This question of write in votes entered into our election because of our town manager's comments in last Wednesday's Times Record. I can't begin to count how many people asked me what he was up to. I told them I didn't know exactly but that everyone should come out and vote even though the election was uncontested. Only 18 people voted in our last uncontested election and it would be easy for a stealthy write in effort to end up with more votes. The town manager's comments galvanized those supporting Dale Mumford to come out and vote and not allow some last minute write in scheme to undermine our election.
Here is the problem with the whole write in possibility. Elections are only fair if certain conditions are met. They must be open and follow a predictable timetable so that the voters know who is running and what skills and views candidates possess. Whether there is a formal debate or a campaign with flyers and door to door visits, this amount of time allows voters to a get acquainted with candidates. Providing this time and opportunity to the electorate is one reason why there are deadlines to sign up to run for an office.
Elections must also be ordered following procedural rules. Voters and candidates must be citizens and live in the jurisdiction where they vote or want to hold office. There must be time to verify such information to avoid election fraud. This is yet another reason for election deadlines for both those seeking office and voting.
Write in initiatives contradict and undermine the whole notion of a fair, open, and ordered election. Sure, sometimes they are simply protests and some of us may have used write ins to thumb our noses at a poor choice by writing in good 'ole Mickey Mouse. However, an organized and last minute write in effort is nothing less than a sneaky refuge for scoundrels too unqualified to stand for office and the public scrutiny elections bring. Such initiatives not only undermine democracy, they don't count. In Ridgely, our charter omits any mention of write in votes, therefore, rendering them invalid. However, charter or not, IF a write in effort garnered more votes, it could have ended up in court, delaying the swearing in of the legitimate registered candidate. Considering Ridgely's pressing problems this would have been a disaster.
In January, Dale Mumford, registered to run for commissioner. Over the months since January, he went all over town talking to all kinds of Ridgelyites. Clearly, no one saw fit to challenge him legitimately and register by the April 17th deadline. I think that most people in town are satisfied with his qualifications and saw no reason to run against such a man. I don't doubt that there were some town manager cheerleaders in town who didn't like this. However, clearly a decision was made on their part not to register and challenge Dale because it was clear that their position was bankrupt(about $238,000.00 to be exact).
Things worked out this time because of voter vigilance. However, this problem has hurt other towns nearby such as Hurlock. There they amended their charter to correct these kind of shenanigans. Ridgely has a whole host of issues with its charter that need to be addressed to ensure that our town maintains a government by and for the people of Ridgely.
