LA PLATA — One school board seat in Charles County’s District 1 is still up for grabs. With all 34 Election Day precincts counted, Shawna Marks holds the district’s second seat by 185 votes over Henry Thompson, the closest margin of any countywide or school board contest on the Charles ballot.
The figures come from unofficial Charles County returns posted by the Maryland State Board of Elections, last refreshed at 9:21 a.m. Wednesday. Mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day and provisional ballots have not been counted, so none of the races below is final.
This story covers the school board and other offices below the Board of County Commissioners. The Chronicle reported earlier on Amanda Stewart and the Democratic commissioner slate’s lead.
The District 1 race
Voters in each of the four school board districts choose two members. In District 1, Bernadette Smith leads comfortably with 6,049 votes, or 30%. The second seat is a two-way contest: Marks has 5,419 and Thompson has 5,234. Samichie K. Thomas is fourth with 3,187.
How the votes were cast cuts both ways. Thompson outpolled Marks on Election Day, 3,383 to 3,105. Marks built her lead in early voting, 1,930 to 1,538, and has a smaller edge in mail-in ballots counted so far, 384 to 313. If late mail-in ballots follow that pattern, they would add to Marks’ margin rather than erase it.
Districts 2, 3 and 4
The other three districts produced wider gaps. In District 2, Jamila Smith leads with 7,320 votes, and Eileen G. Parks is second, 769 votes ahead of Jason Henry. In District 3, Dottery A. Butler-Washington leads with 7,363, and Nicole M. Kreamer holds the second seat by 770 votes over Christopher O. J. Alberts.
District 4 was not competitive for seats. Only two candidates filed for its two positions, so Denise M. Joseph, with 10,286 votes, and Michael “Mike” Lukas, with 8,215, will both take office.
District Leading for seat 1 Leading for seat 2 Margin for seat 2 1 Bernadette Smith, 6,049 Shawna Marks, 5,419 185 over Henry Thompson 2 Jamila Smith, 7,320 Eileen G. Parks, 5,868 769 over Jason Henry 3 Dottery A. Butler-Washington, 7,363 Nicole M. Kreamer, 5,597 770 over Christopher O. J. Alberts 4 Denise M. Joseph, 10,286 Michael “Mike” Lukas, 8,215 Uncontested
Wills, estates and the unopposed offices
Democrat Loraine Davies Hennessy leads Republican Latisha Shorter for register of wills, 46,399 votes to 12,282, or 79% to 21%. In the Orphans’ Court race, where voters pick three judges for the court that oversees estates and wills, Democrats Darlene M. Breck, Tisha R. Tyler and Russell Yates hold the top three spots. Yates, in third, leads Republican Angela Parker by more than 23,000 votes.
Three Democrats ran without opposition. Sheriff Troy Berry received 51,820 votes, State’s Attorney Anthony “Tony” Covington received 50,054 and Clerk of the Circuit Court Lisa E. Yates received 50,479.
Charles was the only one of the three Southern Maryland counties to vote for all three statewide constitutional amendments. Question 3, which lets the General Assembly redraw congressional districts without the state constitution’s compactness rules, drew 68.5% support in Charles. Calvert and St. Mary’s voters rejected it. Voters here also favored retaining Appellate Court Judge Dan Friedman, 82.2% to 17.8%.
The Charles County Board of Elections will count remaining mail-in and provisional ballots in its post-election canvasses before certifying results. Updated counts will post to the state’s results page. For how the night unfolded, see the Chronicle’s live Charles County returns.
