WHAT PROJECT 2025 WOULD MEAN FOR MARYLAND: If you’ve tuned into any coverage of the election this year, you’ve probably heard references to something called Project 2025. There are some elements in the book that haven’t been discussed as much — including those that could have discrete, specific effects on Maryland. We read through the “Mandate for Leadership” to find out what those are. Cody Boteler/The Baltimore Banner.
EARLY VOTING ENDS WITH 1 MILLION VOTES CAST: Early voting came to an end Thursday night after a busy week where nearly 1 million Marylanders turned out to cast their ballots. About 23 percent of eligible voters in Maryland have already voted in the lead-up to Election Day. And Maryland saw a 14 percent increase in early voter turnout this year compared to 2016. Taylor Nichols, Daranee Balachandar and Caley Fox Shannon of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
- There is a slowly growing trend in Maryland toward voting before Election Day, either in person at one of the 97 voting centers around the state that were open for eight days in last month, or by requesting and returning a mail-in ballot. On the first day of early voting, 150,315 Marylanders who cast a ballot. By Oct. 31, the end of the early voting period, a total of 994,663 ballots had been cast at the early voting centers. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
HOGAN, WHO SHUNS TRUMP, TOUTS HIS ENDORSEMENT IN PRIVATE CALL: Maryland GOP Senate candidate Larry Hogan touted an endorsement from Donald Trump in a private donor call and suggested it helps him with the former president’s “hard core” supporters, after repeatedly stating that he did not want Trump’s endorsement. Sarah Ferris/CNN.
MOORE TAKES SWIPE AT HOGAN: Gov. Wes Moore joins Marylander former Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steel on The Weekend to talk national and Maryland politics. He takes a big swipe at Senate candidate and former Gov. Larry Hogan for asking voters to split their ticket between Democrat Kamala Harris for president and him, saying that he finds it absurd considering “Hogan didn’t have the courage” to vote for Harris while he said he couldn’t vote for Trump. The Weekend/MSNBC.
MARYLAND TIES WITH S.C. IN BOOKS BANNED, DUE TO CARROLL COUNTY: Maryland schools banned 64 books in the 2023-24 school year, tied with South Carolina for ninth-most in the nation among 29 states ranked, according to PEN America, which said book banning has grown since it started keeping track three years ago. Maryland’s standing was due largely to Carroll County schools, which the report said banned 59 books last year under an updated policy from the county board of education that said instructional materials deemed “sexually explicit” will not be allowed in schools. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
AN ANXIOUS PERSON’s GUIDE TO WATCHING ELECTION RETURNS: While the winners of many political races will likely be called on Election Night, according to elections officials it may take several more days before we know the results of Maryland’s tightest races — especially with a few hundred thousand mail-in ballots left to count. This election cycle saw a strong turnout for early in-person voting, and people voting by mail have requested more than 880,000 ballots. Brenda Wintrode/The Baltimore Banner.
***HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARYLAND REPORTER. HELP US CELEBRATE: Hard to believe that MarylandReporter.com launched 15 years ago on Nov. 2, 2009, with the help of a foundation worried about the loss of state government reporting. We were the first nonprofit news website in Maryland covering state government and politics. Help us celebrate by making a donation during our annual matching gift campaign. ***
MORE MARYLANDERS CHOOSE TO BE UNAFFILIATED WITH A PARTY: More than 1 in 5 Maryland voters are choosing not to register with a party — a 25% increase since 2012, according to an analysis of state voter data, as more voters express dissatisfaction with Democrats and Republicans. Emily Opilo, Adam Willis and Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
ELECTIONS STAFFED UP, STAFF WILL BE SAFE, ADMIN SAYS: Though an incident Thursday in Carroll County rankled him, Maryland’s elections administrator said the state has enough volunteers to run the election — and they will be kept safe. “The locals have done an excellent job of recruiting,” Jared DeMarinis, Maryland’s elections administrator, said Friday, despite data that has shown around half of local election officials are worried about their safety nationwide. Staff/The Baltimore Sun.
CHANGE IN JUVIE LAWS LIKELY TO INCREASE DEPT CASELOADS: Concerning the changes in juvenile justice laws that took effect Friday, some prosecutors, defense attorneys and justice reform advocates agree on one thing: The laws are likely to result in increased caseloads for the Department of Juvenile Services. But whether that will have an effect on crime rates — or deter young offenders — is less clear. Cases already have been rising in Baltimore, according to figures provided by the city State’s Attorney’s Office. Glynis Kazanjian/The Baltimore Sun.
O’MALLEY SPLITS FOR EX-MAYORS, IS AGAINST INNER HARBOR PLAN: Three former mayors support a plan to raze the city’s Inner Harbor pavilions in favor of an ambitious redevelopment. One former mayor hates it. In a post on social media Saturday, Martin O’Malley called it “a terrible developer grab of public waterfront parkland.” O’Malley’s post came two days after a press release from Baltimore for a New Harborplace, a group that has been rallying support for MCB Real Estate’s vision of a new Harborplace. Three former mayors — Kurt Schmoke, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Bernard C. “Jack” Young — have urged voters to say yes on Question F, a ballot question crucial to the proposed redevelopment plans. Giacomo Bologna/The Baltimore Banner.
MARYLAND CELEBRITIES GET POLITICAL: One superhero actress assembled celebrity “nerds” to rally around presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Another heartthrob actor stumped for Angela Alsobrooks, who is running for U.S. Senate. And a fashion designer created a purple-hue pantsuit that Oprah wore as she fired up voters for Harris at the Democratic National Convention. John-John Williams IV/The Baltimore Banner.
SMITH ISLAND VOTERS EXCITED TO VOTE ON THEIR OWN TURF: Election Day will be a long day’s work for Election Judge Laura Evans. Her job is to help relay election results from her island home in the Chesapeake Bay to the mainland by the end of the night. But she’s more than happy to embrace that duty, now that she and her neighbors have won back the privilege they deeply cherish — having a precinct located on their island and to cast a vote amidst the 200 people they call neighbors. Robert Stewart of Capital News Service/MarylandReporter.com.
YOUNG VOTERS COULD MAKE THE DIFFERENCE: Inspired by the potential to shatter the glass ceiling with the election of Harris, and enraged by issues such as reproductive rights, the economy and the conflict between Palestine and Israel, young voters could make a big difference — if they show up to vote. John-John Williams IV and Penelope Blackwell/The Baltimore Banner.
CHAMBLEE OUTRAISES FOE IN HOWARD SCHOOL BOARD RACE: Howard County Board of Education candidate Andrea Chamblee, the widow of Capital Gazette shooting victim John McNamara, has raised nearly 10 times more than her District 5 opponent and is the top fundraiser in the entire school board race in Howard, according to a Maryland State Board of Elections campaign finance report. According to a report from the period Aug. 21-Oct. 20, Chamblee has raised more than $41,000 in contributions; her opponent in the District 5 race, Trent Kittleman, 79, of West Friendship, raised almost $4,000 in the reporting period and spent slightly over $4,500. Chamblee, 63, of Glenwood, also has the most cash on hand, with a balance of $32,732.06. Kiersten Hacker/The Baltimore Sun.
FORMER SEN. IDA RUBEN, MONTGOMERY CHAMPION, DIES AT 95: Former state Sen. Ida G. Ruben (D), a feisty and pathbreaking lawmaker who was a force behind many of Montgomery County’s top legislative achievements of the past several decades, died Friday in Bethesda at the age of 95. Ruben grew up in D.C. and did not attend college, but she had drive and moxie and became one of Montgomery County’s most powerful lawmakers in Annapolis, representing Silver Spring, White Oak and Takoma Park in the legislature from 1974 to 2007. Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters.
‘MANNIE’ ANELLO, ATTORNEY, LOCAL POLITICAL MAVEN, DIES AT 77: Salvatore Emanuel “Mannie” Anello III, an attorney who practiced in Arbutus and immersed himself in local politics, died of complications from heart failure Oct. 24 at his daughter’s home. The Annapolis resident was 77. Staff/The Baltimore Sun.
