Statewide coalition announces 2025 legislative priorities for better elections

Annapolis, MD – The Everyone Votes Maryland Coalition, a statewide coalition of more than 20 organizations working to improve access to voting and the election process, is calling on the 2025 Maryland General Assembly to meet the urgency of this moment with bold, meaningful action to protect, expand and strengthen our elections.

As we anticipate attacks on our voting rights from the incoming federal administration and our state faces an enormous budget shortfall, we must protect our voting rights and expand access to our elections to strengthen our democracy and bring more voices and perspectives to the table. That is why Everyone Votes Maryland is urging the Maryland General Assembly to pass three reforms this session: The Maryland Voting Rights Act (MDVRA), which is a package of four bills, the compromise for Special Elections in Legislative Vacancies, and the state Voting Rights for All Act.

“While Congress seeks to take away voting rights, we have an opportunity to defend and strengthen access to the ballot in Maryland,”  said Joanne Antoine, Executive Director of Common Cause Maryland. “We are calling on our lawmakers to ensure Maryland becomes the ninth state to pass a Voting Rights Act, put an end to felony disenfranchisement, and give voters a voice in the process for filling legislative vacancies.”

1 – Protect Our Rights

Maryland is the most diverse state on the East Coast, yet substantial racial disparities persist in voter registration and turnout. The Maryland Voting Rights Act – a package of four bills – would enact strong protections to ensure Black, Latino, and Asian American voters and Marylanders with disabilities can fully participate in the electoral process free from discrimination.

The Maryland Voting Rights Act, a version of which was first introduced in 2023, would boost election transparency, prohibit vote suppression, and prevent discriminatory election systems that weaken voters of color’s voices or undermine their vote for their preferred candidate. The package of bills includes legislation that would provide access to voting information in different languages, stop voter intimidation, block discriminatory voting policies before they go into effect, and make it more cost-effective for individuals and advocacy organizations to defend voters’ rights by collaborating with localities, or ultimately through litigation. In the upcoming sessions, we will advocate vigorously for the passage of the full MDVRA package.

We look forward to the Maryland legislature making progress in the 2025 session, starting with the language access bill and then moving to address other items in the MDVRA package.

Public opinion research commissioned by the Legal Defense Fund, to be released imminently, shows strong majorities of Maryland voters, across race and party lines, support a MDVRA and want their state representatives to prioritize passing such a law.

“Strong voting rights ensure democracy works for everyone,” said Ralikh Hayes, Senior Organizer for the Legal Defense Fund. “Through the Maryland Voting Rights Act, which would be one of the most significant civil rights achievements in state history, the Free State can address persistent racial disparities in voter participation and local representation. As we face attacks on voting rights at the federal level, now is the time for Maryland to cement its national leadership on protecting the freedom to vote.”

2 – Strengthen Our Democracy

The special elections bill would create special elections to fill vacancies in the legislature, improving the current process where a small group of political insiders on a central committee hand-pick a replacement. Polling from Maryland PIRG and Common Cause MD shows that over 85% of Marylanders would prefer that the state hold special elections to fill vacancies. In the 2024 legislative session, this bill passed the Senate with overwhelming, bipartisan support, but the House of Delegates failed to take it over the finish line.

“Disregarding the voter is the antithesis of Democracy,” said Nikki Tyree, Executive Director for the League of Women Voters of Maryland. “When voters are silenced, it is impossible to claim a full and robust democracy. Special Elections would force those looking to be elected to engage with voters and not just an elite group of people behind closed doors.”

3 – Expand Our Rights

The Voting Rights for All Act would repeal the prohibition on voting by incarcerated adults serving a felony court-ordered sentence for their conviction, except for persons convicted of buying or selling votes. Maryland is one of 23 states that ban voting for persons in prison with a felony conviction. The number of Maryland residents disenfranchised from voting in prison and jail numbered 16,587 as of 2022.

“Voting is a cornerstone of democracy, and no one should lose their voice because they are incarcerated,” said Trina Selden, Founder and Executive Director for Out for Justice. “Out for Justice was founded to restore voting rights to the disenfranchised, and the Voting Rights for All Act furthers this fight to end systemic disenfranchisement and ensure every Marylander has a say in our collective future.”

Protecting, expanding and strengthening our elections is imperative to creating a Maryland where all voices are heard. The Everyone Votes Maryland Coalition has voted (using ranked choice voting!) to prioritize these pieces of legislation now, in anticipation of federal rollbacks to our voting rights. As other states work to make voting less accessible, Maryland must take action to continue to be a national leader. We need these protections in place urgently – together, these crucial pieces of legislation will move us forward in the face of bigotry and crisis.

“Trust in democracy is centered on making it work better for everyone,” said Michelle Whittaker, Executive Director for Ranked Choice Voting Maryland. “Democracy reforms are not a wishlist, they are essential policies with broad support from the public. The EVMD coalition put our policies into practice and used ranked choice voting to determine our 2025 priorities. Passing these priorities will give Marylanders more protections and strengthen our democracy.”

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The Everyone Votes Maryland Coalition is a group of good government, civil rights, environmental, labor, and grassroots organizations working toward increasing access to the ballot in Maryland.