Q&A: Amid disinformation, new Maryland elections head says ‘we have to be that trusted source’ in democracy

BALTIMORE -- For the first time in more than two decades, Maryland is poised to welcome a new elections administrator with the selection of Jared DeMarinis to replace longtime administrator Linda Lamone.

DeMarinis, 49, of Annapolis, is a familiar face inside election circles — he previously headed the Maryland State Board of Elections’ Division of Candidacy and Campaign Finance — but he’s largely unknown to the general public.

If the state Senate approves the board’s choice next year, giving DeMarinis the job on a permanent basis at an annual salary of $144,000, he’ll be responsible for mounting at least a statewide primary and a general election every other year. He’ll also oversee buying voting equipment and implementing a roster of ever-evolving election laws approved by state legislators and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.

As an 18-year employee of the state elections board, DeMarinis is a student of elections both locally and abroad. When he wasn’t helping Maryland candidates navigate campaign finance law, he served as an international election monitor, traveling to places like Armenia, Azerbaijan and North Macedonia to observe elections and bring overseas expertise back to the United States.

The Baltimore Sun sat down Tuesday with DeMarinis to talk about his vision for the job and the challenges the role brings as elections across the country face intense scrutiny.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What kind of elections administrator do you envision yourself being? Do you expect to be a vocal advocate or operate more quietly?

I think that right now you need good communication and transparency. We’re facing a threat — not just in election administration, but in democracy — with disinformation. We have to be that trusted source, but you can’t be passive. You have to do outreach. You have to be proactive in this battle.

What kind of change can we expect to see from the Board of Elections under your leadership?

I’m my own person. I’m replacing a person who was here for 25 years, so I think we have a solid foundation. But the challenges are different and require some more understanding of how much outreach is needed. Traditionally, election administrators were there but not heard. You helped process it, but the fights, the policy arguments were all done with the partisan actors. We were in the background. That’s changed and it’s changed fundamentally to rock the core of the foundation of democracy. Now my counterparts are getting death threats. Election judges in this area are get doxxed. You can’t be on the sidelines.

It’s a fine line, though. We were never an advocate type of entity, but we are advocates, in a sense, making sure that everyone can have the right to vote, that you can trust the process, that you can trust the results. And we’re playing a little catch-up now because the disinformation took hold.

Maryland has experienced a tremendous increase in voters casting mail-in ballots, fueled initially by the pandemic. What do the next 10 years look like in terms of that continued transition?

We have to look at our resources and see where we can go and move forward. If that means shifting or expanding early voting or looking at what we need to do on Election Day, these are things we have to look at with strong data.

I don’t think we’ve established a true baseline. You can’t talk about options until you establish that baseline. Pre-COVID, we saw where the data was starting to fill out on early voting. COVID was a game changer. We used to have 6% vote by mail; now it’s much higher (in November 2022, 27% of participating voters cast mail-in ballots). But at the same time, we’ve had one gubernatorial election. We haven’t had a full presidential with all the different systems there. It’s too early to say.

The General Assembly has spoken loud and clear, however. They want to make sure whatever decisions we make that we understand the nature of affecting historically disenfranchised communities.

Would you change how election results are communicated to the public?

We just passed a bill allowing early counting of ballots. I was a supporter of that. One of the things I enjoy is the flexibility for local election boards. It recognized that certain counties need more time due to volume of ballots. Other counties don’t necessarily have the volume or the staff. The bill allows for flexibility. If a county comes in and says, “We only have X number of ballots and we can do that in a day,” the state administrator can waive that requirement. But if a third of your ballots are coming through the mail, then no, you start earlier.

You’ve observed elections abroad conducted entirely online. Would you ever consider moving to an online voting system in Maryland?

That’s something that would be a huge policy shift, and that’s 100% within the domain of the General Assembly and the governor.

Maryland has a closed primary system, but there are active third-party candidates and groups. What can the state do to be more inclusive?

Some of that is also a policy initiative that needs to come from the General Assembly, and I think it’s important they weigh in on this. As election administrators, we implement their policy to ensure people have access to the polls and make it as accessible as possible.

But the General Assembly is controlled by two major parties, leaving little incentive for change.

Online petition gathering has been brought up before our board (by third-party officials), and it’s one of those things we looked at. We allowed it for COVID and it was successful, but over time, it’s definitely a policy shift that is in the domain of policymakers.

Maryland’s election judges and poll staff are an aging group. What’s your plan to reach out to younger employees?

I think getting into middle schools and engaging. One of the things that gets lost is the struggle behind winning voting rights. They have to understand all the hardships and how that was fought for from generation to generation. Engaging in and starting the process a little bit earlier is something that I want to do.

It’s a long-term concept I have, but I don’t believe there’s an election museum in the United States. I would like to start something. Having raised two daughters, they like to see things. You can tell them about struggles. That’s conceptual. It’s very hard to show them‚ “This is what an old voting system looked like,” “Here’s what the 2000 case was about,” “These are hanging chads.”

Maryland’s passed a law, often dubbed the “Linda Lamone for Life Law,” protecting election administrators during the tenure of your predecessor. It was repealed just this year. Do you want to be election administrator for life?

Wow, yeah. I just got in here. I’ve been overwhelmed with the amount of support, emails, texts, now letters. I’m wanting to hit on challenges here, but I’m not thinking that far. Maybe my election museum idea, but that’s about it.