Commentary

When Gov. Larry Hogan signed The RELIEF Act Monday, exactly five weeks elapsed since the day he announced the package of more than $1 billion in aid to Marylanders suffering the worst economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Another 10 days passed before it was introduced in the General assembly. By legislative standards, 3 ½ weeks is a sprint of epic speed.

As former chair of the Election Law Subcommittee in the House of Delegates, I focus much of my policy energy on improving our voting experience. Our dynamic system must move toward a place where everyone who is allowed to vote can vote in a convenient, safe and transparent process. The fact is that extensive barriers remain on the journey to the ballot box, serving as roadblocks to civic activism. House Bill 274 ensures that every legal voter in the state gets a ballot in the mail that they can choose to take to the polls to vote or mail in at their convenience.

Last September, I had the chance to talk with culinary workers at a virtual town hall. One of those workers was M. Rocha, who used to work at a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. When the pandemic hit last March, like so many in the tourism and hospitality industry, she was furloughed. She’s still not back on the job today. She has a wife, son and elderly mother she takes care of, and they all depend on her paycheck.

No one awaiting trial, presumed innocent, should be incarcerated based on their financial circumstances. Period. Maryland’s piecemeal pretrial home detention system, in actuality, is no system at all — yet it manages to keep individuals who cannot afford home detention in jail before being convicted of any crime.

An elementary school girl disconnected from virtual class for months; a conscientious student unable to attend school due to caring for her preschool siblings; seniors who dropped their plans to go to college or left home; and several adolescents struggling with new symptoms of depression in their dragged-out days of turned-off cameras and isolation.