City elections board seeks volunteers

Annapolis supervisors forming task force to study voting process

The Annapolis Board of Supervisors of Elections is seeking volunteers to study municipal election law and make recommendations to improve voting procedures.

The board will select five qualified individuals to serve for a six-month term, the city announced in a news release. The City Council approved a resolution in September establishing the task force.

The Board of Supervisors of Elections, consisting of Democrats Eileen Leahy and Keanuú Smith-Brown and Republican Debbie Yatsuk, will make recommendations for appointments to Mayor Gavin Buckley. The Annapolis City Council will confirm the appointments.

The goal of the task force is to examine all aspects of the city’s voting process, including elections being held in off-years, and to find ways to increase turnout and improve confidence in the electoral system, Leahy said.

Task force members will be unpaid and expected to hold at least one public meeting. At the conclusion of their six-month session they will submit a report to the City Council for review.

Volunteers should be from “geographically and politically diverse backgrounds” and have experience in elections, according to the city release.

For decades, the city has held its elections outside of the presidential and midterm election years, which are in even years.

The last city election was held in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Buckley, a Democrat, was elected to a second term and eight Democrats were elected to the City Council. Voter turnout was 40%, the highest in city elections since 1997. In all, 9,927 of the city’s roughly 25,000 eligible registered voters cast ballots, results showed.

Turnout was bolstered in large part by a new vote-by-mail system implemented by the city elections board. Nearly 7,900 people cast votes by mail or dropped off their ballots at a drop box, compared to 2,000 people who voted in person on Election Day.

After a report detailed problems in the 2013 municipal elections, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County struck a deal to split city election responsibility between the two governments. That partnership continued last year.

Those who wish to serve on the Election Task Force should submit an application no later than Dec 28. The application can be found at: annapolis.gov/1984/Board-of-Supervisors-of-Elections-Task-F.

“Its not prescriptive, so if you’re interested in being a part of the task force, submit your resume and it will be reviewed all the same,” said Mitchelle Stephenson, city spokesperson.

The city has received one inquiry and one application so far, Stephenson said.

For more information or if you have questions about participating, send an email to elections@annapolis.gov.