Citizens Petition Maryland General Assembly for Changes in Election Laws
Petition Signed by Over 2300 Maryland Voters Turned-in to Legislators, Offers Solutions to Restore Confidence in Voting System and Ultimately Voter Participation
ANNAPOLIS – Inspired by the good work being done by individuals all over Maryland, a group of grassroots citizens decided to exercise their right to petition our State Legislators. As guaranteed by Article 13 of the Declaration of Rights of the Maryland Constitution, as well the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution, these citizens circulated a statewide non-binding and non-partisan petition requesting our General Assembly amend our Maryland election law to incorporate all the protocols required for a secure and accurate election.
The citizen volunteers turned-in the petition on Thursday, April 4th, 2024, to members of the people’s House and Senate. This petition was signed by over 2,300 Maryland voters, from every political jurisdiction of the State and represents the work of over 100 petition circulators.
A thorough review and analysis of the official Maryland State Voter Rolls has identified numerous registration violations, as well as numerous voting violations in the 2020 and 2022 General Elections, resulting in error rates far above acceptable error rates allowed by federal election law.
The review and analysis has identified numerous registration violations, including — but not limited to — duplicate registrations; questionable inactive voters who having voted returned to inactive status; voters without U.S. Postal Service certified mailing addresses; voters registered without residential addresses; voters who reportedly moved away over four years prior to voting in recent elections; deceased voters; voters identified as 16 years of age and yet voted; numerous registered voters over the age of 115; voters who have an erroneous registration date of the national holiday of January 1; and voters with conflicting registration dates.
To date, the Maryland State Board of Elections has failed to address many of these concerns.
As well, growing concerns throughout the U.S. that electronic voting machines, often connected to the Internet, are subject to outside manipulation are raising doubts as to the validity of elections.
While recognizing problems in our voting system, these citizens offer solutions to restore confidence in our elections. Below are seven recommendations believed to guarantee fair and honest elections:
1) Address and resolve registration violations in advance of the 2024 elections.
2) Require the Maryland State Board of Elections to maintain accurate voter rolls.
3) Elimination of all electronic voting machines, electronic poll books and all forms of electronic voting equipment at polling places.
4) Return to the use of paper ballots and hand counting of votes at the Precinct level.
5) Elimination of widespread mail-in ballots, and return to absentee ballots only for military personnel, medical and other valid emergencies.
6) Elimination of drop boxes.
7) Providing photo identification to vote.
The petitioners believe that the adoption of these provisions to our election laws will not only restore confidence and trust in our voting system, but lead to greater participation in the voting process. While acknowledging this petition is non-binding upon the Legislature, and advisory only, this petition reflects the sincere intentions and the will of the people of Maryland.