Penalties for threatening election officials in Maryland are going up under an emergency bill that Governor Wes Moore signed into law Tuesday, and will be in place for the Mary 14th primary.
Oral, written, or electronically-submitted threats are now punishable by up to three years in prison and fines of up to $25-hundred dollars - a jump from current law, which calls for prison sentences of up to a year and fines up to $1-thousand. Officials, and their immediate family members, covered under the law are —
- The State Administrator of Elections
- A member of the State Board of Elections (SBE)
- An employee of SBE; a county election director
- A member of a local board of elections
- An employee of a local board of elections
- An election judge
According to the bill’s analysis by the Department of Legislative Services, Maryland is now the 15th state since the 2020 election to increase protections for election and poll workers. The others are Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
The General Assembly passed two other bills awaiting Gov. Moore’s signature that will also be in effect for the May 14th primary. One updates requirements for canvassers to investigate when any errors in documents or records at a polling place are detected post-election. The other defines what paper records local boards of election must preserve and store recounts.