State lawmakers in Maryland will vote on the nomination of Diane Butler to the state elections board following the resignation of a member accused of taking part in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Ms. Butler, a Republican who previously worked as a county elections official in Maryland, was questioned by state legislators earlier in the month, specifically probing her whereabouts on Jan. 6, 2021. Her predecessor, Carlos Ayala, resigned after he was charged with taking part in the events at the U.S. Capitol.
The five-member board, whose responsibility it is to ensure adherence to election laws in Maryland and the federal government, consists of three members of the majority political party and two members of the minority party. Members serve four-year terms.
When the Democrat-controlled panel questioned Ms. Butler during a state Senate hearing, they were following up on a promise to be more attentive in their confirmation process in light of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Ayala’s departure.
Mr. Ayala, a resident of Salisbury, Maryland, was appointed to the board by Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, in 2023, two years after the Capitol breach. Mr. Ayala got a recommendation from the Maryland Republican Party. His confirmation by the Maryland Senate followed the chamber’s rejection of an alternative nominee for the position.
The former election board member resigned in January after he was arrested by the FBI. He is currently facing charges of civil disorder, a felony, and many misdemeanor counts.
When questioned about her whereabouts on Jan. 6, 2021, Ms. Butler said she was at home after visiting her daughter in Florida and spent the day cleaning her fish tank.
She was also confronted with a number of inquiries concerning her personal convictions regarding the honesty of the state’s election process.
Ms. Butler made an appearance before a panel of the state Senate that votes on nominations proposed by the governor for posts in state government. This panel includes the Maryland State Board of Elections, which is made up of five members. The minority party, which in Maryland is the Republican Party, submits nominations for two members to the governor of the state.
The governor then sends the nominations to the state Senate for review. Ms. Butler was also asked by Democratic state Sen. Clarence Lam if she believed that fraud “is a significant problem in Maryland’s elections.” She replied, “no.”
She also stated that she did not feel there had been any illegal involvement in the elections that had taken place in the state in the past. When Ms. Butler was asked about her thoughts on mail-in votes, she said she believed “it can be done extremely well” and that Maryland did “a good job with it under the circumstances we had” during the pandemic.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the state Senate committee for comment about the vote.
