|
Larry Hogan on Government Reform
Republican Maryland Governor
|
|
|
nonpartisan redistricting reform to end gerrymandering
In November, a panel of federal judges unanimously ruled that the boundary lines of Maryland's 6th congressional district are unconstitutional. For the past three years, our administration has pushed for comprehensive, nonpartisan redistricting reform
that would remove partisan politics from the redistricting process. Listen to the will of the people of Maryland and finally bring this bill to the floor of both chambers for an up or down vote.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to the Maryland legislature
, Jan 30, 2019
Partisan gerrymandering disenfranchises voters
When Maryland Democrats redrew the state's congressional maps [after the 2010 census], they shuffled 375,000 in or out of the state's sixth congressional district. "Maryland's sixth, it's the forgotten gerrymander," Maryland's Republican governor, Larry
Hogan, tells me with a rueful laugh. Maryland's sixth will be under the national spotlight when the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Benisek v. Lamone, the latest case that aspires to make partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional.
The plaintiffs in Benisek are making a First Amendment argument, asking the justices to find that using past voting data to sort people into districts their side is unlikely to win penalizes them for participation in the political process. Hogan says,
"What if the goal was drawing districts so people get free & fair elections and a competitive two-party system? Not to say how many people can we disenfranchise."
[The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on June 18 to leave the district lines untouched].
Source: Salon e-zine on 2018 SCOTUS case Benisek v. Lamone
, Mar 26, 2018
Partisan gerrymandering disenfranchises voters
When Maryland Democrats redrew the state's congressional maps [after the 2010 census], they shuffled 375,000 in or out of the state's 6th congressional district. Maryland's sixth will be under the national spotlight when the US Supreme Court hears oral
arguments in Benisek v. Lamone, the latest case that aspires to make partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional. Maryland's Republican governor, Larry Hogan, joined current Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, both
Republicans, in an amicus brief that essentially pleads with the Supreme Court to take actions because the politicians are unable to stop themselves from drawing crooked lines.
The plaintiffs in Benisek are making a First Amendment argument, asking the
justices to find that using past voting data to sort people into districts their side is unlikely to win penalizes them for participation in the political process.
[The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on June 18 to leave the district lines untouched].
Source: Salon e-zine on 2018 SCOTUS case Benisek v. Lamone
, Mar 26, 2018
End partisan gerrymandering; make term limits
Help us put the issue of term limits on the ballot this year for the people of Maryland to decide this issue for themselves in November. And in order to uphold the public trust and to truly represent the interests of all the people we were elected to
serve, let's put partisanship and self-interest aside and join together with the overwhelming majority of Marylanders to end the practice of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland.
Source: 2018 Maryland State of the State address
, Jan 31, 2018
Disallow legislators from drawing their own district lines
We cannot allow the unethical behavior of the few to tarnish the good will of the many. Help us finally bring the transparency that Marylanders want and deserve by passing the Legislative Transparency Act, which provides for all sessions of the General
Assembly to be livestreamed to the public.And isn't it time that we finally pass the Redistricting Reform Act so we can remove the politics and the politicians from drawing their own district lines? Free and fair elections are perhaps the most basic
promise that those in power must provide to citizens.
The people of Maryland desperately want--and certainly deserve--balance, fairness, and bipartisanship in our state. An overwhelming majority of all Marylanders all parties and from all walks of
life strongly support this legislation. But last year, this critically important reform legislation was hidden in a drawer. This year, the people deserve to have it come to the floor of both the House and the Senate for an up or down vote.
Source: 2017 State of the State address to Maryland Legislature
, Feb 1, 2017
Vetoed restoring voting rights to 40,000 ex-offenders
Virginia is granting more than 200,000 convicted felons the right to vote in the November elections, part of a large-scale effort Gov. Terry McAuliffe says is intended to reverse the state's long history of suppressing the voting rights of
African-Americans.The move echoes a concern in several other states, which have increasingly turned away from harsh criminal sentences and raised new questions about what happens to offenders once they are released, including their ability to
participate fully in society. In Virginia, 1 in 5 African-Americans is disenfranchised, according to the Sentencing Project based in Washington, D.C.
In February, the Maryland State Senate overrode a veto by Republican
Gov. Larry Hogan and expanded voting rights to 40,000 ex-offenders. In that the case, the law actually went further than Virginia's policy by allowing ex-convicts to vote while on parole or probation.
Source: Christian Science Monitor on 2018 Maryland governor race
, Apr 22, 2016
Undo restored voting rights to ex-felons
Virginia is granting more than 200,000 convicted felons the right to vote in the November elections, echoing a concern in several other states. In February, the Maryland State Senate overrode a veto by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and expanded voting
rights to 40,000 ex-offenders. The Maryland law went further than Virginia's policy by allowing ex-convicts to vote while on parole or probation.But the policies have been controversial. Last December, newly elected Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R)
reversed an executive order by his Democratic predecessor to grant voting rights to ex-felons in the state once they had completed their sentences. Governor Bevin framed his opposition to the executive order signed by then-Gov. Steve Beshear (D) on
procedural rather than ideological terms. "While I have been a vocal supporter of the restoration of rights, for example, it is an issue that must be addressed through the legislature and by the will of the people," he said in a statement.
Source: Christian Science Monitor on 2018 Maryland governor race
, Apr 22, 2016
More transparency, more truthfulness, and tougher ethics
Bring integrity back to Annapolis: Phony political spin, questionable donations, cronyism, and backroom deals pervade the current culture in Annapolis.
We need more transparency, more truthfulness, and tougher ethics and disclosure laws that will begin to clean up the mess in Annapolis and restore integrity to our state capital.
Source: 2014 Gubernatorial campaign website, HoganForGovernor.com
, Nov 4, 2014
Page last updated: Dec 15, 2019