Baltimore elections board head on medical leave; acting director managing primary
The Baltimore Board of Elections is under the control of an acting director for the May 14 primary.
Last month, the board voted to name Abigail Goldman acting director on a temporary basis. Goldman typically serves as deputy director of the board. The move was necessitated by medical leave taken by longtime director Armstead Jones, said board president Scherod Barnes.
Barnes emphasized that the switch is temporary.
“We have not gotten an update on the status of when Armstead will be back,” he said. “We’ll keep everything in place when he returns.”
Jones, 70, has served as Baltimore’s elections director since 2006 when he was named to replace Gene Raynor. Raynor, a close ally of former Democratic Mayor William Donald Schaefer, was initially chosen as director over Jones, who was chairman of the election board at the time. The pair clashed, and after the City Council complained of numerous mistakes made during the 2006 gubernatorial primary, Raynor resigned.
Like Jones, Goldman has a long tenure with the board. She has worked there in an administrative capacity for 40 years.
This is the second time Goldman has served as director in an acting capacity. Jones was on medical leave during the 2022 general election for governor, as well.
Barnes said he’s confident the board is prepared for the primary, despite the temporary change in leadership. The city’s first mail-in ballots were sent two weeks ago to voters, who are already filling them out and sending them in, he said. The board has election judges in place for all of the early voting period, which begins May 2, but still needs judges for primary day, he said.
“We’re dotting all our i’s, crossing all our t’s,” Barnes said. “Everything is running smoothly at this point.”
