News Clips

Nearly half of the state lawmakers from Montgomery County and a quarter statewide were not elected before they were first seated, according to Common Cause Maryland, a watchdog group that advocates for voting rights and fair elections. Common Cause and some lawmakers aim to change the process during the three-month General Assembly session that opens on Jan. 10. A survey released in October by Common Cause Maryland found that 85% of the state’s residents favor a switch to a special elections system. “The General Assembly can’t continue to allow a handful of individuals to speak on behalf of thousands of voters,” said Joanne Antoine, executive director of Common Cause Maryland. “Letting another legislative session pass with no action continues to diminish the voice of the voters.”

“It makes for more efficient elections and is less confusing to voters, too,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a nonpartisan good government group.

Virginia Kase Solomón will be the next president and CEO of Common Cause. Currently CEO of the League of Women Voters, she will start her new role in February and will be the first Hispanic person to lead the democratic watchdog. She succeeds Karen Hobert Flynn, who died this spring after three decades with the organization.

Common Cause Maryland and others see a troubling pattern. You make friends with party insiders and your path to the State House is far easier. You get the appointment and then special interest money steered your way keeps you in the job. Other vacancies from state attorney general to comptroller to U.S. Senate seats get a special election (under a 2016 state constitutional amendment ratified by voters).

“This was about playing games with an election, not about playing around with the language that goes directly into the Ohio Constitution,” said Catherine Turcer, the executive director of Common Cause Ohio and a member of the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition’s steering committee.

“We have every confidence that lawmakers who enter the legislature this way are able to earn the trust of their district and represent the interests of the voters in their district,” said Aly Belknap, the executive director of Colorado Common Cause, an election-advocacy group. “Even so,” she added, “we know that this process doesn’t meet the standards of an inclusive and representative democracy because vacancy committees entrust this (decision) to a fraction of district voters.”