Maryland man arrested for refusing to wear mask at polls, files lawsuit

A Maryland man was arrested this week after he refused to wear a mask as he cast his ballot at an early voting site – and he has filed a lawsuit charging that he was disenfranchised by the move.

Daniel Swain, 52, of Fallston, was charged Monday with trespassing and failing to comply with a health emergency order. He and his 22-year-old son balked several times at putting on masks at a voting center, according to charging documents cited by the Baltimore Sun.

"Police and election officials said the pair was offered a chance to vote safely outside, but the elder Swain told responding deputies that the request was 'unconstitutional' while claiming Maryland law allowed him to vote indoors without a mask, charging documents show," The New York Post reported.

Said the Post:

"Swain’s lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in Harford County Circuit Court, seeks a temporary restraining order against the Harford County Board of Elections, its acting director, Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler and the Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company, which hosted the voting center, the Baltimore Sun reported."

“A statewide injunction forbidding any election official or law enforcement from interfering with any voter’s right to vote by forcing them to cover their faces with a covering or mask of some sort must be immediately issued,” according to the lawsuit, which also seeks “Constitutional voting rights” training for election officials and sheriff’s deputies."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday said that most Americans have been wearing masks.

"A vast majority of Americans of all ages have been wearing face coverings since April," the agency said. Reported use of face masks among adults 18 and older in April was 78%, according to the CDC's survey data. In May, that percentage jumped to 83%, and in June the percentage of American adults wearing masks had risen to 89%.

But most states do not require the wearing of masks when voting.

"Secretaries of state or election boards in 29 of the 33 states with current mask mandates told CNN that their rules would not prevent someone who refused to wear a mask from casting a vote. The four other states did not respond to questions about the issue," CNN reported. But "more than a dozen states say voters who refuse to wear a mask will have to follow special procedures, like filling out their ballot curbside or in an isolated area of a polling place away from other voters."

But in Maryland, Republican Gov. Larry Hogan this summer signed an executive order mandating polling places to comply with public health guidance that masks be worn in all public places, The Washington Post reported.

Swain, a retired correctional officer, told the Post he felt “disenfranchised” after his arrest, claiming he was asked to wear a mask only after he showed his voter registration card that says he's a Republican.

“I found it odd,” Swain told the newspaper. “I had been there quite some time … in full view of everyone in the room and nobody said anything until that point.”