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 Maryland Manual On-Line, 2020

July 31, 2020

Note: In this past edition of Maryland Manual, some links are to external sites. View the current Manual

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

ELECTIONS

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

BOARD OF ELECTIONS

[photo, Anne Arundel County Board of Elections, 6740 Baymeadow Drive, Glen Burnie, Maryland] Functions of the Board of Elections were first exercised by judges of elections, and originally the sheriff was to serve as such a judge. The Maryland Constitution of 1776 (sec. 3) provided:
    "That the sheriff of each county, or in case of sickness, his deputy, (summoning two justices of the county, who are required to attend for the preservation of the peace) shall be judge of the election . . .".

Anne Arundel County Board of Elections, 6740 Baymeadow Drive, Glen Burnie, Maryland, February 2018. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

By 1799, the county courts were authorized to appoint judges of elections for each election district (Chapter 50, Acts of 1799). Thereafter, levy court judges annually were to appoint three judges of elections for each election district to be conservators of the peace during the voting process (Chapter 97, Acts of 1805). By 1865, boards of county commissioners along with the mayor and city council of Baltimore assumed responsibility for appointing judges of elections (Chapter 174, Acts of 1865).

In 1890, for Anne Arundel County, the Board of Supervisors of Elections was created to assume duties previously exercised by the judges of elections (Chapter 538, Acts of 1890). This board was appointed by the Governor and later renamed the Board of Elections in 1999 (Chapter 585, Acts of 1998).

The Board of Elections oversees the conduct of all elections held in Anne Arundel County and ensures that the election process is conducted in an open, convenient and impartial manner (Code Election Law Article, sec. 2-202).

Appointed to four-year terms by the Governor with Senate consent, the Board formerly consisted of three members and two substitutes. In June 2019, composition of the Board was changed to five members, no substitutes (Chapter 763, Acts of 2019; Code Election Law Article, secs. 2-201 through 2-303).

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