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Paper Trail Of Votes Is Unlikely To Pass
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"People want to be able to vote for their president," said Sen. Jamin B. Raskin (D-Montgomery), the sponsor.
According to National Popular Vote Inc., a nonprofit organization that is advocating the proposal, California is the only state that has passed a similar measure, but it was vetoed by the governor last year.
Sen. Michael G. Lenett (D-Montgomery), who argued against the bill but eventually voted for it, said moving to a popular vote "warrants serious attention, caution and consideration." Lenett offered an amendment to set up a commission to study a national popular vote, but it failed.
The presidential primary would move from March 4 to Feb. 12 under a bill that received unanimous support in the Senate yesterday.
The plan was pushed by Maryland Democratic leaders, including Gov. Martin O'Malley, and also is backed by Republicans. Both parties say an earlier primary would raise the state's visibility in national elections.
Also yesterday, a bill was sent to O'Malley that would allow repeat offenders to vote immediately after serving their sentences, rather than waiting three years as they must now. An O'Malley aide said the governor would sign it.
"This is an issue of democracy and fairness," said Kimberly Haven, a felon and executive director of Justice Maryland. "People who have completed their sentences and are back in their communities, working and paying taxes, deserve to have a voice in how those communities are run.
According to the Sentencing Project, which tracks legislation affecting felons, Virginia is one of three states that has a lifetime ban on voting for all felony convictions. The District allows felons to vote after they are released from prison.
The bill sparked angry debate in both chambers, with many conservatives arguing that felons had given up their rights to participate in electoral democracy.
"All of these convicted felons are people who have rejected our society and civil order," Maryland Republican Party Chairman James Pelura said in a statement yesterday. "This smacks in the face of law-abiding citizens and victims everywhere."
