NEW!
En Español
Chinese
|
Advancing Full Voter Registration, Fair Elections and Strong Democracy in Maryland
I have been a passionate champion of voting rights and strong democracy for all American citizens. I launched and co-chaired the Share the Vote Campaign in Takoma Park in 1991; the New York Times called me the “intellectual author” of the new grassroots movement for full voting rights for all residents that has now come to many parts of the country. I wrote a Bestselling book, Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court versus the American People, about Bush v. Gore and the Supreme Court’s assault on democratic liberty. I serve on the board of America’s leading electoral reform organization, FairVote, and was a key mover of the Instant Run-Off Voting referendum that passed with 86% of the vote in 2005 in Takoma Park. I was one of the lawyers in the 1990’s who represented the 600,000 taxpaying, draftable citizens of Washington, D.C. in challenging their lack of representation in Congress.
In District 20, there are thousands of unregistered citizens and there are hundreds of thousands off the rolls statewide. A majority of people do not vote in party primary elections, which are dominated in many places by lethargic and visionless machines that come to life briefly only to seek reelection of incumbents weighted down with special-interest cash. The state legislature is soaked in special interest money and dismaying conflicts of interest, and our political class, perpetually seeking reelection, is far more conservative than the people.
We need to take Maryland back from right-wing Republicans and listless Democrats.
We need to revitalize our democracy.
I want to start by advancing 100% voter registration and 0% corporate financing of our elections. I want to restore the integrity of our elections with a meaningful voter-verified paper trail for balloting. And Maryland should become the first state in the Union to pass a constitutional amendment guaranteeing all U.S. citizens the right to vote and have our votes counted—rights that the Rehnquist Court emphasized (as it put George W. Bush into office) that we don’t have.
As District 20’s State Senator, I will be the go-to person for democratic reform and I will:
- Introduce a bill during my first week in office to promote 100% voter registration of all students in the state before they graduate or otherwise leave high school.
- Introduce a bill to abolish corporate and partnership contributions to political candidates in all state races, the same ban that exists in federal elections. Corporations have an economic purpose and function, not a political one.
- Work to end special-interest giveaways, such as the utility deregulation legislation which my opponent supported and which is now leading to massive spikes in electricity and gas bills for citizens.
- Introduce legislation to lower contribution limits in the state from $4,000 to $2,000 to increase the voice of average citizens in government and rein in out of control campaign spending.
- Push for greater disclosure of lobbying contacts to prevent improper contacts between lobbyists and legislators.
- Work to end politically motivated hirings and firings of state employees to promote a public-interest civil service culture in Annapolis.
- Advocate for voting equipment requirements to allow for auditable paper ballots and Instant Run-Off Voting elections.
- Promote state and party policies to encourage more diverse and inclusive primary and general elections that give voters more choices and new voices.
- Fight for an end to ex-felon disenfranchisement, which is not a policy of individual penal rehabilitation but mass electoral suppression that disproportionately thwarts African-American male participation .
- Conduct regular Town Meetings all over District 20, including Colesville, White Oak, Dumont Oaks, Hillandale, Burnt Mills, Indian Spring, Four Corners, Downtown Silver Spring and Takoma Park.
|
"The Race to Watch"