Good Governance

 


A vibrant and healthy democracy requires that an informed public be actively engaged in the selection of its representatives. Exercising your right to vote is the most direct manner of ensuring that you receive the very best service by advocates who care. Rates of voter turnout can be increased, especially in off-year (non-presidential) gubernatorial primary elections, by making the polls more accessible to those wishing to vote.

We need to fix our broken democracy by having people select their elected representatives, not the other way around. That means we need to replace legislative appointments with special elections and stop gerrymandering from disenfranchising Marylanders. 

We also need to increase participation in our democracy by making voting a more inclusive process. We should move the Primary Election back to September (from June), open Primary Elections to all registered voters, and automatically register all eligible adult citizens to vote.
  1. September Primary
    1. Move the Primary Election back to September (from June) will increase voter turnout.
  2. Presidential Year Elections
    1. Align the state and county election cycle with the national election cycle to increase voter turnout.
  3. Open Primary Elections
    1. One fifth of our voters are unaffiliated with a Party and therefore cannot participate in most Primary Elections. Let's allow everyone to vote to increase participation in our democracy.
  4. Automatic Voter Registration
    1.  Our current voter registration system is an opt-in system; let's switch to an opt-out system to reduce obstacles to voting and increase our voter rolls.
  5. No Gerrymandering
    1. Ensuring that districts are drawn fairly in a non-partisan manner will translate into improved representation. Read my: Redistricting Reform Testimony. Redistricting reform will do much to restore voters' confidence in our electoral democracy.  
  6. No Special Appointments
    1. One-third of our state representation in Montgomery County has been appointed to ‘elected’ office; elected officials should be elected, plain and simple. This will help convince voters that their vote matters. 
  7. Making Early Voting Simpler
    1. Moving Early Voting days to the weekend and day before Election Day will simply early voting. 
  8. Public Financing for State Offices
    1. Ensuring that politicians are accountable to their electorate, not special interests, will restore public trust in our democracy.