The head of Harford County’s elections fears the decision to keep polls open Tuesday through bad weather and low turnout could cost him election judges between now and November’s general election.

Harford County Election Director Jim Massey said he had to scramble to notify judges of extended polling hours Tuesday night, which later left them slipping and skidding off icy, accident-clogged roads trying to return results to the Board of Elections office in Forest Hill.

“We got the notice at 7:45, and we had 72 precincts to notify,” Massey said. “This was cruel and unusual punishment.

“I’m sure we’re going to lose a large number of judges — by the end, they were just worn out, worn down.”

This story continues below
Advertisement

When the notice came in to extend voting hours, Massey’s office scrambled to pull out the instructions for switching over to paper ballots and get them to each precinct. Some precincts already shut down their operations.

Massey said he got calls from confused voters saying they arrived at the polls and thought they were closed because of the lack of people or the dismantling of the voting equipment. Lt. James Eyler of the sheriff’s office, which handled security for the polls, said no deputies told voters to leave.

Once the word got out and the polls stayed open, only a handful of voters braved the slick roads, Massey said. The biggest turnout after 8 was eight people at one precinct.

“If we got 100 voters after 8, I’d be surprised,” he said.

The judges then faced the elements while returning results to the office. Two drove into a ditch, one judge’s car was totaled in the north end of the county, and a van returning materials from North Harford was stuck in a ditch on Ady Road. A sport utility vehicle had to be sent to unload the van and bring the results back to the office.

“I’m angry about this,” he said. “We endangered the lives of our election judges and extended the hours when it was dangerous for the public to be out.”

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com