Politics

Democrat April McClain Delaney has taken a narrow lead in the race to represent Maryland’s 6th District in Congress with all Election Day votes counted as of approximately 1 a.m. on Wednesday. With all 214 Election Day precincts across the district reporting, plus early voting and some mail-in ballots, McClain Delaney had 160,138 votes.

Baltimore voters defeated the Question H ballot measure, which aimed to reduce the size of the City Council from 14 to eight districts, with more than 62% of voters saying “no.” The vote marks the first time a city ballot measure has failed since 2004, when voters cast ballots against a proposal to lower the minimum age requirement for members of the City Council from 21 to 18 years.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott cruised to an anticipated victory Tuesday, setting the stage for another four years leading a city that has not reelected a mayor for a second term in two decades. Scott, a Democrat who became mayor in 2020, declared a win over opponent Shannon Wright minutes after polls closed. By 11 p.m. with most Election Day votes counted as well as early votes and a portion of mail-in ballots, Scott had 81% of the vote to Wright’s 18%.

Baltimore voters rejected a Republican-backed measure to drastically shrink the City Council, according to partial election results, and council members are expressing optimism the trend will hold. With 293 of 295 precincts reporting and more than 62% of ballots cast against Question H, The Baltimore Banner has called the election against the measure.

At a mini-rally outside the State House Monday, a group of elected officials and community leaders had a message for fellow Black men: It’s not too late to make their voices heard. The event by the group Win With Black Men tried to rally support among Black male voters for Black women candidates, specifically Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and for Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate.

Maryland’s top election official said voters can be confident in the security of the state’s mail-in voting system, brushing back issues raised over the weekend by state Republican Party officials. The party statement Sunday followed an incident last week when an official with the Carroll County Republican Central Committee tailed the county’s election director, as she picked up ballots from a drop box and drove them back to the county election board offices.

The future of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is on the ballot this year, with voters set to weigh in on whether the once-heralded space should be amended to allow for apartments and commercial use. On one side is a development company, backed by City Hall and former mayors, that has cast the roughly $900 million proposal as an opportunity to revitalize Harborplace.

If you’re thinking of taking a selfie with your ballot in the voting booth, think again. Maryland law prohibits taking photos in the voting booth, though photos with a mail-in ballot or outside a polling place are allowed. Tuesday’s election is likely the last one with that prohibition. At its meeting in late October, the State Board of Elections gave preliminary approval to new regulations that permit people to take photos of their own ballots for personal use.