Voters' Guides

I. LWVMD RESPONSIBILITIES

The LWVMD will provide guidelines, information and training on how to prepare and publish Voters’ Guides in print and online.

Questions

a. Questions for candidates for statewide office: Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, U.S. Senators, House of Representatives and Judges are determined by the LWVMD Board with input from LLs and questionnaires are prepared by the LWVMD.

b. Questions for General Assembly candidates: LWVMD Board will propound three mandatory questions to be asked of legislative candidates (State Senator, State Delegate). LWVMD Board will propound three non-mandatory questions to be asked of legislative candidates.

LLs may propound additional questions for legislative candidates. If LLs do not propound replacement questions for the non-mandatory questions, or if the LLs that share a district cannot as a group agree or decide upon replacement questions, they shall default to the LWVMD Board propounded questions.

A deadline for submission of replacement questions by LLs to LWVMD Board will be determined and publicized by the State Voter Service Chairperson. Replacement questions not received by the deadline will not be used; rather, non-mandatory, Board questions will be used.

Workshop

A workshop which includes current information which LLs need from the LWVMD is conducted early enough to help everyone plan for the Voters’ Guides in a timely fashion, i.e. about six months before the Primary. An additional workshop may be held later if needed. Copies of old guides and other related material will be available at the workshop.

A kit of materials available at the workshop may include:

1. a calendar of election-related dates;

2. a list of things to do - the LL responsibilities;

3. a deadline schedule of what should be done when;
   

4. a brief fact sheet on the election process so the Voters’ Guide chairs and online Administrators will understand it and be confident in making decisions;

5. explanatory material to put in paper Guides and online such as descriptions of statewide offices, judicial elections, salaries, ballot questions, write-in information. (Some are mandatory, some used only if space permits);

6. a standard format for presenting the candidates biographies and answers. Format may vary because of newspaper requirements

LWVMD Mailings/E-mails:

1. Questionnaires to all candidates for statewide and judicial offices. When replies are received, LWVMD will send copies to all LLs, along with a check-list of these candidates. Questionnaires shall contain a request for biographical information
2. Copies to LLs (or to lead Leagues in some cases -- see # II) including copies of candidates' questionnaires for them to mail to candidates for the General Assembly and copies of standard transmittal letter.

3. Names of statewide candidates who have filed with the State Board of Elections (SBE), to LLs (or lead Leagues in some cases).

4. For the General Election, a copy and explanation of statewide ballot questions (constitutional amendments and statewide referenda) to each LL.

5. Any additional information that becomes available that LLs will need; e.g., result of a lawsuit affecting ballots or election procedures, changes in candidates, etc.

Follow-up phone calls: LWVMD Voter Service chair will be available for help and advice by phone, or email.

II. Lead League Responsibilities:

Definition: A Lead League is a LL which has agreed to handle all questionnaires for candidates in a shared state or congressional legislative district.

a. Send questionnaires to candidates in the shared district.

b. Get replies. Follow up with e-mail and phone calls as needed.

c. Immediately send copies of the original replies to the LLs in the shared district.

A list of local Voter Service chairs will be provided by the LWVMD.

III. LL Responsibilities:

• a. Negotiate with local newspapers for printing of guides.
• b. Prepare questions for candidates for local offices.
• c. Get names from local election board of all candidates who file there, periodically, as they file and/or withdraw. Make a final check when the official ballot is prepared.
• d. Send out questionnaires and get replies. In presidential years with Spring primaries a second set of questions should be sent before the General Election, in gubernatorial years with Fall primaries, questions for both guides should be sent together.
• e. Prepare material for the paper and online Guide, following the established guidelines.

1. Obtain other necessary information from local election board: maps, dates and places for voter registration, list of polling places, etc.
2. For General Election, obtain from local election boards names of candidates who won primary and all others who will be on the ballot. Obtain a sample ballot as a check list.
3. For General Election, obtain local ballot questions from county officials and prepare brief explanations.
4. Know what type of voting system is used in all jurisdictions covered by the Guide -particularly if any instructions or diagrams are included in Guide.

• f. Pay costs associated with publishing guides and administering local online site.
• g. Leagues sharing districts with counties having no LL should, if possible, include those counties' candidates in their Guide and distribute it in that county and provide online coverage. LWVMDEF assists in funding this extra effort.
• h. Send the LWVMD office two copies of each Voters’ Guide published.

IV. General Guidelines:

A. What candidates should be included in the Guide?

All candidates for the same office whose names have been certified to be on the ballot are included in the Guide and online. Candidates having no contest in the general election may be listed by name only, but it is preferable to include their biographies and answers. Candidates who are unopposed in the primary should be listed at least by name and their biographies and answers included if space permits. The check list of candidates should include the names of all the candidates who will be on the ballot. [Note: unopposed candidates DO appear on the ballot]

Third Party candidates who have filed with the appropriate Board of Elections AND who have qualified for the ballot should be included in online and in general election Voters’ Guides.

Write-in candidates who have filed with the appropriate Board of Elections by a date set by the Voters’ Guide Editor should be included in the General Election Voters’ Guide and identified by party as a write-in candidate. There should be a notice in the Voters’ Guide about the deadline and that other candidates may have filed [Example: "Write in candidates who filed with the SBE by this date and who provided the League of Women Voters with responses are included in this Guide. Information about other write-in candidates may be obtained at SBE website or on the LWV website."] Note: There are no write-in candidates for the Primary Election.

If space permits, candidates for all offices should be included in the Guide. It should be decided ahead of time which offices, if any, will be omitted if space is a problem, and all LLs involved should be included in the decision.

B. In order to treat all candidates throughout the state alike, a uniform policy should be established for:

1. Cutting off replies that exceed the word limit. Candidates' information is to be printed verbatim. If the word limit is exceeded, the LL should strike all words to the nearest appropriate place within the word limit.

2. All candidates should be notified in the cover letter that they must meet the same deadline as everyone else even if they do not have opposition in the primary.

3. If LLs are able to obtain candidate bio/replies after the LWVMD/LWVMDEF fails to do so, the information should be sent to the League to share with other LLs.

C. When multiple questions are prepared for an office, they should be listed in order of priority so that, if space in the Guide becomes a problem, the question having the lowest priority is omitted. ---

The LWVMDEF board decides on priorities. Three questions are used in the primary Guide and three questions in the general Guide.

D. Realistic word limits should be assigned to the questions. The limit need not be the same for all questions or categories of candidates.

E. Letters to candidates in shared districts will inform them that their replies will be shared with all other Leagues in the district for inclusion in their Guides.

F. Dealing with newspapers: The League must retain editorial control. Agreements with newspapers that print Guides must be worked out ahead of time and include all decisions that can be foreseen. Have a written memorandum of understanding signed by all parties involved. Non-negotiable points include the prohibition of advertising connected in any way with a candidate and a requirement that the League must be allowed to proofread final copy. Negotiable points would be the number of copies to be provided the League for distribution, the cost if any to LL, schedule of deadlines, printing and publication dates, offices to be included, exclusive material or not, format to be used. Photos may be used at the discretion of the LL and the newspaper. Do not request photos unless they are likely to be used.

G. Administration of online Guides will be in accordance with policies and guidelines established by LWVUS.

V. Future Considerations:

For many years, local Leagues were able to make arrangements for distributing their printed voters’ guides through local newspapers. Rising printing costs and changing priorities in the print media field have made this option of distribution prohibitively expensive for some League budgets. If distributing a voters’ guide through a local newspaper is the best solution, but the cost is prohibitive, Leagues may want to consider a special fundraising appeal for this singular purpose.

If a local League finds that it is unable to partner with a newspaper for distribution of a voters' guide, creative thinking can open new avenues for delivery that are convenient, inexpensive and effective. Each local League should have a printable (pdf) voters’ guide on its website, which offers to voters the opportunity to print out the guide at their convenience. The availability of the voters' guide on the website should be advertised extensively. (An advertisement in a local newspaper announcing the availability of a local voters’ guide is MUCH less expensive than printing a voters guide.) An email containing a link to the online guide should be distributed to local schools, libraries, organizations, political clubs, businesses, and local media outlets. In some jurisdictions, the local Board of Elections will put a link to the League’s local voters' guide on its website.

Candidate Debates

The LWVMDEF is responsible for organizing debates for statewide offices; namely, Governor and U.S. Senators.

It is the role of the LWVMD/LWVMDEF prior to the primary and/or general elections to initiate and manage League-sponsored debates for candidates for Governor and/or U.S. Senator. Debates affecting those offices should not be sponsored by LLs without LWVMD Board approval. LLs may hold forums for the U.S. House of Representatives, the State Senate and House of Delegates and local county or city offices. (Please see Nonpartisanship section.)

LWVMDEF may respond favorably to requests from other organizations to cosponsor additional gubernatorial and senatorial debates if they are nonpartisan and if candidates meet League standards for participation. Caution should be exercised when co-sponsorship with other organizations, especially single issue organizations, if proposed. Such co-sponsorship should not conflict with the League-managed debates called for in the previous paragraph. This same policy applies to requests for assistance, e.g., timekeeping, moderating or furnishing questions.

Implementation of the Policy when the League is the Sole Sponsor:

• A decision will be made early in the election year whether LWVMDEF will sponsor debate(s). If so, the President will appoint a debate management committee.

• The committee should estimate early in the year how much the debate(s) will cost so that money can be budgeted and donations can be solicited to cover costs.

• The media should be informed early in the year that the LWVMDEF plans to sponsor and manage a debate. Effort should be made to obtain wide coverage throughout the state.

Criteria for Debates and Participating Candidates

Debates aim to serve the following purposes:

• Educate the public about issues;

• Allow face-to-face comparisons of the candidates and their positions;

• Stimulate and increase voter interest and participation in the election.

To be invited to participate in an LWVMDEF debate a candidate must:

• meet the requirements of the Maryland Constitution and/or the Constitution of the United States;

• meet all requirements to be on the ballot according to Maryland's election laws;

• demonstrate significant voter interest and support by being nominated by a major political party in Maryland, or by receiving 15% of public support in a recognized nonpartisan statewide public opinion poll;

• show that a formal campaign is being waged by the existence of headquarters and campaign staff.

These criteria have been developed to comply with the requirements of the Federal Elections Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.

It is the policy of the League of Women Voters of Maryland that candidate debates and forums should be inclusive of all candidates who have qualified to be on the ballot, including third-party candidates, minor party candidates, independent candidates and write-in candidates. However, if the debate or candidates' forum is co-sponsored by a television or radio station and the station is not able to provide coverage if all candidates are included, the League may resort to the kinds of candidate qualifications set by LWVUS (e.g., polling figures, establishment of campaign office, etc.)