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April 23, 2021
After an unconventional 2020 election which saw unprecedented absentee ballot use, Maryland lawmakers instituted a slew of election reforms during the 2021 legislative session.
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Those measures include permanently expanding mail-in voting, ramping up the number of early voting centers and making voting materials more accessible to students and military voters – far cries from the restrictive voting measures being put in place by other states.
Restrictive voting laws enacted in other states have recently been a flashpoint in Congress: During a Tuesday U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, senators discussed restoration of a key section in the Voting Rights Act that would prevent states, mostly in the South, from changing their election laws without federal approval.
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After an unconventional 2020 election which saw unprecedented absentee ballot use, Maryland lawmakers instituted a slew of election reforms during the 2021 legislative session.
Those measures include permanently expanding mail-in voting, ramping up the number of early voting centers and making voting materials more accessible to students and military voters – far cries from the restrictive voting measures being put in place by other states.
Restrictive voting laws enacted in other states have recently been a flashpoint in Congress: During a Tuesday U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, senators discussed restoration of a key section in the Voting Rights Act that would prevent states, mostly in the South, from changing their election laws without federal approval.
By American-Statesman Editorial Board
Perhaps the most novel concept on the May 1 ballot is the proposal for Democracy Dollars under Proposition H. The measure would provide publicly funded $25 vouchers that Austin voters could donate to the mayoral or City Council candidate of their choice, in addition to the regular cash contributions that candidates collect.
Prop H seeks to address a sizable imbalance: Currently, two-thirds of the campaign contributions come from donors in just three of the 10 Austin City Council districts. Providing a mechanism for more people to donate to candidates could improve voter participation and empower more candidates to run.