Electoral reform

Electoral reform

Electoral reform is change in electoral systems to improve how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:...

 in Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

refers to efforts, proposals and plans to change the election and voting laws in Maryland. In 2007, Maryland became the first U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement among U.S. states designed to replace current state rules governing the electoral college system of presidential elections with rules guaranteeing election of the national popular vote winner...

. Bills have also been introduced to implement instant runoff voting statewide, but they have failed, largely due to legislators' concerns about complicating the election process and causing technical problems similar to those encountered by Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 during the 2000 U.S. Presidential election. However, Takoma Park, Maryland

Takoma Park, Maryland

Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City," is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone...

 adopted IRV in 2006 after it won 84% approval in an advisory ballot measure on November 8, 2005. Maryland is the home of the electoral reform organization Fairvote

FairVote

FairVote is a U.S. non-profit organization based in Takoma Park, Maryland, whose mission is to achieve universal access to participation, a full spectrum of meaningful ballot choices and majority rule with fair representation for all...

. In 2007, Maryland's Board of Elections

Board of elections

A board of elections is a body of officials designated to administer elections. U.S. states often have boards of elections, as do some municipalities, such as New York City....

 Administrator, Linda Lamone, was quoted in Diebold

Diebold

Diebold, Inc. is a United States-based security systems corporation that is engaged primarily in the sale, manufacture, installation and service of self-service transaction systems , electronic and physical security products , and software and integrated systems for global financial and...

advertising literature.

Ballot access

Party certifications are done for each gubernatorial cycle (e.g. 2006–2010). If the number of registered voters to a political party is less than 1%, then 10,000 petition signatures must be gathered for that party to be considered certified. A party must be certified before voters can register under that party. A party can also be certified for a two year term if their candidate receives more than 1% of the vote. Reformers would like to see the ballot access laws loosened.