State Roundup: GOP looks to embrace mail-in voting; congressional committee recommends banning Trump from office

State Roundup: GOP looks to embrace mail-in voting; congressional committee recommends banning Trump from office

The Hogans gave the Moore family a tour of their new government housing last week. Governor's Office Photo

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GOP LOOKS TO PIVOT, EMBRACE MAIL-IN VOTING: Mail-in voting was a disaster for Maryland Republicans in 2022. In at least five major races in the state, Republican candidates led on Election Night only to see their leads slip away over the next few days as mail-in ballots were counted. Given what happened, a growing number of Republicans now say they must embrace mail-in voting to give themselves better odds in future elections. Nathan Schwartz and Brandon Schwartzberg/Capital News Service in MarylandReporter.com

TURNOUT WAS LOW FOR ELECTION: Voter turnout was historically low this November, with the 49% of voters who showed up to the polls in person or cast mail-in ballots marking one of the lowest turnouts for a midterm Maryland election in decades. Sam Janesch/Baltimore Sun

OPINION: DEMS NEED TO STAY ENGAGED ON VOTER PROTECTION: “As pro-democracy advocates, we can feel relief that many election deniers lost in 2022. But it’s not mission accomplished. We need to remain vigilant and be more proactive in protecting democracy,” says Brad Knott, former voter protection director of Maryland Democratic Party/Maryland Matters

JAN. 6 REPORT: CONGRESS SHOULD BAN TRUMP FROM RUNNING AGAIN: A 845-page report, released by a House Select committee as Trump begins his bid for reelection, recommends that Congress consider banning the former president from holding office again, citing the 14th Amendment, which bars those who have “engaged in an insurrection” or offered “aid and comfort to the enemies” of the Constitution. STAFF/WASHINGTON POST

OPINION: BAD POLICY COULD BE DRIVING EMERGENCY WAIT TIMES: Maryland’s “certificate of need” (CON) law, which requires hospitals to apply for permission from the state to launch or expand services, could be causing delays in emergency room responses and other aspects of the patient experience. It’s a step hospitals don’t need to do in all other states. Walter Olson/MarylandReporter.com

RASKIN SELECTED FOR LEADERSHIP POST: U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Thursday was elected ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform for the 118th Congress — a powerful position once held by his friend and fellow Marylander, the late Rep. Elijah Cummings. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters

INVESTIGATION FINDS POLITICAL DONATIONS FROM NURSING HOME COMPANY: CommuniCare, a company proposing a skilled nursing and long-term care facility at the site of a former elementary school, donated $7,600 to City Council representative Yitzy Schleifer’s finance committee in late 2021. The nursing home company also contributed a total of $222,861 going to state elected officials, candidates and political parties. Fern Shen and Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew

SYED FROM ‘SERIAL’ TAKES GEORGETOWN JOB: Adnan Syed, who was released from a Maryland prison this year after his case was the focus of the true-crime podcast “Serial,” has been hired by Georgetown University as a program associate for the university’s Prisons and Justice Initiative. AP on WTOP

NEW PEDIATRIC HOSPITAL PLANNED TO HELP WITH PEDIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS: Sheppard Pratt plans to build a new pediatric hospital in Towson, helping the state deal with a worsening pediatric mental health crisis. Matt Hooke/Frederick News-Post

CATHOLIC CHURCH SEXUAL ABUSE REPORT TO REMAIN SEALED: Citing state and federal rules that protect grand jury materials, a Baltimore judge ordered proceedings to remain secret in the legal effort to release an investigation into the history of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church of Baltimore. Tim Prudente and Julie Scharper/Baltimore Banner

BALTIMORE LOOKS TO MAKE OUTDOOR DINING PERMANENT: Outdoor dining “parklets” may be here to stay in Baltimore City. They were originally set up on sidewalks and in parking lanes during the COVID indoor-dining restrictions, but now the city’s Department of Transportation is looking to make them permanent. Bryna Zumer/WMAR

About The Author

Meg Tully

megctully@gmail.com
http://MarylandReporter.com

Contributing Editor Meg Tully has been covering Maryland politics for more than five years. She has worked for The Frederick News-Post, where she reported during the General Assembly session in Annapolis. She has also worked for The (Hanover) Evening Sun and interned at Baltimore Magazine. Meg has won awards from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association for her state and county writing, and a Keystone Press Award for feature writing from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. She is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If you have additional questions or comments contact Meg at: megctully@gmail.com

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