Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Valerie Ervin received a boost Thursday in her attempt to get her name onto the June primary ballot when the state Democratic Party publicly supported the effort.

“The Democratic Party believes that Maryland law requires the Maryland Board of Elections to do everything in its power to list all eligible gubernatorial candidates and to conduct a smooth election process for all voters,” party Chairwoman Kathleen Matthews said in a statement Thursday. “Voters deserve nothing less.”

And an attorney for Ervin and her running mate, Marisol Johnson, appeared before the Maryland State Board of Elections in Annapolis to press the campaign’s case for new ballots.

Ervin is taking the place of her former running mate, Kevin Kamenetz, who died of sudden cardiac arrest on May 10. She wants to make sure her name appears on ballots and sued this week to compel the state to produce accurate ballots.

But state elections officials have said it’s not possible to reprint or modify the ballots, and instead will notify voters that ballots cast for Kamenetz will count as votes for Ervin.

“We believe we can provide adequate notice to all Democratic voters,” said Nikki Charlson, deputy state elections administrator.

Ervin’s attorney, Mariana Cordier, disagreed.

“We believe the voters of Maryland will not be fully advised and informed,” Cordier said of the plan. She said the plan “can definitely affect the integrity of the election.”

After Cordier spoke, the state elections board went into closed session to discuss — among other topics — Ervin’s lawsuit.

Board Chairman David J. McManus Jr. said afterward that the board would have no further statement until Monday, when a hearing on Ervin’s lawsuit is scheduled in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.

Meanwhile, Ervin and Johnson gathered with supporters outside the Baltimore Board of Elections earlier Thursday to insist that state elections officials were wrong to not list their names on the ballots for the June 26 primary election.

“This has to do with every single voter who will go to the polls on June 26 to vote for a candidate of their choosing,” Ervin said. “The problem is that Marisol and my names will not be there. And that is a huge problem for the state of Maryland in so many different ways.”

Ervin said there’s a strong chance that someone will contest the results of the election due to the inaccurate ballots. In addition to Ervin and Johnson not being on the ballot, some Baltimore voters will see the name of former state Sen. Nathaniel T. Oaks, even though he is no longer an eligible candidate and sought to be removed from the ballot.

Oaks pleaded guilty to federal charges in March and is facing jail time at sentencing in July.

In a separate matter involving Ervin, a former Montgomery County councilwoman, the state board approved an enforcement action against her longtime campaign committee for various lapses between 2012 and January. They included failing to report about $8,000 in contributions and expenditures. Her committee was fined $650.

pwood@baltsun.com

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