Politics

The former chair of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, a Republican, said recent statements by a top campaign aide to attorney general candidate Michael Peroutka (R) are worthy of an investigation by the state. Jim Shalleck, an attorney and longtime GOP activist who ran unsuccessfully against Peroutka in this year’s attorney general primary, called the comments, by Peroutka campaign coordinator Macky Stafford, “disruptive” and potentially illegal.

Maryland voters will decide next week whether to legalize recreational use of marijuana, and readers weighing the decision on November’s ballot reached out to The Baltimore Banner with questions. So, we put their questions to the experts. If the amendment passes, those 21 and older will be able to legally use and possess up to 1.5 ounces of marijuana as of July 1, 2023. The amendment also allows those with simple marijuana possession convictions to seek expungement, provides grants for small businesses, funds cannabis studies, and according to those in the know, creates more unanswered questions.

Winell Thomas, the grandmother of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wes Moore who helped raise him after his father died and his mother moved the family from Takoma Park to the Bronx, died Tuesday, the candidate announced. “She transitioned peacefully at 95 years old, surrounded by family, music, love and laughter from telling old stories,” Moore said in a statement Wednesday night. “There is a hole in all our hearts that her absence creates.

Nicholas Simões Machado thinks it’s time for the Maryland Democratic Party to step up its game when it comes to Latino voters. Machado, 26, is the campaign manager for Ivan Bates, who is poised to become the next Baltimore City State’s Attorney, following his defeat of Marilyn J. Mosby in the primary earlier this year.

Reports of an increased police presence outside an early voting center in a diverse part of Harford County this week have prompted concerns about voter intimidation. In response, the county sheriff’s office said it places one officer on detail at polling places for safety and reemphasized guidelines to all officers about their responsibilities.

A bill that would decrease from 12 to eight the number of years Baltimore elected officials would need to earn a pension was advanced by a Baltimore City Council committee Thursday despite a warning from city retirement officials that costs could escalate. The 5-to-2 vote was made during a hastily scheduled hearing on the bill introduced to the City Council last week by Council President Nick Mosby.

The two outdoor ballot drop boxes in Maricopa County are both unassuming — secure metal boxes, about the size of blue mailboxes, located just outside county buildings. But in recent weeks, they’ve at times been monitored by volunteers with far-right organizations, prompted by former President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread fraud and misinformation about drop boxes, according to lawsuits challenging their conduct.