SNOW HILL – An effort that might have helped bring a second early voting site to Worcester County failed to get the support of the majority of the Worcester County Commissioners this week.
A proposal from Commissioner Josh Nordstrom to ask the Eastern Shore Delegation to add flexibility regarding early voting to the state code failed with just three commissioners voting to support it and four voting against it.
“I’m a little disappointed but I gave it a shot,” Nordstrom said. “Maybe we can try again in the future.”
Last February, the commissioners were presented with a petition asking for the establishment of a second early voting site in Worcester County. While there is a location for early voting in Berlin, residents of the southern end of the county said the commute made it difficult for some to get from Pocomoke to Berlin. The addition of a second early voting site was not approved, however, as it would have cost the county more than $100,000 to set up.
Nordstrom told his peers Tuesday he believed much of that cost came from the fact that the county would be required to have early voting locations open for eight full days. He said he didn’t think Pocomoke needed eight days of early voting but could benefit from a site that was open for early voting two or three days.
He said he’d approached members of the Eastern Shore Delegation about the possibility of amending state code to give counties with smaller populations more flexibility in setting up early voting and they’d asked him to submit a resolution in support of the effort from the board of commissioners.
“In addition to the required main early voting site—operating under established parameters—counties with a population of less than 125,000 registered voters shall have the option of opening additional sites for no fewer than two consecutive days at a length of no less than six consecutive hours on either day, encompassed in the established time frame for early voting,” read the amendment Nordstrom proposed.
When asked what second early voting site would cost the county if it was only offered for a few days, staff estimated it would cost at least $50,000 less than initially proposed.
“Without a fixed amount I don’t think I can support this,” Commissioner Jim Bunting said.
Nordstrom said sending a letter would not bind the county to anything.
“It does not obligate us to open a second early voting site it just gives us more options if we decide to do that,” he said.
Nordstrom’s motion to send a letter in support of the proposed early voting amendment to the delegation failed with a 3-4 vote. Commissioners Jim Bunting, Chip Bertino, Bud Church and Ted Elder were opposed.
