Election Reformers Cranking Up Before Session

Efforts to improve the integrity of the election process in Maryland are gearing up ahead of next year’s General Assembly session.

On Tuesday morning, good government advocates will join state Sen. Will Smith (D) and Dels. Kirill Reznik (D) and Eric Luedtke (D) at a Lawyers Mall news conference in Annapolis. The group will call on lawmakers to protect and expand ballot access in the state; legislation is pending.

The campaign comes in reaction to the highly-controversial Election Integrity Commission that the Trump administration created earlier this year.

At the same time, the group Tame the Gerrymander is cranking up for another legislative fight over redistricting. The group supports Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) push to create a nonpartisan redistricting commission to draw congressional and legislative district lines in the state.

The Democratic-controlled legislature has repeatedly rejected Hogan’s proposal. Last year, Democrats promoted an alternate plan they called the Mid-Atlantic Regional Compact. They argued that the state should use an independent commission to create congressional districts if New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina agree to the same deal.

Before the session begins, Tame the Gerrymander is asking Marylanders to fill out a survey about gerrymandering. See it here.

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