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Baltimore Election Director Grilled Over Primary Problems

Don Rush

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Baltimore's election director says election judges who failed to show up at the polls were a main cause of the city's April primary problems.

Armstead Jones faced a panel of state senators Tuesday. They wanted to know what was being done to prevent problems in the November election.

Jones says the city will hire an additional 400 judges to increase the pool for the city's 296 precincts. For the primary, the city had hired an added 400 judges to the 1,700 it had in 2014, and still had problems getting enough judges to show up.

The city had a crowded Democratic primary for mayor. A group of Baltimore activists has filed a federal complaint against the city and state elections board relating to alleged irregularities, including polls that opened late.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.