Election Law - Affiliating With a Party and Voting - Unaffiliated Voters
Sponsor: Cheryl C. Kagan (District 17)Committee: Education, Energy, and the EnvironmentSubject: ElectionsStatus: Hearing 2/11 at 2:00 p.m. (as of Sep 4, 2026)
What this bill does
Official synopsis
Authorizing unaffiliated voters to request to affiliate with a political party at an early voting center during a primary election and vote a provisional ballot for the voter's preferred political party; and requiring an election judge to determine whether the voter resides in the county in which the voter seeks to vote.
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Testimony (23)
MGA witness listFAV 13FavorableFWA 1Favorable with amendmentsUNF 7UnfavorableINFO 2Information only
| Position | Witness | Organization | Testimony |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAV | Ugo-Akwada, Ihemanma | Common Cause | Written (PDF) |
| FAV | Winograd, Morley | Democracy Network | Written (PDF) |
| FAV | Tyree, Nikki | LWVMD | Oral + Written (PDF) |
| FAV | Plante, Cecilia | Maryland Legislative Coalition | Written (PDF) |
| FAV | Kagan, Sen. Cheryl | Maryland State Senate | Oral + Written (PDF) |
| FAV | Melvin, Robertlobbyist | R Street Institute | Written (PDF) |
| FAV | Whittaker, Michellelobbyist | Ranked Choice Voting Maryland | Position only |
| FAV | McNair, Lee | Unitarian Universalist Environmental Justice Ministry | Position only |
| FAV | Kaplowitz, Richard KAP | Year | Written (PDF) |
| FAV | Kaplowitz, Richard KAP | Year | Written (PDF) |
| FAV | Bagwell, Ashlielobbyist | Individual | Written (PDF) |
| FAV | Senator Kagan, Senator Kaganlegislator | Individual | Oral |
| FAV | Senator Kagan, Senator Kaganlegislator | Individual | Oral |
| UNF | Price, Suzanne | Concerned Citizen | Position only |
| UNF | Lang, Alan | Individual | Position only |
| UNF | Mauer, William | Individual | Position only |
| UNF | Nelson, Mary | Individual | Written (PDF) |
| UNF | Rosa, Richard | Individual | Position only |
| UNF | Rosa, Richard | Individual | Position only |
| UNF | Tibbals, Trudy | Individual | Position only |
| FWA | Bradshaw, Leland | Maryland Forward Party | Written (PDF) |
| INFO | Naimon, David | Montgomery County Board of Elections | Oral |
| INFO | Pellittiere, Michael | Veterans for Maryland Voters | Written (PDF) |
Organizations on record
Common CauseFAV 1
Concerned CitizenUNF 1
Democracy NetworkFAV 1
LWVMDFAV 1
R Street InstituteFAV 1
YearFAV 2
Registered lobbyists who testified
FAVBagwell, AshlieRegistered for: AbbVie Inc.; Aligned Data Centers; American Academy of Anesthesiology Assistants, Inc.; Atmosphere Data Centers LLC; Baltimore Civic Fund, Inc.; Beltway Fine Wine…