Ervin Sues to Get on the Ballot

By Sean Yoes, Baltimore AFRO Editor, [email protected]

Maryland gubernatorial candidate Valerie Ervin has filed a lawsuit against the Maryland State Board of Elections to get the ticket of her and running mate Marisol Johnson on the ballot in time for the Democratic Primary on June 26.

Ervin, who ascended to the top of the gubernatorial ticket once occupied by Kevin Kamenetz, who died suddenly of a cardiac arrest May 10, officially filed the lawsuit May 29.

“There’s no basis for the State Administrator’s hasty announcement — it casts a wide shadow over the integrity of the election. Marylanders deserve a clear outcome the morning of June 27,” Ervin said in a statement. “The State Board must fulfill its legal obligation to not only ensure the integrity of the election, but also ensure the right to vote is protected.” Ervin was referring to the assertion by Donna Duncan, the Maryland Board of Elections assistant deputy, that it was too late to print new ballots and that the cost of $2 million would be prohibitive, according to a report by the Washington Post.

“We clearly determined it was not possible to reprint the ballots,” Duncan said.

Duncan also said any vote cast for Kamenetz would be counted for Ervin. The gubernatorial ticket of Ervin/Johnson is the first gubernatorial ticket in Maryland history with two women of color. Lamone said the Board has opted to post signs or notices at polling places around the state to notify voters to the change.

Ervin’s lawyer, Mariana Cordier, who filed the suit in Anne Arundel County offered the official statement concerning the legal action according to the Ervin/Johnson campaign.

“It affects the integrity of an election if the voters are not aware of or do not have accurate information as to who they can vote for — who they can ultimately choose,” Cordier told WTOP radio.