Represent Maryland believes that in order for elections to be fair and accessible to all voters, for average people to be able to run for office and win, and for our elected lawmakers to work for the best interests of their constituents, not their wealthiest campaign donors, the following changes must happen:

  • Establish public election funds for all local, state and federal candidates for office to give candidates an alternative to relying on wealthy donors to fund their campaigns.
 
  • Add a democracy amendment to the United State Constitution: Money is not speech, non natural entities do not have constitutional rights (Over-turn "Citizens United" as well as Buckley V Valeo and several other SCOTUS decisions pertaining to campaign finance).
 
  • End gerrymandering at the local, state and federal level by establishing independent redistricting commissions, so voters pick their representatives, not the other way around.
 
  • Establish ranked choice voting, at the local state and federal level, in order to make elections more robust and indicative of who the people actually want to represent them.
 
  • Open primary elections, which are paid for by taxes, to all voters, regardless of party affiliation.
 
  • Hold special elections for open general assembly seats in Maryland to reduce "toe the line" politics within the two main parties.
 
  • Require superPACs (often 501C4 organizations or LLCs) to report their donors to relevant campaign finance reporting systems.
 
  • Educate the electorate on governmental basics including 3 branches and how laws are made/Require civics classes to graduate from high school.
 
  • End office hour campaign fundraising/dialing for dollars by elected officials.
 
  • Close the revolving door between lobbying firms and elected officials.

  • Establish independently appointed ethics commissions comprised of citizen appointees, and offices of the inspector general with fully funded budgets, at the local, state and federal levels.
 
  • Prohibit lawmakers from owning stock or having other profitable interests in the industries which they are tasked to regulate.
 
  • Require all candidates for public office to report any donations over $500 within 2 weeks of receipt.
 
  • Implement automatic voter registration.
    • Successful in MD in 2018!
 
  • Implement election-day registration.
    • Successful in MD in 2018!