Maryland elections officials are encouraging the use of ballot drop boxes as the mailing deadline approaches, and outlined the safety of the receptacles to state lawmakers earlier this month.
Annapolis
Maryland turnout follows expected trends for district races
Maryland State Board of Elections’ early voting numbers so far do not indicate any surprise upsets in Congressional district races. However, issues like police reform drive a few away from major party candidates.
Health experts cite virus’s effect on Maryland’s Latino community
Latino communities in Maryland have been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic because of shared housing situations, lack of access to government benefits and distrust in health officials, experts told a legislative panel last month.
Maryland ballot Question 2 would legalize sports betting
During this election, Marylanders will vote on whether to legalize sports betting and gambling in the state, through ballot Question 2.
Covid-19 has decreased Maryland’s air pollution
In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, as stay-at-home orders took effect and more commuters worked from home or lost their jobs, air pollution dropped markedly in Maryland, according to a recent report from the University of Maryland and the state’s Department of the Environment.
Lung Association cites health benefits of electric vehicles
Maryland could save over 100 lives per year and $1.3 billion in public health benefits by going all-electric by 2050, according to a recent “Road to Clean Air” report from the American Lung Association.
Maryland voters weigh in on proposed budget amendment
Mail-in voting is underway as Marylanders consider a proposed constitutional amendment granting the legislature the ability to make changes to the state budget as long as those changes do not cause it to exceed the total amount submitted by the governor.
Maryland National Guard at D.C. monuments for 5 days during protests
Gov. Larry Hogan deployed 116 Maryland National Guard troops to D.C. in June at the request of U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper The federal government paid $546,360 for Maryland’s participation. The state of Maryland incurred no costs.
Maryland Speaker swears in Del. Thiam as ‘another history maker’
Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Adrienne A. Jones swore in Delegate Brenda Thiam as Maryland’s first Black female Republican legislator.
New Maryland laws focus on anti-discrimination, law enforcement, healthcare
An update to Maryland’s hate crimes law, named for slain Army 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III, is one of several anti-discrimination measures going into effect Oct. 1. Other notable bills address crime, the environment and healthcare, including an infectious disease mandate named for Olivia Paregol, a University of Maryland freshman who died during a 2018 campus outbreak.