Legislation

Follow the links below to review the 2007 House and Senate bills (with amendments voted on favorably) affecting voting systems in Maryland.

As of March 29, HB 18 had passed in the House of Delegates by a vote of 140-0.

On April 6, the Senate passed SB 392 by a vote of 47-0.

House Bill 18 (HB18)

HB18 Amendments

Senate Bill 392 (SB392)

SB392 Amendments

Just in; latest Senate version

Analysis: Our assessment of SB392 and the amendments

Governor Signs Verified Voting Legislation!

Annapolis, May 17 - In a room packed with supporters, press and well wishers, Governor Martin O'Malley today signed into law Senate Bill 392/House Bill 18, "Voter Verifiable Paper Records".

The bill signing was the culmination of a process that began five months earlier when the Maryland Election Integrity Coalition [MD-EIC] organized a working coalition of five member organizations (and numerous supporting partners) around a common cause - to pass a paper ballot/optical scan bill in this legislative session. After numerous attempts to achieve this laudable goal in prior General Assembly sessions, MD-EIC was proud to have played a key role in support of House and Senate leaders, in securing this legislation in literally the final days of the 2007 session. Our thanks to the Governor and Lt. Governor for their support of this bill.

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Sen. Pres. Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, Jr., Gov. Martin O'Malley and House Speaker Michael Busch together with members of the Maryland House of Delegates and Senate, and supporters of verified voting legislation including members of the Maryland Election Integrity Coalition.

With the first phase of voting system reform now behind us, the Maryland Election Integrity Coalition partners are turning their attention to the longer task ahead of helping develop a viable funding plan, as called for in the recently passed bill, for an upgraded Op-Scan voting system intended for first use in the 2010 elections.

MD-EIC representatives met recently to celebrate the success of the 2007 Legislative Session and to plan for the full implementation of verifiable elections for all Maryland voters.

MD-EIC thanks all those who worked to see legislation successfully passed this year. To learn more about how MD-EIC plans to work toward full implementation, click the 'Next Steps' link on the left sidebar.

Maryland Election Integrity Coalition members include ACLU-MD, Common Cause-MD, Democracy for Maryland, Maryland PIRG, and Sierra Club-MD.

Pictured seated (l to r): Johanna Neumann, Peggy Dennis, Gina Angiola, Cindy Boersma. Standing: John Schneider, Mary Kiraly, Naomi Bloch, Betsy Johnson, and Gus Lewis.

Verified Voting Legislation Passes!

Click here for our Statement of Appreciation to our fine General Assembly leaders on the passage of Verified Voting Legislation

Monday, April 9, 2007 (midnight)

A series of votes ending at midnight with a Concurrence vote in the Senate brought into alignment House and Senate versions of the voting system legislation championed by the MD-EIC since the beginning of the 2007 General Assembly session. Congratulations go out to all the public interest groups that supported and participated in the effort to transform Maryland's election system.

Maryland cannot afford to go another year without fixing the problem that has left us with one of the most insecure, unverifiable voting systems in America. For this reason, the Maryland Election Integrity Coalition was formed in late 2006 to provide information on one of the most important issues that will face citizens and policy makers this year. Here is a brief summary of the problem and our solution:

Our current voting system is unacceptable: Important recent research has shown that our current paperless touch screen machines (also known as "DRE's" or Direct Electronic Recording devices) provide no way to verify that the voter’s intent has been properly recorded and counted. It produces no voter-prepared paper ballot in the case of a recount. It is more costly to maintain than a replacement optical scan system.

Optically scanned paper ballots are the solution: These same reports and studies demonstrate that a paper ballot, prepared by the voter, allows voters to inspect and verify their vote. A random audit of the paper ballots helps protect against errors in computer tabulation systems. Purchasing optical scanners is less expensive than continuing to store, repair, and maintain a complete DRE system.

Maryland is lagging behind the rest of the country: Maryland is one of only five states to vote entirely on paperless DREs. In 2006, the problems with touch screen voting were vividly demonstrated. As an example, in Maryland, a number of close legislative races could not be recounted. In Florida, up to 18,000 votes in Sarasota’s congressional election may not have been recorded at all. Without a paper record, those votes may well be lost entirely and may have altered the outcome of a federal election.

If you are concerned about your vote and our Democracy, then you need to learn more about what members of the Maryland Election Integrity Coalition are doing to protect voter rights in our great state. You will find that information as you read through this site. Our goal is to provide you with the key details in a format that is easy to access and use.

The Time is Now. We welcome the assistance of your organization in this effort. Please use one of the forms on the following pages to request information. Participating organizations believe that securing our votes, and verifying election outcomes, is the cornerstone of our democracy.

Thank you,

The Maryland Election Integrity Coalition