MARYLAND EARLY VOTING 67% HIGHER THAN IN 2022: Early voting in Maryland is surging, with turnout 67% higher through the first five days of in-person voting than it was at the same time four years ago, according to data from the Maryland State Board of Elections. Higher voting was recorded in every county in the state, with 309,190 voters having cast ballots through Monday, compared to 185,121 voters after the first five days of voting in 2022. The surge mirrors a national spike in early voting, with more than 34 million Americans already having cast ballots, a week before Election Day on Nov. 3. Pera Onal/Maryland Matters.
$4 MILLION HITS HARRIS, SCHWARTZ COFFERS IN GOP-FAVORED RACE: With a week until Election Day, nearly $4 million has flowed into the campaigns of Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Harris and Democratic challenger Dan Schwartz — yet neither party’s national House campaign has directly invested in the Maryland race, where analysts still favor Harris. Josh Davis/The Baltimore Sun.
DOJ EXPANDS ELECTION MONITORING IN ALL 50 STATES: The U.S. Department of Justice plans to send election monitors to every state ahead of Election Day, expanding a long-standing practice that’s spurred concern this year among Democrats and voting rights advocates because of President Donald Trump’s push to influence elections. Prince George’s County is set to be monitored. Jonathan Shorman/Maryland Matters.
DOJ SUES ARUNDEL SCHOOLS OVER ITS GENDER POLICY: The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Anne Arundel County Public Schools over its gender policy, a move the Trump administration had forecast amid a separate lawsuit by parents and hints at potential federal funding cuts to the district. Konner Metz and Tanisha Bhat/The Baltimore Sun.
- Over the summer, the years-old policy became the focus of intense scrutiny after the Trump administration, conservative legal activists and some parents challenged the school system’s approach to gender identity. The district previously did not require parental permission to use a high school student’s chosen name and pronouns, an internal document shows. Jessica Calefati and Justin Fenton/The Baltimore Banner.
STATE CRACKS DOWN ON UNLICENSED ASSISTED LIVING BUSINESSES: Maryland authorities have received 17 referrals involving suspected unlicensed assisted living operations and have brought two enforcement cases, including the state’s first felony indictment under a strengthened law intended to protect vulnerable seniors. Gary Collins/The Baltimore Sun.
FELDMAN TO HEAD STATE SENATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS: Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson has tapped state Sen. Brian Feldman to lead the chamber’s economic development efforts in a new position focused on attracting businesses and creating jobs as lawmakers confront a projected multibillion-dollar budget shortfall. Staff/The Baltimore Sun.
SUPREMES DENY REQUEST FROM B’MORE, OTHERS OVER DEPORTATION CASES: The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to reinstate the authority of immigration judges to temporarily postpone deportation cases, keeping in place an agreement between President Donald Trump’s administration and Republican-governed Texas that bars the once-common practice. The justices denied an emergency request by three cities, including Baltimore, and an immigrant legal advocacy group to halt for now the deal ending the practice, known as “administrative closure,” while litigation continues in the dispute. Reuters/The Daily Record.
DEMS THROW BIG BUCKS BEHIND SEN. HENSON IN ARUNDEL: Sen. Shaneka Henson (D-Anne Arundel), appointed to fill the District 30 Senate seat in early 2025, is looking to make history this fall by becoming the first Black senator elected to represent Anne Arundel County. And state Democrats are spending heavily to make sure that happens. William Ford and Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
PAC SPENDS BIG ON ANTI-HOLTZINGER ADS IN FREDERICK: A political action committee with $550,000 in recorded contributions has been spending its resources on negative ads against William “Jeff” Holtzinger, the Republican candidate in the Frederick County executive’s race. Holtzinger faces Jessica Fitzwater, the incumbent Democrat, in the general election on Nov. 3. Among the PAC’s contributions is $200,000 from Total Food and Wine Supply Inc., which is co-owned by former U.S. Rep. David Trone. Erik Anderson/The Frederick News-Post.
WHICH WAY WILL DUNDALK GO IN COUNCIL RACE? Republican Tim Fazenbaker has cast himself as Dundalk’s Donald Trump. He has called Baltimore County Council members who supported a pro-immigration bill “sissies.” He has promoted unfounded claims of fraud in Maryland elections. He has repeatedly disparaged transgender people, immigrants and Muslims. His Democratic opponent for the Council seat, Arkia Wade, offers a striking contrast. She is a political newcomer, known for her nonprofit work with older adults and her family’s legacy of serving Dundalk residents. She is a Muslim and a Black woman. Sapna Bansil/The Baltimore Banner.
DATA CENTERS PROMISED TO TRANSFORM FREDERICK; IT TORE COUNTY APART INSTEAD: Long before much of Maryland knew what a data center was, Frederick County looked like it could be the industry’s next hub, sitting across the Potomac River from Northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley” and boasting fiber-optic connection to the industry capital. When County Executive Jessica Fitzwater was in 2022, she promised policies and regulations to make Frederick “a national leader” in responsible data center development. Today, Frederick is home to Maryland’s only large-scale data center development, and its leaders are learning the hard way about the hazards of navigating the charged and changing politics of the industry. Adam Willis/The Baltimore Banner.
$48,000 PAY HIKE FOR BA CO ADMIN DRAWS WORKERS’ IRE: Baltimore County would pay its top administrator more than $310,000 a year under a proposal to raise the salary by nearly $48,000 — an increase officials are weighing after county employees say they went without cost-of-living raises in the current budget. The proposed 18% increase for the position would make that person Maryland’s second-highest-paid county administrator beginning in June 2027. That salary would exceed the $240,000 approved last week for the next county executive by more than $70,000. Natalie Jones/The Baltimore Sun.
FORMER TEACHER OF YEAR, HUSBAND CONVICTED IN CHILD SEX ABUSE CASE: An Eastern Shore educator and her husband have been convicted in a child sex abuse case that prosecutors say involved a young person in their care — not one of the former teacher of the year’s students. Luke Parker and Josh Davis/The Baltimore Sun.
