BALTIMORE (AP) — A political operative for former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich is set to go on trial on charges of using robocalls to encourage voters in two jurisdictions with large numbers of black residents to stay home.

The trial of Julius Henson, a campaign consultant, is expected to begin Tuesday. Henson and Paul Schurick, a longtime Ehrlich aide, are charged with conspiring to violate election laws and other offenses. Schurick’s trial is set to begin later this month.

The calls told supporters of Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley and President Barack Obama to relax because the candidates already had won. Henson has said he did not believe the calls were illegal and they were not meant to suppress the vote.

Ehrlich and his wife, Kendal, have been added to the state’s witness list.

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