A renewed push to change how vacancies are filled in Md. legislature

Nearly half of the state lawmakers from Maryland’s largest county and about 1 in 4 statewide were not originally elected to their seats. Instead, they were appointed, sent to Annapolis by a handful of local party officials, according to a recent analysis from Common Cause Maryland, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for fair elections. And, with nine vacancies filled through appointments in the Maryland General Assembly this year and a 10th in the works, election advocates are renewing a push to change a process that they say concentrates power into the hands of people on elected but politically-connected local panels.