Harvey v. DeMarinis

Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County Case No. C-02-CV-23-002315 Argued: February 5, 2024 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF MARYLAND No. 26 September Term, 2023 __________________________________ DEREK HARVEY, ET AL. v. JARED DEMARINIS, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS THE STATE ADMINISTRATOR OF ELECTIONS, ET AL. __________________________________ Fader, C.J., Watts, Hotten, Booth, Biran, Gould, Eaves, JJ. __________________________________ ORDER __________________________________ Filed: February 28, 2024 Pursuant to the Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act (§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document is authentic. 2024.02.28 10:58:52 -05'00' Gregory Hilton, Clerk * DEREK HARVEY, ET AL. IN THE * SUPREME COURT v. * OF MARYLAND JARED DEMARINIS, IN HIS * OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS THE No. 26 STATE ADMINISTRATOR OF * ELECTIONS, ET AL. September Term, 2023 * ORDER Upon consideration of the filings by Derek Harvey, et al., Appellants, and Jared DeMarinis, in his official capacity as the State Administrator of Elections, et al., Appellees, oral argument conducted in the above-captioned case on February 5, 2024, and the subsequently filed “Conditional, Joint Motion to Consolidate, Vacate, and Remand for Dismissal,” Whereas, on November 8, 2023, in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Appellants filed an amended emergency petition challenging the Maryland State Board of Elections’ decision not to approve the placement of an early voting center in the Hancock Town Hall in Washington County, setting forth four counts, seeking: (I) judicial (injunctive) relief under Md. Code Ann., Elec. Law (2003, 2022 Repl.

Vol.) (“EL”) § 12-202 (Judicial Challenges); (II) voiding of the State Board’s act under Md. Code Ann., Gen. Prov. (2014, 2019 Repl. Vol.) (“GP”) § 3-401 (Enforcement in General), part of the Open Meetings Act, GP §§ 3-101 to 3-501; (III) declaratory judgment; and (IV) a common-law writ of mandamus,1 Whereas, in Count I of the amended petition, Appellants contended that the State Board’s review and lack of approval of the Hancock location violated applicable provisions of the Election Law Article and Code of Maryland Regulations, Whereas, on November 12, 2023, Appellees filed a motion to dismiss the amended petition or in the alternative for summary judgment, seeking judgment with respect to all counts, Whereas, on November 22, 2023, Appellants filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss and/or for summary judgment, and a motion for summary judgment, seeking judgment in their favor on each count of the amended petition, Whereas, on November 27, 2023, Appellants filed a second amended petition, naming the Board of County Commissioners for Washington County (the “Commissioners”) as an additional petitioner for Counts II, III, and IV, and on November 28, 2023, Appellees filed a motion to strike the second amended petition, Whereas, on November 29, 2023, after a hearing conducted on November 14 and 29, 2023, the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, ruling from the Bench, denied Appellees’ motion to strike the second amended petition and granted Appellees’ motion for summary judgment on all counts in the second amended petition, 1 On November 6, 2023, Appellants had filed in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County a one-count emergency petition seeking injunctive relief under EL § 12-202(a)(1). 2 Whereas, on December 1, 2023, two appeals were