The Maryland State Board of Elections amended its rules Thursday to bar members from communicating with people actively suing the board.

The decision comes after a Baltimore Banner article revealed that Republican board members Diane Butler and Jim Shalleck had been corresponding for months with Kate Sullivan, an election activist attempting to use the courts to stop Maryland’s election.

In May, a federal judge threw out the lawsuit filed by Maryland Election Integrity LLC and Missouri-based nonprofit United Sovereign Americans, ruling that they lacked standing and simply alleged “generalized grievances.” The plaintiffs have appealed the decision.

The case was the first of similar cases filed in other states that good governance watchdogs say threaten to undermine trust in elections.

The board unanimously passed the rule proposed by Democratic board member Yaakov “Jake” Weissmann. Weissmann told his board colleagues that he was upset when he saw the article.

“I know I speak for all of us when I say that public trust in this board is and needs to be the top priority of all of us, as does trust in one another in this collective and important work that we do together,” he said.

Weissmann read the new bylaw’s language during the live-streamed meeting.

“Members have an obligation to the board and to the public, and know that members of the public who may disagree with a board action may choose to seek legal relief,“ he said. “To avoid even the appearance of impropriety, members may not communicate directly or indirectly about any board matter with members of the public who are in active litigation against the board.”

Litigants wishing to communicate with the board can still do so through the board’s legal counsel, according to the rule.

Butler asked whether board members would be provided a list of litigants’ names they’re supposed to refer to legal counsel.

“How are we going to know to make sure we don’t do something incorrectly again?” she asked.

Weissmann responded, “I do think there’s a little bit of — for lack of a better term — common sense,” but said he was amenable to altering language later for clarity.

Chair of the State Elections Board Michael G. Summers added: “If there is ever any doubt — disclosure” and encouraged her to seek the advice of counsel to preclude impropriety.

Before the board took up the proposal, Butler and Shalleck responded to the news report. Shalleck, who serves as the board’s vice chair, said he was very upset by the article, apologized to his colleagues and said he regretted the controversy.

Butler insisted she and Shalleck “did nothing wrong” and admonished the news media for “attacking” the pair’s integrity. She said they did their jobs by passing the concerns of Sullivan and others along to the Maryland State Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis.

Butler called on Summers to publish a statement on behalf of the board saying that she and Shalleck have acted as professional and impartial board members and that all of the board’s votes have been unanimous.

“The press can write what they want, but when they erroneously attack public-service board members, the record needs to be corrected,” she said.

The board agreed to suspend its rules so they could immediately enact the bylaw. All five members of the board, including Butler and Shalleck, raised their hands to affirm their vote.

Public records revealed that Butler and Shalleck had been corresponding with Sullivan for months. Sullivan reached out congratulating them on their appointments and sent them a list of concerns she had about election processes — election judges’ attendance, precinct vote reconciliations and ballot custody. The board’s trust in its own processes was part of the problem, she wrote.

Shalleck and Butler relayed inquiries on behalf of Sullivan and, in Shalleck’s case, bogus election fraud theories on behalf of others, to DeMarinis. At times, they relayed DeMarinis’ answers or internal conversations back to activists. Nothing in the records indicates either was discussing the lawsuit with Sullivan or others.

The meeting took place on the first day of early voting in Maryland.

DeMarinis shared the first day’s early voting turnout numbers on social media throughout the day. Within the first 90 minutes of polls opening, roughly 11,000 voters had cast a ballot and by 1 p.m. that number had reached 75,000, with 500 new voter registrations.

Early voting in Maryland continues through Oct. 31, and people can register to vote at the polls. Online voter registration is closed.

A list of early voting places by county can be found here. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., including on Saturday and Sunday.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Check your designated Election Day polling location here.

Correction: This story was updated to correct Jim Shalleck's title to vice chair of the board.