Former candidate taken off voter rolls

April 01, 2005|by GREGORY T. SIMMONS

Washington County election officials have removed the name Charlie Baker from their list of eligible voters after it was revealed that the man's true name is Roger Dean Weber.

Weber registered to vote in January under the name Baker, and the same day filed as a candidate for mayor in the City of Hagerstown elections. He lost in the March 8 primary after receiving only 13 votes.

The removal of the name Baker from the elections list means Weber for now cannot vote in Washington County, said Dorothy Kaetzel, Washington County Board of Elections director.

"Well, not under Charlie Baker he can't register to vote," Kaetzel said. "I guess he could register under his real name."

Kaetzel said the board based its decision on a document filed in Washington County Circuit Court that showed he had asked to change his name legally from Roger Dean Weber to Charlie Baker.

The request was never granted, election officials said.

After published reports in The Herald-Mail revealed that Weber was using a false name, had a criminal history in Michigan and lived in West Virginia, the county election board moved to challenge Weber's voter registration.

On March 18, the election board made its challenge official, and the next step was Wednesday's hearing.

Weber voted in the primary, but that vote was not stricken, Kaetzel said.

Kaetzel said the case information would be forwarded to the Washington County State's Attorney's Office and the Maryland Attorney General's Office for further review.

Weber could not be reached for comment. His home phone number in West Virginia was disconnected, according to a phone company recording Wednesday.

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