HB 350

Did not advanceEmergency billCrossfile SB 255

Voting Rights Act of 2026 - Counties and Municipal Corporations

Sponsor: Greg Wims (District 39)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

Prohibiting the imposition or application of a method for electing the governing body of a county or municipal corporation that impairs the ability of members of a protected class to elect candidates of the members' choice or the member's ability to influence the outcome of an election as a result of the dilution or the abridgement of the rights of voters who are members of a protected class.

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Analysis reads the bill text, the fiscal note, and the witness list. It is generated by Claude and reviewed by nobody, so check the source documents before you rely on it.

Testimony (73)

MGA witness list

FAV 66FavorableFWA 1Favorable with amendmentsUNF 6Unfavorable

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	Daniels, Ryan	Candidate for County Commissioner, District 4, St. Mary's County	Written (PDF)
FAV	Drayton, Morganlobbyist	Common Cause MD	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Ancheta, Angelo	Demos	Written (PDF)
FAV	Nolan, Maria	Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Davis, Emily	Fair Elections Center	Written (PDF)
FAV	Wilburn, Yates	FairVote Action	Written (PDF)
FAV	Clancy, Jennifer	Friends of Jennifer Clancy	Written (PDF)
FAV	Santos, Tatiana	Indivisible Frederick Forward	Written (PDF)
FAV	Lemyze, Christine	Indivisible Howard County	Written (PDF)
FAV	Tyree, Nikki	LWVMD	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Agarin, Ufuoma	Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland	Written (PDF)
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	Dillahunt, Adrianne	Maryland State Conference NAACP	Oral
FAV	Cook, Jessicalobbyist	Maryland State Education Association	Written (PDF)
FAV	Lewis, Roderick	Mr.	Oral
FAV	Lioz, Adam	NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.	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	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	PERRYMAN, GLENN	Retired	Written (PDF)
FAV	Perryman, Janet	Retired	Written (PDF)
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	Engel, Kurt	St Mary's County DCC	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Abell, AnnMarie	St. Mary's County Democratic Central Committee	Oral + 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	Bartow, Joanna	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Brooks, Monica	Individual	Oral
FAV	Butler, Brandonlobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Coe, Marcia	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Colella, Antonella	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Deaderick, David	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Delegate Wims, Delegate Wimslegislator	Individual	Oral
FAV	Enagonio, Liz	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Frederick, Rose	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Greenberg, Marcia	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Greenberg, Marcia	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Gregorio, Valerie	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Huberman, Amy	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Jackson, Emily	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Jones, Vicki	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Latino Caucus, Maryland Legislative	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Murphy, Ashland	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Murphy, Jams	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Nichols, Julia	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Rosen, Julie	Individual	Written (PDF)
FAV	Rosenthal, Lore	Individual	Position only
FAV	Russell, Brandon	Individual	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	SCHARPF, Ann	Individual	Written (PDF)

Showing 60 of 73

Organizations on record

AFSCME Council 3FAV 1

American Civil Liberties Union of MarylandFAV 1

Attorney General of MarylandFAV 1

Campaign Legal CenterFAV 1

Candidate for County Commissioner, District 4, St. Mary's CountyFAV 1

CANDLEFAV 1

Common Cause MDFAV 1

DemosFAV 1

Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law SchoolFAV 1

Fair Elections CenterFAV 1

FairVote ActionFAV 1

Friends of Jennifer ClancyFAV 1

Indivisible Frederick ForwardFAV 1

Indivisible Howard CountyFAV 1

Legislative Black Caucus of MarylandFAV 1

LWVMDFAV 1

Maryland Latinos UnidosFAV 1

Maryland Legislative CoalitionFAV 1

Maryland Municipal LeagueUNF 1

Maryland State Conference NAACPFAV 1

Maryland State Education AssociationFAV 1

MD Sierra ClubFAV 1

Mr.FAV 1

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.FAV 1

Nationa Council of Jewish Women, MD Action TeamFAV 1

Out For JusticeFAV 1

Protect Democracy UnitedFAV 1

Ranked Choice Voting MarylandFAV 1

RetiredFAV 2

SEIU Local 500FAV 1

selfFAV 1

Showing Up for Racial Justice Annapolis and Anne Arundel CountyFAV 1

St Mary's County DCCFAV 1

St. Mary's County Democratic Central CommitteeFAV 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

FAVCook, JessicaMaryland State Education AssociationRegistered for: Maryland State Education Association

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…