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The town of Dewey Beach is in the process of planning ways to better comply with new state election laws and get information to the voters in a more timely manner.
Election officials, town attorney John Brady and concerned citizens gathered at the Lifesaving Station Wednesday, Oct. 24, to examine issues stemming from the Sept. 15 election. Title 15 election laws changed some of the procedures for Dewey Beach and other municipalities across the state.
Dewey election volunteers continued their traditional practice of counting absentee ballots, but that procedure does not fit the new state law. Volunteers will not be allowed to count ballots at town hall next year. Brady said state law requires absentee-ballot counting and voting take place in the same place, which is the Lifesaving Station on Dagsworthy Street.
Joan Claybrook, who was a watcher of the ballots at the election, has worked elections in Baltimore, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C. It would be a nightmare, she said, if the absentee ballots were counted at the Lifesaving Station, where there is less room than at town hall.
“There were eight people in total,” Claybrook said of the volunteers dealing with absentee ballots. “There wasn’t even room for me at the conference table. I sat against the wall.”
Voting this year drew lines along the walkway leading into the station and onto the road, and voters crammed inside the building to cast their votes. Some volunteers said the voting area is too crowded and noisy and would distract them while they were trying to count the ballots. The sheer mass of ballots makes it difficult enough for the volunteers to count, they said, even in a quiet place. The town with just over 300 full-time residents received a total of 785 absentee ballots.
There is also the issue of someone accidentally – or voluntarily — calling out a ballot count that nearby voters would hear. Rehoboth Beach experienced problems when people tabulating absentee votes leaked the results before the end of the election.
Dewey voters are allowed to vote by absentee ballot and turn it in on the day of the elections. Brady, who helped write the new laws, said the person handing in an absentee ballot is not necessarily the voter. This allows postal service workers to deliver ballots.
In some instances, the absentee ballots do not have to be notarized. Concerned officials wondered if this would allow people to register under a false name to vote. Some affidavits were both faxed and mailed in, which would give a voter two ballots if officials did not recognize the problem.
“For 26 years we required absentee ballots to be notarized for just that reason,” said election official Bob Duncan. “We are dealing with a large group of unknown people.”
Problems arose even before the election. Town Manager Gordon Elliott said the town received hundreds of affidavits before the end of the 30-day period in which candidates have to file. The ballots were supposed to be sent out no later than three days after the candidates were certified, but some people did not get their ballots in time to vote. Volunteers said some people found the ballots misleading or filled in the information incorrectly, negating their vote.
“There were a number of problems,” Claybrook said. “It was a heavy turnout, and we urged town hall to hire additional employees, which they refused. A lot of ballots went out late. Some people sent ballots in FedEx.”
Claybrook estimated that 25 to 45 people did not get a chance to vote or had to hustle to get their ballots in because they were sent out too late.
“People were unhappy about it and I would say there was a mismanagement in the process,” Claybrook said. “They had a good system. If they got everything out on time it would have worked smoothly.”
Marcia Schieck, whose boyfriend, Rich Hanewinckel, was elected commissioner, said she did not receive some voting information until Sept. 10. Schieck said she received four or five letters for her other properties on Sept. 10 as well. Brady advised everyone involved in the election process to write a report summarizing the problems that arose, so the election can run more smoothly next year.
Contact Eddie Phillipps at eddiep@capegazette.com
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