2018 MD Governor's race: on Government Reform

Ian Schlakman: Make voter registration easier

A: Strongly support

Richard Madaleno: Same-day voter registration & automatic registration at MVA

OnTheIssues Q: what are your views on Government Reform issues?
• Voted YES to put initiative on ballot to allow same-day voter registration
• Voted YES on automatic voter registration at Motor Vehicle Administration
• Voted YES on allowing persons to vote in primary elections before turning 18 if voter will turn 18 before general election
• Voted YES on increasing number of early voting centers and on establishing early voting period
• Voted YES on public financing of campaigns

Shawn Quinn: Make voter registration easier

A: Support

Larry Hogan: Vetoed restoring voting rights to 40,000 ex-offenders

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.

Larry Hogan: Undo restored voting rights to ex-felons

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.