Jalisi seeks new election citing ballot issue

A former state delegate is claiming a ballot error in one precinct cost him a shot at returning to the State House.

Hasan M. “Jay” Jalisi served in the House from 2015-2023. In a three-page lawsuit filed July 28, more than a month after the primary, Jalisi said his campaign to return to the House of Delegates was thwarted by an error that caused his name to be left off the early voting ballot in one Randallstown precinct.

Jalisi is asking the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to stay the results of the election. He is also requesting that the cour order a new Democratic primary election in District 10.

“But for the omission of his name from the early voting ballots … he would have been a top-three finisher,” Jalisi claimed in his filing.

Jalisi is representing himself. The State Board of Elections and Election Administrator Jared DeMarinis are named as defendants.

DeMarinis declined to comment about the suit Friday.

Jalisi was not immediately available for comment.

In the lawsuit, Jalisi said voters reported to him that his name did not appear on a “computer ballot for precinct 2-016.” The precinct on the west side of Baltimore County votes on election day at Randallstown High School.

Jalisi said he notified elections officials of the problem, to no avail.

“The Maryland State Board of Elections took no corrective action and, to date, have taken no steps to certify or confirm” that Jalisi was on the ballot for the entirety of early voting.

In his lawsuit, Jalisi does not identify any specific voters who were unable to vote for him. The filing also does not include any affidavits from voters.

Jalisi said the omission denied voters an opportunity to cast a ballot for him. He claims that “altered the outcome and prevented him from finishing among the top three candidates.”

Jalisi was seeking a return to the House of Delegates after a four-year absence. His time in office was marked with problems including a public reprimand for “an ongoing pattern of unrepentant bullying” and creating a “toxic” work environment. He was ordered to undergo anger management by then-House Speaker Michael Busch. When he did not, he was barred from hiring staff.

Jalisi at the time called the ethics report a “sham investigation.”

Months into his first term, Jalisi’s daughter sought and was granted a yearlong protective order after she told a judge her father assaulted her during an argument and stalked her. As a result, Busch removed him from the House Judiciary Committee.

During the election, he became the target of a campaign opposing his re-election. American Future, a political action committee, pumped nearly $352,000 into mailings and online ads opposing Jalisi. At the same time, the PAC spent tens of thousands in District 10 backing Sen. Ben Brooks, Dels. N. Scott Phillips and Jennifer White Holland and newcomer Robin Harvey.

All four won the primary and do not face opposition in the general election in November.

Jalisi finished fifth out of six candidates in that primary race. Phillips finished third, 3,573 votes ahead of Jalisi.

American Future was backed by $41 million in transfers from the Win for America PAC. That group is funded by gaming interests including FanDuel, DraftKings and other gaming interests, according to the Federal Election Commission.

The lawsuit was filed last week. It came nearly a week after a panel of state officials certified the primary.

Ballots for the 2026 general election must be certified by Aug. 31.