FILLING VACANCIES IN STATE AND LOCAL OFFICES (1985, 1995, 2015)
Support for:
- Special primary and special general elections to fill vacancies in the Maryland General Assembly to be held at the same time as other regularly scheduled elections (tie-in elections).
- Support the option to use Instant Runoff Voting (IRV): to fill vacancies in any single seat or executive office elections, at the local, county or state level. This would require the winner to receive a majority of the votes, instead of conducting both special political primaries and a special general election. (2015)
- A temporary gubernatorial appointment to fill legislative vacancies based on local political party committee recommendations, until elections are held.
- Additional statewide standards regulating the central committee nominating process to fill legislative vacancies, public notice of meetings within the vacated district for public input, the public announcement of candidates prior to that meeting, and a publicly recorded vote of each committee member.
Background: In 1983 a study of the methods of filling vacancies in the state legislature was adopted: Maryland excludes direct voter participation during any stage of the replacement process. The state committee studied the procedure in Maryland, including political party nominations and gubernatorial appointments, procedures in other jurisdictions mandating elections to fill vacancies, and alternatives to the procedures outlined in the state Constitution. Consensus meetings weighed the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of immediate special elections held within a short time of an announced vacancy, “tie-in” elections to be held in conjunction with other regularly scheduled elections, and the present political party nomination/Governor appointment process as well as other options. A consensus was reached in 1985 to support special primary and special general elections to fill vacancies in the Maryland General Assembly, to be held at the same time as other regularly scheduled elections. At the 2015 LWVMD Convention, delegates concurred with a Montgomery County position to consider the use of instant run-off voting in special elections to fill vacancies.
Action
- Supported special “tie-in” elections to fill vacancies in the Maryland General Assembly. (1985, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2018)