HB 219

Did not advanceEmergency bill

Maryland Voting Rights Act of 2026 - Voter Intimidation and Suppression

Sponsor: Stephanie Smith (District 45)Committee: Government, Labor, and ElectionsSubject: ElectionsStatus: Hearing 2/11 at 2:00 p.m. (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Altering public notice requirements of the State Board of Elections, local boards of elections, and certain municipal corporations with respect to changes in administrative policy affecting voting rights; prohibiting acts of intimidation, deception, or obstruction that interfere with the right to vote; prohibiting local governments from taking any action related to the election process that results in a disparity between members of a protected class and other members of the electorate; etc.

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Testimony (51)

MGA witness list

FAV 48FavorableUNF 2UnfavorableINFO 1Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Smalls, Cindylobbyist	AFSCME Council 3	Written (PDF)
FAV	Johnson, Daralobbyist	American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Smith, Jonathan	Attorney General of Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Sharp, Birgit	CANDLE	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Wright, Marisa	Campaign Legal Center	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Drayton, Morganlobbyist	Common Cause MD	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Ancheta, Angelo	Demos	Written (PDF)
FAV	Justice, Gillian	Disability Rights Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Nolan, Maria	Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Davis, Emily	Fair Elections Center	Written (PDF)
FAV	Clancy, Jennifer	Friends of Jennifer Clancy	Position only
FAV	Santos, Tatiana	Indivisible Frederick Forward	Written (PDF)
FAV	Fears, Valerie	IndivisibleHoCoMD	Written (PDF)
FAV	Tyree, Nikki	LWVMD	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Blacklow, Roger	Legislative Advocacy Committee of Leisure World Democratic Club	Position only
FAV	Norling, Richard	MD Sierra Club	Written (PDF)
FAV	Orbe, Jr., Carlos	Maryland Latinos Unidos	Written (PDF)
FAV	Plante, Cecilia	Maryland Legislative Coalition	Written (PDF)
FAV	Lemle, Paul	Maryland State Education Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Brooks, Imani	NAACP Legal Defense Fund	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Frost, Lesley	Nationa Council of Jewish Women, MD Action Team	Written (PDF)
FAV	Burton, D'wan	Out For Justice	Position only
FAV	Weinberg, Davidlobbyist	Protect Democracy United	Position only
FAV	Anderson, Owen	Ranked Choice Voting Maryland	Position only
FAV	Cano, Christopherlobbyist	SEIU Local 500	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Kronser, Lori	Showing Up for Racial Justice Annapolis and Anne Arundel County	Written (PDF)
FAV	Phelps Jr, Ken	The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland	Written (PDF)
FAV	Miller, Cynthia	Third Act MD	Written (PDF)
FAV	McNair, Lee	Unitarian Universalist Environmental Justice Ministry	Position only
FAV	Kaplowitz, Richard KAP	Year	Written (PDF)
FAV	Solomon, Julie	self	Written (PDF)
FAV	Butler, Brandonlobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Chaudry, Zainab	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Coe, Marcia	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Colella, Antonella	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Delegate Smith, Delegate Smithlegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Edwards, Farnaz	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Enagonio, Liz	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Greenberg, Marcia	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Huberman, Amy	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Koul, Michelle	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Mauer, William	Individual	Position only
FAV	Nichols, Julia	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Rosen, Julie	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Rosenthal, Lore	Individual	Position only
FAV	Shenvi, Shilpa	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Shulman, Debbie	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Sokolow, Cynthia	Individual	Written (PDF)
UNF	Bailey Thupari, Angelica	Maryland Municipal League	Written (PDF)
UNF	Tibbals, Trudy	Individual	Written (PDF)
INFO	Vormelker, Will	Maryland Judiciary	Written (PDF)

Organizations on record

AFSCME Council 3FAV 1

American Civil Liberties Union of MarylandFAV 1

Attorney General of MarylandFAV 1

Campaign Legal CenterFAV 1

CANDLEFAV 1

Common Cause MDFAV 1

DemosFAV 1

Disability Rights MarylandFAV 1

Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law SchoolFAV 1

Fair Elections CenterFAV 1

Friends of Jennifer ClancyFAV 1

Indivisible Frederick ForwardFAV 1

IndivisibleHoCoMDFAV 1

Legislative Advocacy Committee of Leisure World Democratic ClubFAV 1

LWVMDFAV 1

Maryland JudiciaryINFO 1

Maryland Latinos UnidosFAV 1

Maryland Legislative CoalitionFAV 1

Maryland Municipal LeagueUNF 1

Maryland State Education AssociationFAV 1

MD Sierra ClubFAV 1

NAACP Legal Defense FundFAV 1

Nationa Council of Jewish Women, MD Action TeamFAV 1

Out For JusticeFAV 1

Protect Democracy UnitedFAV 1

Ranked Choice Voting MarylandFAV 1

SEIU Local 500FAV 1

selfFAV 1

Showing Up for Racial Justice Annapolis and Anne Arundel CountyFAV 1

The Episcopal Diocese of MarylandFAV 1

Third Act MDFAV 1

Unitarian Universalist Environmental Justice MinistryFAV 1

YearFAV 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

FAVSmalls, CindyAFSCME Council 3Registered for: AFSCME IU

FAVJohnson, DaraAmerican Civil Liberties Union of MarylandRegistered for: ACLU of Maryland

FAVDrayton, MorganCommon Cause MDRegistered for: Common Cause Maryland

FAVWeinberg, DavidProtect Democracy UnitedRegistered for: Protect Democracy United

FAVCano, ChristopherSEIU Local 500Registered for: SEIU Local 500

FAVButler, BrandonRegistered for: Cecil County Government; Center for Election Science; DelFest, LLC; International Responder Systems; Maryland Workforce Association; Toro Management, LLC…