MACo Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally this week testified in support of SB 831 Election Reform Act of 2021 with amendments before the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee. This comprehensive bill makes several changes to the structure and administration of Maryland elections, including boosting transparency for local Boards of Elections, providing needed flexibility for the canvass of ballots, and requiring that election results be reported by precinct. While most of the bill’s facets are outside…

MACo Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally today testified in support of HB 1066 - Local Public Campaign Financing - Expansion to Additional Offices before the House Ways and Means Committee. This bill expands the offices for which a county may establish a system of public campaign financing. From the MACo Testimony: Currently, counties may authorize public campaign financing for elective offices in the executive and legislative branches of county government. This bill enables county governments to offer public…

MACo Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally today testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in opposition of HB 759 Election Law - Postelection Tabulation Audits - Risk-Limiting Audits. This bill requires the State Board of Elections, in collaboration with the local boards of elections, to conduct a risk-limiting audit of specified state and local contests following each statewide election. Risk-limiting audits employ statistical methods to ensure that election results match voter selections reflected on paper…

MACo Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally today testified in opposition to HB 745 Election Law - Early Voting Centers  Number Required before the House Ways and Means Committee. This bill would significantly increase the required number of early voting centers for each statewide election. HB 745 would expand the required number of early voting centers by decreasing the threshold of registered voters that trigger a specific, higher number of minimum locations. MACo does not raise policy…

MACo Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally yesterday testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in opposition to HB 655 Local Government - County Commissioner Elections - District Voting. This bill requires that the election of a county commissioner to represent a specific county commissioner district must be decided by a plurality of the votes cast within that district. Counties are concerned this one-size-fits-all approach would infringe on local autonomy and flexibility in local governance. In…

MACo Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally today testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in opposition of HB 423 Election Law – Voting Systems – Accessibility for Voters With Disabilities. This bill requires each voter to use a ballot marking device that is accessible to voters with disabilities to vote at early voting centers and election day polling places. MACo does not raise policy objections with this goal –county concerns are merely practical and cost-driven.  From…