Fate uncertain for ‘compromise’ bill for special elections to fill state legislative vacancies

Joanne Antoine weighs in on efforts to change the process for filling legislative vacancies in Maryland.

This article originally appeared in MoCo360 on February 14, 2024 and was written by .  

Members of the Ways and Means Committee were noncommittal during their questioning last week of Foley and other witnesses favoring her bill. In her testimony, Joanne Antoine, executive director of Maryland Common Cause, while urging support for Foley’s bill, alluded to similar proposals failing twice to emerge from the Ways and Means panel in recent years after overwhelming approval in the Senate.

“My hope is that we’ll move forward with a favorable report, but, if not, I think knowing what the committee is willing to explore would be helpful,” Antoine said, declaring, “I think Marylanders have been letting us know over and over again that they want something to happen” on moving toward special elections to fill legislative vacancies.

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