November 6 marked not only a day of major political change in the U.S. Congress; many individual states will be experiencing policy changes in the year ahead. Citizens in Maryland will be affected by the newly approved measure regarding voting registration. By the time the next election cycle comes around, citizens will be able to register to vote on Election Day itself.
Prior to the approval of this measure, Maryland citizens could show up at early voting centers and register to vote then, but registering on Election Day itself was not an option. With the measure in place, the Maryland Legislature will be able to enact a process to get qualified individuals voting at a precinct polling place on Election Day registered that very day. Maryland will join 16 states and and the District of Columbia in allowing for this type of registration.
Delegate Kirill Reznik, a Democratic Germantown resident and the driving force behind this measure, claimed that this measure was needed in order “to give people one more opportunity to be able to vote if they’re entitled to.” About a decade ago, Reznik noticed that other states with Election Day registration “consistently had higher voter turnout than…Maryland.” It seems that Reznik’s endeavors to make this measure a reality will finally be realized.
Although approved by 67.1 percent of those who voted on Question 2 on the ballot in this past midterm election, this measure still has a ways to go before it is fully implemented. In order for the state government to respond to the people’s will, a change to Maryland’s constitution must be made. The amendment will add the following text: “The General Assembly shall have the power to allow a qualified individual to register and vote at a precinct polling place on election day [sic].”
Maryland residents have much to look forward to in the upcoming year, the registration measure being only one of various political changes that occurred this past midterm election.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Elena Moore of Damascus High School.