Wednesday, May 2, 2012
A suit filed by Democratic Senators Delores Kelley and Jim Brochin says the plan violates the Maryland Constitution and protects the political voice of Baltimore City at the expense of Baltimore County.
UPDATED (1:13 p.m.)—Two Baltimore County state senators have filed suit in the state Court of Appeals seeking to overturn Maryland's recently enacted legislative redistricting plan. Democratic Senators Jim Brochin and Delores Kelley, in a suit filed Tuesday, claim the new districts violate the Maryland Constitution and a 2002 Court of Appeals ruling that governs redistricting. A copy of the lawsuit is attached to this story. The suit is one of four seeking to overturn Gov. Martin O'Malley's redistricting plan. At the heart of the 17-page complaint are allegations that the commission that redrew the state's 47 legislative districts unfairly protected the city's political power in Annapolis, while diluting the county's representation. "For …
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Debate over Hyattsville's redistricting continues, but City Council is running out of time to approve plan, says attorney.
If you were looking during Monday's City Council meeting to see how the august body might be leaning as it considers the decennial redistricting, which would redraw the city's political boundaries, you could be left grasping for straws. Hyattsville's City Council members, at least during this past city council meeting, revealed little in the way of a preference for any of the six schemes. This caught the attention of Ward 3 Councilor Tim Hunt. "Nobody's gone out on a limb and said, this is what I think," said Hunt. "Just wanted to start that ball rolling. I don't know how we're going to end up doing this tonight, but I don't want any surprises." Mayor Marc Tartaro said that the discussion was better suited to let Redistricting Committee …
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Incumbents Cummings, Harris, Ruppersberger and Sarbanes also lock up primary wins.
UPDATED (11:15 p.m.) — Mitt Romney has won the Maryland Republican presidential primary, according to multiple news outlets. At 11 p.m., Romney leads Rick Santorum 91,402 (48 percent) to 57,299 (30 percent) with 1,281 of 1,851 precincts reporting. "I voted for Romney, he's the lesser of the evils," said Lisa Watts of Darnestown, MD. Chuck Duvall also of Darnestown, said he voted for Ron Paul, but expected Romney to win the Maryland primary. Both he and his wife, Ruth, said they planned to support Romney against Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama even though he wasn't their primary selection. A Romney win in Maryland was not unexpected. CNN declared Romney the winner at 8 p.m. when polls in Maryland and Washington closed. “Maryland…
Minute-by-minute updates as election returns for Maryland Senate, 8th, 5th and 4th congressional districts.
For candidates running for Prince George's County's congressional delegation, Tuesday night was a good night to be an incumbent. Democratic incumbents Donna Edwards, Steny Hoyer and Chris Van Hollen, representing Marylands 4th, 5th and 8th congressional districts, all handily won their primary elections with commanding results. By 11:30 p.m. Edwards had secured 92 percent of the vote, far ahead of runner up George McDermott's 5 percent. Charles Shepherd bested three other republican's running for Rep. Edwards' 4th district seat in the primary, securing 60 percent of the vote. Rep. Steny Hoyer trounced his primary opponent Cathy Johnson Pendleton, securing 84 percent of the vote. Facing Hoyer in the general election this November will …
Residents across the state got their chance to shape November's elections at the local and national level today. But most stayed home.
Polls have closed across Maryland, and eager candidates now wait to see if their primary campaigns have wooed voters here in the Old Line State. The first returns, taken from early voting ballots, could come in as soon as 8:15 p.m. Turnout throughout the day was light, said county voting officials. According to data collected by the Prince George's County Board of Elections, a total of 45,005 voters had cast ballots county-wide as of 6 p.m. That's a voter turnout of 8.39 percent out of a total of 536,458 registered voters in the county. That turnout comprised 38,005 Democratic ballots, 5,678 Republican ballots and 5,061 non-affiliated ballots cast for county school board races. The highest profile campaign on the ballot was no doubt the …
Election workers have a lot of free time on their hands as primary election day drags on with low turnout.
Voting continues throughout the state and here in Hyattsville as Maryland voters cast ballots to choose their party's standard bearers in the general election. However, the story of the day continues to be the low voter turnout being reported across the county, where voter turnout was only 5.9 percent of registered voters as of 3 p.m., according to county election officials. At Nicholas Orem Middle School, polling place for precinct 16-04, shortly before 5 p.m. only 144 people had cast ballots, split between 115 Democrats and 26 Republicans, according to election officials. Sharon Eckenrode, the Republican chief judge at Nicholas Orem said that primary elections are usually slower than general elections. "I think people don't see the …
Slow going at the polls is the name of the game in Prince George's County so far today.
Update - 6:30 p.m. - Voter turnout ticked up slightly in the afternoon today, according to election officials. As of 3 p.m., the most recent county-wide numbers available, a total of 5.9 percent of the county's 536,458 registered voters had cast a ballot. That's up a bit from 11 a.m., when only 3.1 percent of county registered voters had cast ballots. The updated turnout numbers are split between 26,843 Democratic and 4,005 Republican ballots cast. Aside from the low turnout, voting has proceeded relatively smoothly throughout the county. “It’s been pretty much eventful free, the system is working," said Merritt Cortez Joseph Hinton III, chief election judge working at the Hyattsville Public Library on Adelphi Road, polling place for …
Election workers report light turnout, smooth voting as 2012 primary election gets underway.
It's been a slow but smooth morning so far for local polling places today in Maryland's 2012 primary election. For instance, down at Hyattsville's Municipal Building on Gallatin Street, polling location for precinct 16-02, only 13 people had cast ballots by 8 a.m. "So far so good, but it is a bit slow," said election judge Freddie L. Colston in an interview. "We had one person at the door for a 7 a.m. ballot, and slow after that." Hyattsville resident Heather Olsen, an active member of the Prince George's County Republican Committee, didn't let the slow pace at the polls dampen her enthusiasm. No, the Republican Presidential candidates seemed to have that taken care of. "I'm supporting Romney, not out of any particular preference for …
Monday, April 2, 2012
Hyattsville residents are split between three congressional districts. See which one you're in with this interactive map.
For a Hyattville resident it may be confusing to determine who is their congressional representative. Hyattsville voters are actually split between three congressional districts. The good folks down at Govtrack.us have a very handy map, which you can use to figure out in which district you live. Generally speaking, if you live in Hyattsville west of Baltimore Avenue, north of Hamilton Street and east of Queens Chapel Road, you are in Maryland's 5th Congressional District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer. Rep. Steny Hoyer's will race to defend his seat this year. He will be challenged in Tuesday's primary by one Democrat: Cathy Johnson Pendleton. The Republican primary ballot includes three candidates: David Hill, …
Patch has a roundup of the information you need to know for Tuesday's presidential primary.
Have your favorite candidate picked out, but not sure where to cast your vote? Patch is here to help.
abbistani
12:15 pm on Sunday, May 6, 2012
Well, they would have to amend the state constitution to do it. How likely do you think that would be? more ›