GOP War on Voting Comes to MoCo // MD Board of Elections to Vote OCT 15 on Ending Early Voting Sites: Here's the Process

By Matt Verghese

Here we go again.... Four months after Governor Larry Hogan vetoed a bill to restore voting rights to 40,000 people returning to society from prison, the Maryland GOP is back at it. The Washington Post reported on controversy swirling around a recent decision by the Republican-led Montgomery County Board of Elections (MCBOE) to replace two of nine high-performing early voting sites with less populated polling locations closer to Republicans (excerpt below, emphasis mine):

WASHINGTON POST: The Republican majority on the Montgomery County Board of Elections, led by an appointee of Gov. Larry Hogan (R), voted Monday to shift two heavily used early-voting sites to less populous locations, prompting Democratic charges­ of voter suppression. 

The board voted 3 to 2 to move early voting from the Marilyn Praisner Community Center in Burtonsville, which serves high-poverty East County communities along U.S. 29, to the Longwood Community Recreation Center in Brookeville, 13 miles to the northwest. The panel also shifted early balloting from the Jane Lawton Community Recreation Center in Chevy Chase, about a half-mile from the Bethesda Metro station, to the Potomac Community Recreation Center, on Falls Road, 10 miles to the northwest....

THE PROCESS: WHAT HAPPENED & WHAT COMES NEXT: Notably, the party of the Governor (now a Republican) gets to appoint members to county boards of election. Montgomery County's board is now made up of three Republicans and two Democrats:

• Jim Shalleck, President - Republican
• Nahid Khozeimeh, Vice President - Republican
• Mary Ann Keeffe, Secretary - Democrat
• Alexander Vincent, Board Member - Republican
• David Naimon, Board Member - Democrat

Notably, Jim Shalleck was the 2014 Republican candidate for Montgomery County Executive and formerly chaired the MoCo Republican Party. After listening to public testimony on Montgomery County's early vote locations, the MCBOE took a partly line vote (3-2) to close two early voting centers and replace them with locations closer to Republicans. The Montgomery County Republicans' proposal now heads to the five-member State Board of Elections (SBOE) for a final vote on October 15th. Notably the SBOE also now has a Republican majority, but one more person has to weigh in before this vote occurs: Linda Lamone, the State Administrator of the Board of Elections. Code of Maryland Regulation 33.17.02.02F states (excerpt below):

MARYLAND CODE: Upon receipt of a form for a proposed early voting center, the State Administrator shall review and make a recommendation to the State Board as to whether to accept or reject the proposed early voting center....

Lamone could base a recommendation against the GOP's early voting proposal based on criteria listed in state regulations, including provisions that polling locations be "served by public transportation and roads" and have "parking facilities sufficient for early voting." Notably Lamone has served as Maryland's State Administrator since Governor Paris Glendening and previously foiled an attempt by Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich to remove her from her position.

The provision that sites be "served by public transportation" could be problematic for the Republicans' proposal to close the Burtonsville site and replace it with one at the Longwood Community Recreation Center in Brookeville. Only one bus route serves the Brookeville site (Ride On Route 53, with a stop .3 miles from the polls), and the bus only runs in the morning and evening on weekdays. Meanwhile, early voting is open all day.

If Lamone were to recommend against the early voting changes, it would take a super-majority of the SBOE to approve the Montgomery County Republicans' proposal. And if all else fails in stopping the Republican voter suppression effort, there is one final backstop: A few state legislators representing Montgomery County are contemplating legislation to increase the county's number of early voting sites from nine to eleven, using the two additional sites to restore polling locations in Chevy Chase and Burtonsville. The Washington Post's Bill Turque reported on this backstop legislation (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: State Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery) said Wednesday that when the general Assembly reconvenes in January, he and Del. Eric Luedtke (D-Montgomery) will introduce a measure to expand the number of early voting sites in the county from nine to 11. The bill would restore the Marilyn Praisner Community Recreation Center in Burtonsville and the Jane Lawton Community Recreation Center in Chevy Chase to the list while retaining the two new sites selected by the board, Longwood Community Recreation Center in Brookeville and Potomac Community Recreation Center in Potomac....

[GOP MCBOE Chair] Shalleck said his only goal was to improve the “geographic diversity” of the sites, creating access to early voting for communities that have had none. But County Council staff have raised questions about whether the Longwood site meets all the Maryland criteria for early voting centers, specifically access to public transportation. [County Counicilmember Nancy] Navarro said the measure sponsored by Madaleno and Leudtke was “ a great idea. I’m really hoping this could be a fix,” she said....

STEP 1: SIGN PETITION TO REVERSE 
EARLY VOTING CHANGES

STEP 2: E-MAIL MARYLAND'S
STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS

 

VIDEO OF GOP BOARD OF ELECTIONS MEMBERS DISCUSSING THE CHANGES: In response to the controversy, Montgomery County Councilmembers held a public hearing to question the county Board of Elections (MCBOE) about the motivation for these changes. In the video clip below (posted by Councilmember Tom Hucker) you can see the recently appointed Republican Chair of the MCBOE Jim Shalleck admit that:

1. Replacing the Burtonsville and Chevy Chase early voting sites with ones closer to Republicans would mean fewer voters live close to an early vote polling location
2. Not a single person who testified at a public hearing about polling locations called for closing the Burtonsville or Chevy Chase polling locations
3. Not a single person testified in favor of the proposed new sites in the less densely populated neighborhoods
4. Republican members of the MCBOE held private calls with Republican Party leaders about changing the early voting sites

Let’s break the Republicans' decision down:

IMPACT OF THE GOP'S PROPOSED EARLY VOTING CHANGES: The move by the GOP Board to "expand the geographic reach of early voting" may seem innocuous, but is hard to see as anything but a partisan move -- instead of one based on fair and efficient election administration. Congressman Van Hollen points out that Chevy Chase's Lawton Community Center is the only western down-county early voting site within walking distance of a Metro station. The Republicans are proposing to close this polling location and open a new one in a far-less populated area in Potomac that is not Metro-accessible.

But what is most suspect about the GOP’s proposal is how it moves early voting away from the high concentration of minority voters in East County. You can visualize what the impact of this change by using the Racial Dot Map from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. The black star on the map below is the current Burtonsville early voting center. The shading around the star represents the concentration of minority voters:

Borders reflect approximately 5 mile radius from Praisner Center

The same voter suppression in Burtonsville holds true for lower-income voters. The following map was created using the Synthetic Population Viewer developed by RTI International. Again, the star represents the Burtonsville early voting site, and the shading near the site represents lower income voters:

Unsurprisingly, these voters tend to vote Democratic. By comparison, the precincts around the Republicans proposed new site in Brookeville are among the handful of areas that Governor Hogan won in Montgomery County in 2014. The black star below represents the GOP's proposed new site in Brookeville, and the shading around the star represents the concentration of the Republican vote:

Thousands of low-income minority and Democratic-leaning voters will now be over 10 miles away from the nearest early voting center. But election data in Maryland show that the closer you are to an early voting site, the more likely you are to use it.

WHY THIS MATTERS IN 2016: Early voting use has surged (especially among young voters, African Americans and Hispanic voters)  but its impact on turnout is mixed. Should we care then about these changes to early voting, especially when our friends across the aisle portend we don’t even need early voting since we can vote by absentee for any reason at all?

One big reason is a new Maryland law taking effect that allows same day voter registration. Starting in 2016, Maryland residents can register to vote and cast a ballot at any early voting center for 8 days. According to Demos, same-day registration would increase overall turnout especially among young adults, voters of color and low-income families. Research even suggests  that voter turnout is maximized when same day registration is coupled with early voting. Moving early voter centers away from the voters most likely to benefit from same day registration? This is surely not the intention of the GOP....

BUT IT COULD’VE BEEN WORSE (HA): Facing perhaps unexpected pressure from the press and elected officials to fully explain their rationale for the early voting changes  -- Republican MCBOE Chair Jim Shalleck warned Kate Ryan of WTOP that it could’ve been much worse (transcript below, emphasis mine):

JIM SHALLECK: If we wanted to be political we could’ve cut Silver Spring and Wheaton - the two most heavily Democratic voting sites. But we didn’t.

The Republican Chairman's defense boils down to the fact that they could've suppressed even more voters than they did.  Beyond that Mr. Shalleck’s friends in the Montgomery County GOP put out a near incoherent statement of support spreading falsehoods - asserting that the Praisner site is “heavily used by residents of PG County” (unlikely per Maryland Election Law §3–305) or that Republicans are “making the early voting process more convenient” (tell that to the Burtonsville voters who has to take a 2 hour one-way bus ride to register to vote or cast a ballot).

EARLY VOTING WORKS WELL FOR MINORITIES AND LOW-INCOME VOTERS: The Washington Post’s Emily Badger makes a persuasive economic case about why early voting is important to minorities and low-income voters (excerpt below, emphasis mine)

WASHINGTON POST: Early voting is intimately bound up in race, not simply because minorities are more likely to take advantage of it, but because the policy itself addresses systemic barriers they face. When we decide to vote, we're not simply making a calculation about whether we like the candidates, or care about the issues at stake, or value the abstract idea of democracy. We also have to make calculations about how to get to the polls, whether we can spare the time to go there, and who will watch the kids while we're gone. 

These costs associated with voting — in lost pay, in childcare, in transit fares — are higher for minorities and the poor. Which is why they are among the largest beneficiaries of early, flexible voting.

Act now to stop the Maryland Republicans' voter suppression efforts:

STEP 1: SIGN PETITION TO REVERSE 
EARLY VOTING CHANGES

STEP 2: E-MAIL MARYLAND'S
STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS

UGH: MD Senate Approves Lockheed Handout // MEANWHILE: Key House Committee Quietly Cancels Steak Dinner w/ Lockheed

MARYLAND DEMOCRATS ARE BRUSHING ASIDE VOTERS TO APPROVE THE LOCKHEED MARTIN WELFARE PLAN - Maryland Juice has been tracking the scandalous efforts by our politicians to give Pentagon contractor Lockheed Martin millions of dollars of corporate welfare -- in exchange for nothing at all. Over the objections of the Montgomery County Council, state lawmakers are trying to force MoCo to exempt Lockheed (and Lockheed alone) from having to pay millions in lodging taxes. No other person or business in Maryland gets to avoid this tax -- but then again no other company has the chutzpah of Lockheed Martin (consistently rated tops in the nation for government contract abuse). Even worse, Lockheed is admitting that the Federal government already reimburses them for most or all of the lodging tax that they are now trying to avoid paying!

In these challenging budgetary times, the Lockheed handout would net the wildly profitable company $4.5 million from our taxpayers every ten years in perpetuity. This is the same Lockheed that a few months ago used 3.5 million taxpayer dollars to give their CEO a golden parachute after he was caught having an affair with a subordinate (excerpt via AmericaBlog):

AMERICA BLOG: A man who was being groomed to take over as CEO of Lockheed, the nation’s largest defense contractor, has been forced to resign shortly before taking office. The reason — he was having a long-term extramarital affair with a “subordinate employee." But that’s not the scandal — the scandal is that you, the taxpayer, will pony up $3.5 million as a parting gift (or maybe a “partying gift”) even though he resigned in disgrace....

Dozens of groups have called on Democratic lawmakers to shut down Lockheed Martin's corporate welfare plan, but it looks like the politicians still aren't getting the message.

ROLL CALL // LOCKHEED CORPORATE WELFARE PLAN PASSES STATE SENATE 37 TO 9 - Late Monday night, the State Senate finally held a long-delayed vote on the Lockheed Martin welfare plan, and our elected officials demonstrated a rare moment of bipartisanship to pass this massive corporate hackery by the overwhelming margin of 37 to 9. Here are the only nine State Senators who rejected this inherently ridiculous welfare handout:

1. Jim Brochin (Democrat)
2. Brian Frosh (Democrat)
3. Delores Kelley (Democrat)
4. Karen Montgomery (Democrat)
5. Anthony Muse (Democrat)
6. Paul Pinsky (Democrat)
7. Jamie Raskin (Democrat)
8. Bryan Simonaire (Republican)
9. Bobby Zirkin (Democrat)

A RARE MOMENT OF "BIPARTISANSHIP" FOR THE LOCKHEED HANDOUT - Amazingly, bipartisanship appears to be alive and well when it comes to corporate welfare. A bipartisan supermajority made up of 37 Senators voted to support this blind handout for Lockheed Martin (see their names here). The list includes all but one GOP member of the Senate, and 5 of the 8 State Senators from liberal Montgomery County. Maryland Juice has heard reports of intense lobbying from leadership figures and Lockheed Martin lobbyists in Annapolis, but I am disappointed that this sort of pro-forma pressure and institutional inertia actually works on our mostly able-minded Senators. Oy vey! 


BATTLE TO STOP LOCKHEED MARTIN HANDOUT MOVES TO HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE - Even though the Maryland Senate approved the Lockheed Martin welfare plan, voters still have several more opportunities to kill this proposal. The Lockheed bill (HB815) will now be debated in the House of Delegates Ways & Means Committee, where Montgomery County's Sheila Hixson serves as Committee Chair.  But the launch of the Lockheed effort in Hixson's committee was met with some early controversy....

HOUSE WAYS & MEANS MEMBERS QUIETLY CANCEL PRIVATE DINNER WITH LOCKHEED MARTIN LOBBYISTS AT RUTH'S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE - Amazingly, Lockheed Martin had planned a private dinner with the members of the House of Delegates Ways & Means Committee members only one day after the State Senate voted to send the Lockheed bill to the Ways & Means Committee. Indeed, Lockheed lobbyists had planned to ply the members of Sheila Hixson's committee with a lovely meal at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Annapolis. But someone apparently sensed that the public would go nuts about such shameless crony capitalism tactics, and the event was quickly and quietly canceled yesterday afternoon -- only 4.5 hours before the dinner was due to begin! Look at the leaked email below:

From: West, Nikki <Nikki.West@mlis.state.md.us>
Date: Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 2:28 PM
Subject: Protocol Calendar Cancelation
To: Senate of Maryland <Senators@mlis.state.md.us>, MD House of Delegates <Delegates@mlis.state.md.us>

Good Afternoon,

Please note the following Cancelation in the Protocol Calendar.

TUESDAY, March 19, 2013 - 7:00 p.m.
Lockheed Martin and Ways & Means Committee Dinner
Ruth's Chris
(House W&M Committee)
Susan Bernard - (410) 974-9000
BY INVITATION ONLY

STOP THE LOCKHEED WELFARE BILL IN THE HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE - I know I can't be the only one who is sick and tired of this type of cynical corporate politics. Maryland Juice encourages readers to contact Delegate Hixson ASAP, along with the other members of the Ways & Means Committee. Notably, Delegate Hixson has the power as a committee Chair to simply kill this bill by herself:

Photo Source: Edward Kimmel

ACT NOW

[ TELL WAYS & MEANS CHAIR SHEILA HIXSON TO KILL THE LOCKHEED BILL ]

Below I've listed the email addresses for the 23 Delegates on Ways & Means. I've also flagged their political parties and highlighted in red the 7 committee members who are sponsoring the Lockheed welfare bill (see below):

MARYLAND HOUSE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE

1. Sheila Hixson (D Chair) - sheila.hixson@house.state.md.us
2. Frank Turner (D Vice-Chair) - frank.turner@house.state.md.us
3. Kathy Afzali (R) - kathy.afzali@house.state.md.us
4. Kumar Barve (D) - kumar.barve@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
5. Joseph Boteler (R) - joseph.boteler@house.state.md.us
6. Talmadge Branch (D) - talmadge.branch@house.state.md.us
7. Jon Cardin (D) - jon.cardin@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
8. Don Dwyer (R) - don.dwyer@house.state.md.us
9. Mark Fisher (R) - mark.fisher@house.state.md.us
10. Bill Frick (D) - bill.frick@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
11. Ronald George (R) - ron.george@house.state.md.us
12. Nina Harper (D) - nina.harper@house.state.md.us
13. Carolyn Howard (D) - carolyn.howard@house.state.md.us
14. Jolene Ivey (D) - jolene.ivey@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
15. Anne Kaiser (D) - anne.kaiser@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
16. Eric Luedtke (D) - eric.luedtke@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
17. Aruna Miller (D) - aruna.miller@house.state.md.us - LOCKHEED WELFARE SPONSOR
18. LeRoy Myers (R) - leroy.myers@house.state.md.us
19. Andrew Serafini (R) - andrew.serafini@house.state.md.us
20. Melvin Stukes (D) - melvin.stukes@house.state.md.us
21. Michael Summers (D) - michael.summers@house.state.md.us
22. Jay Walker (D) - jay.walker@house.state.md.us
23. Alonzo Washington (D) - alonzo.washington@house.state.md.us

CONTINGENCIES - If Sheila Hixson is unwilling to kill the Lockheed Welfare bill in the Ways & Means Committee, advocates will have to fight this unjust corporate handout on the House Floor. And if that fails, it is time to ask Governor O'Malley to break out his VETO sword!


MORE ON THE LOCKHEED MARTIN WELFARE SCANDAL SOON!


P.S. MARYLAND TAXPAYERS FUND A CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR LOBBYISTS & LAWMAKERS?  - The email copied above, which announced the cancellation of the Lockheed dinner, mentioned that the event was listed in a "protocol calendar." But as Maryland Juice has discovered, a "protocol calendar" is in reality a "lobbyist event calendar," plain and simple.

It turns out that our state tax dollars are spent on staff time for government employees to build and maintain this calendar of lobbyist events. Amazingly, the "protocol calendar" was apparently intended to bring transparency to the fact that these lobbyist-lawmaker mixers even occur. Fair enough, but it seems more and more like the calendar is actually facilitating the lobbyist contacts with legislators. Maybe lawmakers need to rename the "protocol calendar" with a less deceptive name (like "lobbyist event calendar") and proactively make sure they are actually seen by the public. If you're curious to see which industry lobbyists have been wining and dining your lawmakers, you can see two copies of protocol calendars from 2013. It looks like lawmakers have multiple options for lobbyist-paid meals practically every day of the legislative session!

Maryland Lobbyist Events - March 2013

Maryland Lobbyist Events - January 2013

JuiceBlender: Luedtke Attacked, Westboro Baptist in Maryland, Brochin Kills Non-Discrimination Bill, Leggett's Harlem Shake

UPDATE: At the request of the Suitland High School principal, the Prince George's Young Democrats are cancelling their counter-protest of the Westboro Baptist actions.

Below Maryland Juice highlights several items that may be of interest to politicos:

JUICE #1: DEL. ERIC LUEDTKE ATTACKED BY DIRECT MAIL - Several Maryland Juice readers have received direct mail attacking Democratic Del. Eric Luedtke of Montgomery County. The mailer appears to take issue with the fact that Luedtke is sponsoring legislation to make it more difficult to petition bills to referendum (a legislative response to the prospect of referenda battles emerging in every election cycle) . See snapshots of the mailer below:

TREASURER FOR ANTI-LUEDTKE PIECE IS A LEADER IN NATIONAL LIBERTARIAN PARTY - Notably, the authority line for the mailer states it is from: "Citizens in Charge, William Redpath, Treasurer." The website for Citizens in Charge states its mission as follows (excerpt below):

Citizens in Charge is a 501 (c) (4) citizen-powered advocacy organization that serves as a partner to Citizens in Charge Foundation in protecting and expanding the initiative and referendum process.

The organization works with activists, legislators, media, opinion leaders and voters to protect the initiative and referendum process where it exists in 26 states and to expand the process to the 26 states where voters currently lack that right.

There never has been a more important time to defend the initiative process. Voters increasingly turn to initiatives to make needed reforms, while legislators increasingly seek to impose limitations on this process.

File this under the "small world," category, but Maryland Juice actually knows William Redpath personally, and is aware that he is one of the leaders of the national Liberatarian Party. Interesting!


JUICE #2: ANTI-GAY WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH PROTESTS IN PRINCE GEORGE'S - Remember that church whose members like to protest about gay rights at the funerals of dead soldiers? Well they are now coming to Suitland High School in Prince George's County. The principal of Suitland High sent a notice to parents last week (excerpt below):

SUITLAND HIGH SCHOOL: Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas have informed both the School District and the Prince George’s Police Department of their plans to send ten (10) of their members to protest at Suitland High School on Tuesday, March 26 from 3:00-3:30 p.m.

The members of the Westboro Baptist Church are an anti-gay group that regularly stage protests around the country. Many of you have probably seen the memorandum that they have been distributing. It is a standard memorandum that they use when protesting at schools.

A Twitter user elaborated on Westboro Baptists venomous statements:

The Prince George's County Young Democrats were helping to organize a counter-protest to the Westboro shenanigans. See their announcement below, but note the event has now been cancelled at the request of the Suitland High School principal:

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY YOUNG DEMOCRATS - Westboro Baptist Church has chosen their next target.  Usually we are insulated from the hatred by distance or a television screen.  But not this time.  This time, Westboro Baptist Church descends upon an institution in our own backyards, in our own community, Suitland High School.  A school that produces great leaders and creative minds who go on to achieve and inspire others to do the same.  On Tuesday, March 26th at 3pm, the Westboro picket signs will go up and they will spew their hate speech at our children, our neighbors, and our family members.  In the wake of the violence that has recently plagued this area, let's show Westboro Baptist Church that they have come to the wrong place and such hatred will not be tolerated here in Prince George's County.

Click here give a donation to support the families of the fallen victims.

As we attempt to calm the waves of violence, let's meet them with a force of peace.  We must demonstrate to not only support and anchor our children, but to infuse our communities with the love needed to continue the healing and promote unity.  As they stand at the pulpit of ignorance, let us gather as one congregation and remind ourselves, and the country, that Prince George's County is a place of not just tolerance, but acceptance.  We embrace the color, creed, religion, orientation and ethnicity of all. 

Click here to let us know you'll be there.

This is not only a call to action, but a challenge for you to act.  We must counter this descent of hatred by Westboro Baptist Church.  Let this adversity bind us even tighter as a community and let's show them they came to the wrong county.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
    -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

See you in Suitland,

Maurielle
http://www.pgcyd.com/

JUICE #3: STATE SENATORS BROCHIN, MUSE & STONE KILL NON-DISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION - Yesterday, members of the Maryland Senate's Judicial Proceedings Committee surprised observers by killing a transgender non-discrimination legislation in a 5-6 vote. Democratic Senators Jim Brochin, Anthony Muse and Norm Stone joined with the Republicans to kill this common-sense protection for our fellow Maryland residents. Equality Maryland published the committee roll call, along with some commentary on the issue (excerpt below):

EQUALITY MARYLAND: In a 5-6 vote this afternoon, the Senate Judicial Proceeding Committee failed to pass SB 449,The Fairness for All Marylanders Act of 2013. Voting infavor of the bill were, Senators Raskin, Forehand, Frosh, Gladden and Zirkin. Voting against the bill were Senators Stone, Muse, Jacobs, Brochin, Shank and Getty.

Equality Maryland’s Executive Director commented on this vote, “It is terribly disappointing the committee failed to stand up for fairness and protect transgender Marylanders.We are particularly incensed with Senator Jim Brochin’s vote. He had at least 1,000 constituents contact him asking him to support this bill. Despite this, he turned his back on these voters. It ironic that transgender people in his own district [Baltimore County] have protections yet he wouldn’t cast a vote to extend these protections to transgender individuals in the 20 counties that aren’t  so fortunate.”

Several Maryland Juice readers are pointing the finger for the loss at State Senator Jim Brochin, who they say backstabbed supporters of the non-discrimination bill. But Brochin was joined by Democratic Senators Anthony Muse and Norm Stone in fighting the Fairness for All Marylanders Act. Notably, Stone also voted against interracial marriage when he first arrived in Annapolis. It appears that he hasn't changed much since then. Check out the following report from The Washington Blade (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON BLADE: A Maryland state Senate committee on Thursday struck down a bill that would have banned anti-transgender discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation....

“Despite months of hard work by our broad coalition of supporters, key committee members were unwilling to advance the promise of equality under the law to the transgender community,” Madaleno said in an e-mail he sent to his constituents after the vote. “A majority of committee members were unwilling to pass a bill that prohibited discrimination by restaurants, theaters, hotels, shopping centers and other places of public accommodations. Their lack of understanding and empathy for their fellow Marylanders is appalling.”

Baltimore County, of which Brochin represents portions in Annapolis, along with Montgomery and Howard Counties and Baltimore City have already adopted trans-inclusive non-discrimination laws....

Sixteen states and D.C. currently ban discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

JUICE #4: IKE LEGGETT DOES HARLEM SHAKE // SIGN OF RE-ELECTION ACTIVITY?  - For those of you that follow online viral sensations, you may have seen videos of the "Harlem Shake." Wikipedia describes the meme as follows:

WIKIPEDIA: The Harlem Shake is an Internet meme in the form of a video in which a group of people performs a comedy sketch accompanied by a short excerpt from the song "Harlem Shake". As a meme, the video was replicated by many people, using the same concept, and this rapidly led to it becoming viral in early February 2013, with thousands of "Harlem Shake" videos being made and uploaded to YouTube every day at the height of its popularity.

The form of the meme was established in a video uploaded on February 2 by five teenagers from Queensland, Australia known on YouTube as The Sunny Coast Skate. The video started a viral trend of people uploading their own "Harlem Shake" videos to YouTube. The teenagers' video was, in its turn, a follow-up to a video by a YouTube comedy vlogger named Filthy Frank which featured a section where several costumed people danced to the song "Harlem Shake" by Baauer.

Now Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has produced his own "Harlem Shake" video, and it is a hoot. Could the video below be the clearest sign that Leggett might be trying to run for re-election?

JuiceBlender: MD House Speaker Announces New Committee Members, Garagiola Firmly Supports Death Penalty & More!

Below Maryland Juice highlights a few noteworthy tidbits for Free State politicos:

JUICE #1 // FUNNY: BANKRUPT MARYLAND REPUBLICANS - Maryland Juice recently caught this amusing image and caption on the #mdpolitics feed on Twitter:

Day 3 of 2013 session. I never thought they'd be so upfront about it...  #mdpolitics #annapolis  pic.twitter.com/02Iwfp7F

JUICE #2 // NOT FUNNY: SEN. ROB GARAGIOLA FIRMLY SUPPORTS GOVERNMENT EXECUTIONS: With the big push progressives are making to repeal the death penalty in Maryland, it appears that they cannot yet count on support from State Senator Rob Garagiola (who was recently endorsed by numerous progressive groups like MoveOn in his recent run for Congress). Check out the following excerpt from The Baltimore Sun's coverage:

Garagiola firm on keeping death penalty

A Montgomery County senator whose vote death penalty opponents had hoped to sway this year said Friday that he is firmly committed to keeping capital punishment on the books.... Garagiola is the lone senator from Montgomery County who supports retention of the death penalty.... With his vote unavailable, the path to the minimum 24 votes to pass a bill becomes a bit narrower.

JUICE #3 // MARYLAND HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE BUSCH ANNOUNCES COMMITTEE SHUFFLES: A Maryland Juice source forwarded us the following press release from the office of Maryland House Speaker Mike Busch. The Democratic leader has made some changes to the leadership and committee membership in the Maryland House. Details below:

PRESS RELEASE

SPEAKER BUSCH ANNOUNCES COMMITTEE AND LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS

ANNAPOLIS, MD – House Speaker Michael E. Busch today announced committee assignments for six standing committees in the House of Delegates, as well as appointments to new leadership positions.  In the upcoming session, Appropriations, Economic Matters, and Environmental Matters each will have 24, Health & Government Operations will have 23 and Judiciary and Ways & Means will each have 22 members.

The committees are balanced to reflect the demographic, geographic and party makeup of the legislature.

The following Delegates were appointed today.  Delegates not included on this list will maintain their current committee assignments.

LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS

• Delegate Anne Healey (District 22), Chair, House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee
• Delegate Jay Walker (District 26), Vice Chair, House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee
• Delegate Samuel I. Rosenberg (District 41), House Chair, Administrative, Executive, Legislative Review Committee
• Delegate Frank Turner (District 13), Vice Chairman, Ways and Means Committee
• Delegate Benjamin Barnes (District 21), Chief Deputy Majority Whip
• Delegate Shawn Tarrant (District 40), Chief Deputy Majority Whip
• Delegate Anne Kaiser (District 14), Vice Chair, House Democratic Caucus
• Delegate Hattie Harrison (District 45), Chairman Emeritus
• Delegate Rudolph Cane (District 37A), Assistant Speaker Pro Tem

APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

• Delegate Guy Guzzone (District 13), Chair, Public Safety & Administration Subcommittee
• Delegate Craig Zucker (District 14), Vice Chair, Public Safety & Administration Subcommittee
• Delegate Keith Haynes (District 44), Delegate Steve DeBoy (District 12A), and Delegate Craig Zucker (District 14) are new members of the Capital Budget Subcommittee, representing Baltimore City, Baltimore and Montgomery Counties.

ECONOMIC MATTERS COMMITTEE

• Delegate Galen Clagett (District 3A)

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

• Delegate Glen Glass (District 34B)
• Delegate Samuel I. Rosenberg (District 41)

WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE

• Delegate Eric Luedtke (District 14), Chair, Financial Resources Subcommittee
• Delegate Don Dwyer (District 31)
• Delegate Alonzo Washington (District 22)

# # #

GUEST POST: Del. Eric Luedtke Dissects Montgomery County's Marriage Equality, Dream Act & Gambling Results // SEE MAPS

PLUS: MARYLAND JUICE HIGHLIGHTS QUICK NOTES ABOUT DAMASCUS AND GOP VOTERS WHO SUPPORTED MARRIAGE EQUALITY

Below Maryland Juice is pleased to publish an interesting analysis of key ballot question results in Montgomery County. Our guest pundit, Delegate Eric Luedtke (D14 Democrat), looked at the precinct-level returns for marriage equality (Question 6), the Dream Act (question 4) and gambling expansion (Question 7). He also created some insightful maps showing how MoCo's neighborhoods voted on the various measures.

ERIC LUEDTKE: Below, I've attached precinct maps showing how Montgomery County voted on questions 4, 6, and 7. First, I should note that these maps only display the election day precinct level vote, and do not include early voting totals.

The Montgomery County Board of Elections data counts the early vote as a separate canvass, like they do with absentee votes. During early voting, MoCo supported marriage equality nearly six points more than the statewide overall vote for Question 6. On the Dream Act, Montgomery County voters supported the measures by four points more than the statewide vote. Lastly, on gambling expansion, Montgomery County supported Question 7 by four tenths of a point less than the statewide average.

Note that there were some geographical variations in the early vote due to the locations of the early vote centers. For example, the early vote probably included significantly more voters from Silver Spring precincts (folks who likely voted at the Silver Spring Civic Center) than voters from the Bethesda area, where there is no early voting center. But nonetheless, the maps below give a glimpse into the geographic and demographic patterns of the vote on the various questions.

NOTE: On all of the maps below, the bluest areas show precincts that "voted for" the ballot question in large numbers. The purple areas show precincts where fewer than 50% of voters supported a "vote for" the ballot question. See the explanation of the color-coding using the key to the right.

QUESTION 4 - DREAM ACT RESULTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

ERIC LUEDTKE: The question 4 map is probably the most clear. Only six far upcounty precincts voted against it, including much of Damascus (except the central precinct which is entirely suburban rather than a rural-suburban mix like the rest of Damascus), parts of Laytonsville, and northern Gaithersburg outside the city limits. The heaviest vote in favor is concentrated downcounty, particularly in Bethesda and Silver Spring, and also has concentrations in parts of the county further north that have heavier immigrants populations. This includes most of the 29 corridor, which has significant populations of Latinos and continental African immigrants, the Wheaton area and its heavy Latino population, and precincts around Gaithersburg and Rockville with large Latino and Asian-American populations. It’s interesting to note the stretch of precincts voting strongly in favor up the 270 corridor all the way to the Frederick County line, likely due to a continued expansion of more urban and suburban areas in Germantown and Clarksburg. It’s also significant that nearly all of District 15 voted in favor, including the heavily rural precincts around Poolesville and Barnesville. District 15, you may remember, was the last MoCo district to elect a Republican, but its shift towards the Democratic column seems to be continuing.

QUESTION 6 - MARRIAGE EQUALITY RESULTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

ERIC LUEDTKE: The question 6 map is similar to the question 4 map. Support is concentrated in Bethesda/Chevy Chase, lower Silver Spring, and Rockville, with concentrations of lesser support in Olney, Gaithersburg, Germantown, and Potomac. Many of the majority-minority portions of the county voted in favor, including the upper 29 corridor and Wheaton/Aspen Hill, although by a significantly smaller margin than they supported question 4. I think this reflects the fact that marriage equality supporters were successful in reaching out to many minority voters, but obviously still have work to do. Four of the ten precincts that opposed are in District 14, which had the lowest vote by district in the county, but still the vote was in favor in all eight legislative districts. 

QUESTION 7 - GAMBLING EXPANSION RESULTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY

ERIC LUEDTKE: The question 7 map is a bit of a cipher, in that for virtually every identifiable pattern there is an exception. Significant pockets of opposition cluster along the DC line in areas from Bethesda and Chevy Chase south and in Takoma Park and east Silver Spring, but a big chunk of the western side of Silver Spring voted in favor by a wide margin. More conservative upcounty precincts in Brookeville, Laytonsville, and Barnesville voted against, while most of Damascus voted in favor. Seniors at Asbury and Riderwood voted heavily against it, while seniors in Leisure World voted in favor. The vast majority of the county voted in favor of it by relatively slim margins, and we don’t see many geographic concentrations of support like we did on the other maps, although there is a significant concentration of support in Gaithersburg and Germantown, one in the Aspen Hill area, and a smaller one in Fairland and Briggs-Chaney.

DAMASCUS VOTERS: AGAINST MARRIAGE EQUALITY & DREAM ACT, FOR BOOZE AND GAMBLING - Maryland Juice has one interesting takeaway from Luedtke's analysis. It appears that Damascus voters may be the black sheep of Montgomery County. Notably, Damascus voters appear to have unusual moral priorities as demonstrated by their voting behavior. On November 6, Damascus overwhelmingly voted to begin allowing alcohol sales in their town (Note: it is currently a "dry" town). But while many Damascus voters also voted against marriage equality and the Dream Act, they also approved gambling expansion. Bottom line: Damascus rejected civil rights and college opportunity, but embraced booze and gambling. I'm no puritan about booze and gambling, but what kind of a message does this send? Oy vey!

SIDENOTE: SOME REPUBLICANS BUCKED PARTY TO SUPPORT MARRIAGE EQUALITY - Maryland Juice has one final note for this analysis of the ballot question results. Walter Olson of the CATO Institute today published an interesting op-ed in The Huffington Post noting that in some Republican-dominated parts of Maryland, the "vote for" marriage equality was higher than Obama's vote total in the same places. He surmises that this means Republican defections on marriage equality helped Question 6 pass in Maryland (excerpt below):

WALTER OLSON: In fact county-level results reveal that across wide swaths of Republican territory in Maryland, same-sex marriage actually ran well ahead of Barack Obama and the Democratic ticket. That means there were many, many Romney voters who voted for the same-sex marriage law -- enough, in fact, that without them the measure would almost certainly have lost by a mile....

Two major bulwarks of Republican strength in Maryland, Anne Arundel and Frederick Counties, went both for Romney and for same-sex marriage. The two counties have been home to some of the state's best- known anti-gay politicians, such as Del. Don Dwyer of Anne Arundel and former Sen. Alex Mooney of Frederick. Frederick County especially, where I live, is famed as a right-wing stronghold.... Romney carried Anne Arundel by a point.

In Carroll, Question 6 ran a remarkable 11 points ahead of the president, in Queen Anne's 10 points ahead, in Harford and Cecil 5 points, and in Frederick and Anne Arundel 3 to 4 points. Collectively these counties contributed tens of thousands more votes for Question 6 than if gay marriage had been, as you might put it, only as popular as the chief executive of the United States.....

GUEST POST: Del. Eric Luedtke Defends Veterans Hall Gaming Law // MoCo Lawmaker Responds to PG Del. Doyle Niemann

Delegate Eric Luedtke

BACKGROUND: Yesterday, Maryland Juice published a guest post from Delegate Doyle Niemann. The Prince George's County Democratic lawmaker sought to rebut claims about Maryland's new gambling law that appeared on Maryland Juice. In particular, his piece challenged suggestions made by Del. Eric Luedtke and Fred Nordham, a member of the Prince George's Veterans Commission, that an expansion of gaming machines at veterans halls would have a limited impact on the State.

Delegate Luedtke, a Montgomery County Democrat, now provides Maryland Juice with a response to Doyle Niemann's guest post. Luedtke further explains the rationale for parts of the gambling law below. You can read the provisions of the new gaming law online.

Sensible Gaming Policy in Maryland

by Delegate Eric Luedtke

I think it’s worth responding to Del. Niemann’s point, but in the broader context of where the legislature is driving gaming policy in Maryland.

GUEST POST: Del. Doyle Niemann Slams Veterans Hall Gaming Law // Prince George's Official Says Slots Will Spread in MD

Delegate Doyle Niemann

Today Delegate Doyle Niemann, a Prince George's County Democrat, provided Maryland Juice with a lengthy criticism of Maryland's new gambling expansion law. In particular, he condemns a new provision allowing slot machines at neighborhood veterans halls. We print his response below, along a little bit of background on the new controversy.

BACKGROUND: Last Friday, Maryland Juice reported on a small but significant change to the State's new gambling expansion law that would allow slot machines at "veterans halls" sprinkled throughout Maryland. We feared that this particular gambling expansion provision would lead to neighborhood slot machine sites in numerous residential neighborhoods. In fact, the way the newly passed law is structured, veterans halls would get to operate slot machines -- whether or not the November gambling expansion referendum passes. Our piece generated a response from Del. Eric Luedtke of Montgomery County and Fred Nordham from the Prince George's Commission for Veterans. Both readers strongly challenged our characterization of the "neighborhood slots" expansion and insisted that the machines were different from slots and could not be used by those who were not members of the veterans halls.

Marylander of the Year Nominations from CASA de Maryland, Patch.com and Delegate Eric Luedtke

UPDATE: Kim Propeack of CASA nominates the DOJ's Tom Perez below. Her shout-out to Perez notes his investigation of controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio below. You can read more about Sheriff Joe in the latest Tea Party newsletter. He's launching an independent investigation into Obama's birth certificate! 

[ See All of the "Marylander of the Year" Nominations ]

This is the 2nd installation of our inaugural Marylander of the Year project. In the spirit of TIME Magazine's annual "Person of the Year" article, we are asking various Marylanders for their thoughts on who has been most influential or impactful in the amazing Free State/Old Line State. Contact Maryland Juice to share your own thoughts (either anonymously or publicly). Below, we print three more nominations. They come from Maryland legislator Eric Luedkte, Casa de Maryland's political director Kim Propeack and Doug Tallman, Patch.com's regional editor for Maryland & Virginia:

COUNTERPOINT: Maryland IS Launching New Programs to Encourage Startups and Innovation

Lately, Maryland Juice has been throwing the evil eye at the use of corporate welfare dollars in ways that don't seem to create new jobs or economic activity. To be clear, we are not anti-business, but we are anti-waste and very pro-efficiency. This is a recession, after all. That's why we've suggested a number of alternative ways to spend that kind of money, including by focusing on sectors that are more likely to lead to immediate new jobs and spending (ie: small or local businesses & startups). The point is simple: we should at least consider using the money for more productive things than paying off companies that are threatening to move. When a company makes that threat, their game plan is often already decided. You can't negotiate when faced with economic extortion.

We recently posted a series of articles on these topics, most recently highlighting an alternative energy company that moved from Montgomery County to Howard. The piece (which included a list of things governments can do to encourage startups) elicited responses from a couple elected officials, including this public comment from Del. Eric Luedtke (D14 Democrat):

DBED Head: Christian Johansson

Reading all the discussion on economic development with interest, but it's worth noting that the state is already doing a number of things on Tim's list of suggestions. For example, the Department of Business and Economic Development proposed (and the Assembly passed) the Invest Maryland Initiative this past spring. It totals $70 million of investment funds which are intended to largely focus on the angel stage of investment, and the majority of which will be privately managed by an experienced investment firm. Invest is intended to be an evergreen fund, so that capital and potentially some portion of profits returned from successful start-ups will be reinvested in other start-ups. The Secretary at DBED - Christian Johansson - is very focused on creating a better environment for entrepreneurship in the state, and Invest was his big push this past session:

The Secret Lives of Delegates // Anonymous MD Legislators on Life in Annapolis

Earlier this month, Maryland Juice reported on rumors that District 14 Delegate Eric Luedtke was weighing a bid for the District 5 seat on the Montgomery County Council. It is worth noting that Mr. Luedtke's activism on County issues may predate his time in the State House. But still, we were intrigued by this potential lateral, given that just last year Delegate Craig Rice jumped from the State House to the County Council.

As a result, we decided to anonymously poll a sample of Mr. Luedtke's legislative colleagues from Montgomery, to see what they had to say about life in Annapolis. In particular, we wanted to see what sort of issues fairly recent Maryland House members face, given that they are unlikely to be chairing committees or serving in leadership.

The responses below are amazingly consistent, with a few unique responses. I group the answers by topic, below:

Montgomery Shuffle: Del. Eric Luedtke Weighing District 5 County Council Bid

For the past few weeks, Maryland Juice has been following redistricting developments in Montgomery County, as well as the emergence of candidates in the County Executive's race. If you put those two stories together, you start to see two sources of new candidacies: 1) through officeholders vacating their seats for higher office, and 2) through officeholders living in new political boundaries after redistricting.

For District 14 Delegate Eric Luedtke, it appears that both factors are in play: District 5 Councilmember Valerie Ervin appears to be vacating her seat for a County Executive bid, while the Redistricting Commission's proposed map would move his Burtonsville neighborhood from Council District 4 into Council District 5.

Several people are now saying that if Councilmember Ervin does indeed run for Executive, and if the Council ultimately approves the Redistricting Commission's proposed map, Mr. Luedtke would be interested in the position and is currently taking the steps to weigh a candidacy. Maryland Juice could not get confirmation of these allegations, but the sources are very credible.