Maryland's turn to lead: The Maryland Voting Rights Act can protect Marylanders from federal attacks
Maryland is no stranger to historic action.
It was home to the U.S. capital during the ratification of the treaty that officially ended the Revolutionary War. Maryland enacted the first American religious freedom law and built the nation’s first railroad. And in 2020, Maryland became the most diverse state on the East Coast and home to the three most diverse cities in the country.
The Free State took enormous strides this century towards becoming a truly inclusive, multiracial democracy. Maryland is now the state with the fourth-highest percentage of Black residents and, just last year, elected its first Black U.S. senator. But despite all this, Marylanders continue to face discrimination at the ballot box, making a Maryland Voting Rights Act even more critical.
Maryland has the second-highest share of eligible Black voters in the country, but the racial turnout gap between Black and white Maryland voters nearly doubled between 2020 and 2022. In the 2024 general election, turnout among both Black and white Maryland voters increased, but the severe turnout gap persists. Even when voters of color are politically engaged, restrictive voting laws can heavily deter voters from reaching the polls in the first place.
https://marylandmatters.org/2025/12/15/marylands-turn-to-lead-the-maryland-voting-rights-act-can-protect-marylanders-from-federal-attacks/