State Roundup, November 8, 2016

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ELECTION DAY HOTLINE: On Tuesday, November 8, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland will hold the 2016 Election Protection Hotline, where voters can call between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. with questions about voting or to report problems at the polls. The hotline (410-889-8555) will be answered by ACLU staff trained to assist voters experiencing problems and to investigate complaints at the polls.

AS YOU HEAD TO THE POLLS: If you haven’t already voted, the Sun staff puts together a helper on what you need to know before you go to the polls today, Nov. 8, Election Day.

YES ON QUESTION 1: As the last of the voters weigh in during today’s polarizing presidential election, Del. David Moon, sponsor of the constitutional amendment, is hopeful they’ll unite around a vote “for” Question 1. In a commentary for MarylandReporter.com, he says a vote “for” Question 1 respects the will of the voters at the last election, and it later gives them an opportunity to vote for their elected officials. Our constitutional amendment would require the governor to choose a temporary replacement from the same party as the outgoing official, and then we’d hold a special election to fill the remainder of the term during the next regularly scheduled election.

INMATES’ LAST DITCH EFFORT TO VOTE: Maryland’s top court on Monday turned aside an 11th-hour effort by incarcerated non-felons and pretrial detainees in Baltimore to have the city elections board place polling booths in jails and provide inmates ready access to absentee ballots this Election Day, Steve Lash reports for the Daily Record.

GREENS AT UM: Candidates for president haven’t held a public rally in Maryland since before the April primary — until Sunday, when the Green Party nominees for both president and vice president on Tuesday’s ballot spent the afternoon in College Park, writes Len Lazarick for MarylandReporter.com. They weren’t even hoping to win the election. Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka hope to get 5% or more of the vote across the country, which would qualify the Green nominees for federal campaign financing in future elections.

ELECTION REFORM WORKS: The editorial board for the Frederick News Post credits the state of “Maryland for getting some much-needed election reforms right, particularly in a year that has seen a record number of voters cast their ballots during the state’s weeklong early voting period. Maryland was among three states to suffer from long voting lines during the 2012 election, the result of a shortage of poll workers and a limited number of machines, particularly in minority neighborhoods, according to a 2014 study by researchers with the Brennan Center for Justice.”

ELECTION PIX: Cast your ballot, and say cheese. The Maryland State Board of Elections is rolling out a new voter outreach initiative this Election Day that will give some voters the chance to have their pictures taken at polling places around the state, writes Megan Brockett for the Annapolis Capital.

SZELIGA, RASKIN ENDORSED: The Carroll County Times editorial board announces its endorsements in down ballot races, including backing Kathy Szeliga for Senate and Jamie Raskin for the House. The board also endorses for the Carroll County Board of Education.

GOP, DEM HOPES FOR NOV. 9: Republican Del. Joe Cluster and Democratic state Sen. Bill Ferguson talked about their hopes, expectations, analysis and goals on the C4 Show on WBAL-AM. “I think tomorrow’s going to be a really good day, and assuming it is, I think we focus on how do we heal this country?” Ferguson said. Cluster predicted at least legislative wins for his own party.

CARROLL PARTISANS TAKE DIFFERENT TACKS: Carroll County Republicans and Democrats will be concentrating on different voting efforts today. Carroll Republicans will be poll watching in Baltimore City and Carroll while Democrats will be working to get out the vote in Carroll, reports Heather Norris and Heather Mongilio for the Carroll County Times.

PRE-FILLED BALLOT: A ballot with some Democratic candidates already chosen was handed to a voter at a Rockville early voting site, according to a letter sent by the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee to the Montgomery County Board of Elections, reports Doug Tallman for Bethesda Beat.

NOW FOR THAT DRINK, OR TWO: Think you are the only one who’ll need a drink after this election is over? Restaurant and bar owners are lining up with drink specials and discounts on meals if you voted, writes Joshua Gordon for the Baltimore Business Journal. So belly on up!

FOR CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM: Former Howard County Executive and state Del. Liz Bobo, in an op-ed for the Sun, writes about a campaign finance reform issue on the ballot today in Howard and urges voters to pass it. But first she addresses a TIF proposed for a development by the Howard Hughes Corp.

APG TESTS HUMVEE REPLACEMENT: The cab of the military truck still had that new-car smell. The Army, working on the successor to the long-serving Humvee to carry troops to fight around the world, is testing the new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle at Aberdeen Proving Ground, writes Ian Duncan for the Sun. Col. Morris Bodrick, commander of the Aberdeen Test Center, said Monday the JLTV will be tested for performance and reliability over the next year on the 50-odd miles of test track that wind around the Army installation in Harford County.

About The Author

Cynthia Prairie

cynthiaprairie@gmail.com
https://www.chestertelegraph.org/

Contributing Editor Cynthia Prairie has been a newspaper editor since 1979, when she began working at The Raleigh Times. Since then, she has worked for The Baltimore News American, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Prince George’s Journal and Baltimore County newspapers in the Patuxent Publishing chain, including overseeing The Jeffersonian when it was a two-day a week business publication. Cynthia has won numerous state awards, including the Maryland State Bar Association’s Gavel Award. Besides compiling and editing the daily State Roundup, she runs her own online newspaper, The Chester Telegraph. If you have additional questions or comments contact Cynthia at: cynthiaprairie@gmail.com

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