FREDERICK, Md. — Voters in Frederick, Maryland were choosing a mayor and aldermen Tuesday, but some voters said it did not feel like a local election at all, pointing the blame at national political division.
“The country did not used to be this way,” complained voter Jayne Booth.
Fellow voter Sherrie Hughes said national bitterness has infected local politics.
“Everybody's fighting against each other instead of helping people,” Hughes said.
Frederick's mayoral election features a Republican candidate who was indicted by a grand jury in October for 13 counts of felony assault after police said he pointed a gun at neighbors.
That candidate is Steven Hamrick Jr., who changed the spelling of his name to Hammrick when he filed to be put on the ballot. According to his website Hammrickforfreedom.com, he's running on a platform that includes second amendment rights and immigration reform.
Michelle Shay is a fellow Republican candidate for alderman running on local issues like reducing taxes and increasing police protection.
"I do feel like a lot of the national narratives and agendas are just trickling down," Shay said. "I am concerned about that, because I do think that they're trickling down and they don't necessarily apply and they're not necessarily the same issues that we're facing here in Frederick and I'm concerned about that focus, when there's other focuses that we really need to be having here in the city."
Hammrick did not respond to WUSA9’s request for an interview. He is due in court Nov. 12 to face the charges against him.
Meanwhile, another Republican candidate for alderman, Bob Fischer, said he fears the local election is at risk of being rigged because ballots were sent out by mail to all voters.
“It says there's something smelly about the whole thing,” Fischer said.
The city’s election administrator Phillys Hane said mail-in voting was encouraged because of COVID-19 precautions that limited in-person voting. She noted all security measures to prevent fraud or double voting are in full effect.
"A lot of people have concerns just about the electoral process," Hane said.
As a result, Hane said a live video feed of vote canvassing will be broadcast on community cable and candidates will be allowed to witness the counting despite COVID restrictions to increase confidence in the process.
Former Mayor Jennifer Dougherty (D) said she entered the race as a write-in after Hamrick won the Republican primary.
"He's a very unserious person," Dougherty said. "He's making a laughingstock of the process, and I'm insulted as a resident and taxpayer."
Registration in Frederick is about 50% Democrat, 25% Republican and the rest unaffiliated, according to Hane.