There are a lot of people talking about all sorts of election reform. Many of the election reform discussions center around campaign finance rules and regulations. A simple and money saving election reform that I think should be implemented as soon as possible is the combining of Baltimore City and Maryland elections. Today we have city elections every fours years in the following cycle: 2011, 2015, 2019, etc. State elections are held every four years in the following cycle: 2014, 2018, 2022, etc.
The separate election cycles allow state leaders to run for city offices without risking their current positions. State Senator Catherine Pugh pulled this off in this mayoral election. City leaders can run for state positions without risking anything either. IN 2006 mayor O’Malley ran for governor. had O’Malley lost he still would have been mayor.
Separate election cycles only benefit the status quo and the leaders who run in these elections. City elections cost tax payers millions of dollars to put on. There is no need for them. If we simply changed the next city term to a four year term instead of a four year term then the next city elections would take place in 2014. We could then return to the regular four year term after that and never have to worry about putting on a separate off year city election again. How much money would it cost to put city offices on the state ballot? remember that everything is computerized now so it might not cost anything!
A new election setup would also increase voter turnout for city level elections. The combined draw of the mayor’s race and governor’s race would definitely get more people out of their homes to vote because of the increased outreach a “double main event” election would generate. The general election in Baltimore might actually mean more than it does now under this scenario also.
So I can only see positives for the people under my scenario. The only people who will not like this are our elected officials who want the opportunity to run for positions without risking their current positions. There really should be an organized campaign to align these two election cycles. Awareness is the first step and I hope I have done my part with that aspect of this issue.
Adam is the most recognizable face of the recent resurgence in Reservoir Hill. He has appeared on many national and local radio shows, in several news publications, and at numerous events discussing his innovative urban redevelopment ideas and his unique lifestyle. Adam is a successful entrepreneur, community activist, and a local political guru who ran for city council in 2007. He is the founder and director of the TechBalt.com Buy a Block Project and BaltimoreHourly.com. His fearless local political commentary has rocked the local blog scene for most of this decade and he plans to take it to the next level in the next decade here on Charm City Current.
My first year in the legislature, 2003, I introduced a similar bill. It was supported by the League and by Acorn. Reporters at the Sun were dismissive & wrote articles predicting the legislation’s failure. I was informed by both reporters there was no reason to take legislation sponsored by a freshman seriously especially if the entire delegation was not behind it. They were not. Cost savings, and avoidance of 14 month lame duck gov’t, notwithstanding. Their only goal, at the time, was to ensure Mayor O’Malley would be free to run for governor while maintaining his seat as mayor.
I spent a couple weekends in Bmore getting residents to sign petitions in favor of the bill. On Sunday’s I solicited signatures at churches. I believe I wound up with abour 8,000 signatures. The delegation was not moved, neither was the Sun.
Senate President, Mike Miller favored the legislation because, at that time, he supported the idea of a Duncan/Leggett ticket for gov & lt gov, so he wanted to potentially hinder a strong O’Malley campaign. For this, and any local bill, the MGA will give local courtesy to the Baltimore delegation.
Perhaps, now that O’malley is serving his second term as gov, the delegation will be more receptive. However, it is not in our politically selfish interest to make that change. The current system not only allows freedom to run for city and state offices without risk, it also enables winners to select their seat replacements. Interestingly, it is the type of legislation that would likely be overwhelmingly favored by the rest of the MGA outside the Balt delegation because it is common sense, voter friendly, and cost effective!
Worth noting, Del. Oaks has sponsored legislation that would align city and state elections at least twice. The delegaion has routinely shot it down.
BRIEF HISTORY OF BALTIMORE CITY ELECTION LAWS
1. Baltimore municipal elections were originally in the Maryland constitution and provided that the Mayor would be elected for 4 years in October and the City Council every year.
2. The Maryland General Assembly changed this in 1898 and in 1920 the General Assembly authorized the City to establish the date for its General Election.
3. 1997—Two bills were introduced in the City Council—one would tie the date of City elections to the presidential cycle; the other to the gubernatorial cycle.
4. 1999—Baltimore voters approved a charter amendment which called for primary and general elections to be in the year of the presidential election.
5. 2000-2003—Baltimore City was advised by the State government that the City had no authority to change the primary date. This fact left a 14-month gap between the City’s primary and general elections. A flurry of legislative effort in the General Assembly to correct the situation ensued. In 2002 the House passed a bill authorizing the City to have both its primary and general election tied to the presidential election cycle. It was defeated in the Senate.
6. 2003—The League recognized that changing the primary date to tie into the presidential election year was a losing battle. Unit meetings were held and the City League position was to tie into the gubernatorial cycle.
7. 2004—Baltimore voters rescinded the 1999 charter amendment. That moved the general election back to the same year as the primary–both in odd numbered years.
8. 2006 -2007—Bills were introduced in the House of the General Assembly in 2006 and the Senate in 2007 to tie the City election to the gubernatorial cycle. The League testified in favor of both bills. Mayor Sheila Dixon testified in the Ways and Means Committee against the House bill and it died in Committee. The Senate bill died in Committee.
That’s where we stand today.
Wow! I am pleasantly surprised by the numerous replies to this article. All of us are in agreement here, it is a common sense issue. I believe saving $3.6million translates into a penny decrease in the property tax rate! This is definitely an issue to start to work on immediately. I will do my part.
Adam on this I agree. Let’s put politics aside and support stronger voter turnout in local elections. Combining City and State elections would activate Baltimore City’s electorate.
Yes, without a doubt we need to combine the Baltimore City Mayoral Election with the Maryland Gubernatorial Elections. I made this public recommendation the day after the September 13, 2011 Baltimore City Mayoral Primary Election in which I had predicted the previous morning a turnout of 24%. The turnout was 23.7%. I will be making a power point presentation assessing the past election turnout and making recommendations to help improve the turnout in future years.
The League of Women Voters of Baltimore City is also trying to bring attention to this issue. Board of Election Data shows that roughly $3.6 million was budgeted for this year’s Primary and General City Elections. That’s roughly $1.8 million per election assuming the same number of polling places, machines, ballots printed, etc.
The recent primary election brought out a total of 83,630 registered voters of the 324,394 eligible to vote. Just 25.7% of the electorate. This figure includes a mere 7,815 people who voted in the early elections and another 1,853 absentee ballots.
That comes to about $21.52 PER VOTE, and that figure is likely to increase in the General Election as even less voter turnout is anticipated.
We feel the City of Baltimore could certainly benefit by having another $3.6 million in their budget for public works and services.