Within hours of announcing his retirement, Armstead Jones died at the age of 71.

Del. Melissa Wells, a Baltimore City Democrat, announced his death to the House of Delegates on Saturday.

“On a little bit of somber moment here, but I just wanted to announce that last night Armstead Jones passed away. He served as director of Baltimore City Board of Elections for nearly 18 years,” Wells said at the end of Saturday’s floor session. “We really thank him for his service and just want to take a moment to think about his family and keep him in our thoughts and prayers.”

Mayor Brandon Scott released a statement about the legacy Jones leaves behind.

“Armstead Jones, Sr. was an institution himself. He had just completed 30 years of service to the Board of Elections, nearly 18 of them as chair, overseeing countless fair and free elections. In recent years, as poll workers across our country were under attack, Mr. Jones stood cool, calm and collected on behalf of all Baltimoreans and our right to vote,” Scott said. “The Board of Elections today is a credit to his work to recruit and train the very best—and his legacy will forever live on in Baltimore politics.”

Marvin James, Scott’s chief of staff and a longtime campaign manager, called Jones an institution.

“He had a sincere love for what he did, and he was Baltimore through and through,” James said.

Jones entered his career in elections in 1995 as a board member. He became president of the Baltimore City Board of Elections in 2003, then its director.

Jones oversaw city elections through countless changes, including a shift in the city election calendar and more recently the move to widespread voting by mail amid the pandemic, a shift that challenged election directors across the state.

Baltimore was the testing ground for the change as it hosted a special election in April 2020 for the 7th Congressional District. Under Jones’ leadership, the city counted tens of thousands of ballots for the election, most of them cast by mail. The system was replicated statewide that summer.

“Armstead has been a fixture at the Baltimore City Board of Elections,” Michael Summers, chairman of the Maryland State Board of Elections, said in a press release announcing Jones’ retirement.

Jones was on leave when he announced his retirement on Friday and was expected to officially retire from the position effective May 1.

In recent years, Jones stepped away from the role several times because of health challenges, including being on leave for the 2024 primary preparations and being hospitalized during the 2022 gubernatorial election.

Baltimore Banner reporter Brenda Wintrode contributed to this story.