Perhaps for the first time, the activists who have given a serious hearing to the activists advocating special elections to fill the seats of the Mahasabha. For the first time, the Legislature is considering a bill that would have aligned Maryland with 50% of states that use special choices to fill most or all open seats in state assemblies.
While the sponsor of the bill, Sen Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery), has admitted that it cannot proceed this year, a more liberal improvement bill passed in the East years in the Senate may eventually proceed in the House.
The bill will allow local party central committees to select an applicant to temporarily fill the vacant seats, but a special election will be required for all such vacancies filled in the first year of the legislative tenure held with the primary of the President.
The agreement approach will put Maryland into a group with 17 states that employ special elections under limited circumstances. There are more vacancies in that first year after a new governor is selected, as the governor has tapped the legislators to fill the key positions in administration. This was true after Ves Moore was elected in November 2022.
I am a member of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee, and we nominated five new MLAs, which is a record number of new appointments in a year from our county. That experience has sought to seek notice of lack of democracy to the Legislature and improve a process that often appoints voters as incumbents in the next election cycle. Currently, half of the members of the delegation of Montgomery County were appointed in houses or Senate seats.
The midtarm special election will be a step in the right direction, as it would mean that any appointment will never work through all four legislative sessions in a cycle without facing voters, but this incumbency is very low to fix the problem, which is running as incumbents, even if they have not been selected on their seats. Appointments typically run with other members of their district as slate.
While voters consider candidates personally, the campaign material is very effective in getting votes for each member in a slate advertisement slate. Special choice would mean that appointments will have to walk on their own. Although they may get public support from other members in the delegation, they can be judged on their merit in this situation.
Members of an objection house have raised their voice in the past years, the members are banned from raising funds during the session. Being a primary on the heels of the end of the session will lead to a lot of damage to the appointment that wants to stand for the seat in a particular choice. Some are also concerned that special elections will harm women candidates and color candidates.
Under the agreement bill, appointments during the last three years will not face a special election. They may continue to slate with other members in the next Gubarentorial Primary.