polls close on Election Day, and they must continue accepting ballots until the statewide deadline of Nov. 18 at 10 a.m.

These jurisdictions plan to conduct pre-Election Day canvassing of mail-in ballots: Baltimore City and Allegany, Baltimore, Calvert, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, Saint Mary's and Washington Counties.

Election officials will tally provisional ballots on Nov. 16. Mail-in ballots will be counted as they arrive until Nov. 18. Local boards cannot certify their results before Nov. 18.

Here is some more coverage of Maryland's biggest races:

• Moore And Cox Sling Harsh Criticisms At One Another In Taut, Freewheeling TV Debate
• Biden Looks To Weed Decriminalization: What It Means Ahead Of MD Marijuana Referendum
• Biden Visits Hagerstown Factory To Help Trone, Bash GOP, And Tout His Record On Manufacturing
• Glassman, Lierman Make Their Case To Be Maryland's Next Comptroller
• Peroutka Pledges To Bypass Abortion, Marriage Laws; Would Pursue Legal Action Against Hogan
• Maryland's Highest Court Upholds Order Allowing Early Counting Of Mail-In Ballots