With the race in the 1st Congressional District still too close to call, Andy Harris's campaign is accusing its opponent of trying to disenfranchise voters by challenging absentee ballots in Harford County. Democrats, however, responded that those claims are untrue and that the Harris camp is overreacting to standard post-election procedures.

"The Democratic Party sent a Washington, D.C. lawyer up here and is in fact challenging the rights of Harford County voters," Mike Geppi, chair of the Harford County Republican Central Committee, told PolitickerMD.com Thursday.

Chris Meekins, Harris's campaign manager, also charged Kratovil's camp of trying to "disenfranchise voters," adding he was "extremely disappointed."

Sky Woodward, a volunteer attorney with the Harris campaign, claimed the outer privacy flaps of the Harford County absentee ballots were removed before the process of counting the absentee ballots was scheduled to begin.

She claims the Kratovil campaign "challenged the entire set of ballots."

The State Board of Elections began the process of counting absentee ballots Thursday morning after the Election Day tally in the race did not identify a clear winner.

But David Paulson, the Maryland Democratic Party's communications director, called Geppi's claims "erroneous."

"All the Democratic lawyers did was put on the record an objection to a breach in procedure," Paulson told PolitickerMD.com. "The objection to the lifting of the flap has been placed on the record so that proper procedures are followed and the integrity is preserved."

Paulson also said the claim that Kratovil's campaign was trying to get every single absentee ballot in the county thrown out was also not true. In addition, he said the "Washington, D.C. lawyer" was a volunteer lawyer with the Kratovil campaign.

Kevin Lawlor, Kratovil's press secretary, said this kind of post-election wrangling occurs frequently and is done by both parties.

"It's standard procedure," Lawlor told PolitickerMD.com. "We do it to protect the voter."

The Board of Election's official in charge of the county was unavailable for comment.