Politics

Gov. Wes Moore signed an agreement Friday pledging Maryland’s participation in a federal model to promote equitable and affordable health care for all Maryland residents. With Moore’s signature, the state will participate in the federal States Advancing All-Payer Equity Approaches and Development Model, also known as the AHEAD Model.

In 2018, then-Gov. Larry Hogan won reelection by winning in every Maryland jurisdiction except Baltimore City and Montgomery, Prince George’s and Charles counties. Hogan, decrying partisan labels and distancing himself from the state Republican Party, became the first Republican in 70 years to be reelected governor in the heavily Democratic state.

More than one in five Maryland voters are choosing not to register with a party — a 25% increase since 2012, according to an analysis of state voter data, as more voters express dissatisfaction with Democrats and Republicans. Those growing unaffiliated voters could be crucial in Maryland’s U.S. Senate race, in which Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County executive, and Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan have told voters the race is a choice between the consequences of party control and independence.

Tanya Carter had lived in the Baltimore area her whole life, but a few years ago she started to feel stuck. She was living in the rowhome in Oliver where she grew up, and her oldest daughter, Tobi, had just died. Carter was looking for a fresh start. While searching for housing on Google, she stumbled across New Freedom, Pennsylvania, a small community in southern York County. She made the roughly 45-minute drive and within minutes fell in love.

Former President Barack Obama paid a surprise visit ― and even brought Halloween cookies — to volunteers at a get-out-the-vote phone bank for Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks on Thursday. “Had fun surprising some of the volunteers working hard to elect @AlsobrooksforMD as Maryland’s next U.S. Senator,” Obama said on X, formerly Twitter.

New juvenile justice laws will be implemented Friday in Maryland that Gov. Wes Moore said will usher in more accountability and lower crime rates. Sun co-owner Armstrong Williams interviewed the governor to explore what the juvenile justice changes will mean for Maryland residents.

Hundreds of thousands of Marylanders have already made their voices heard with early voting ending Thursday night. The next time voters can cast their ballots in person is from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. "We have this right" Voters lined the sidewalks Thursday evening at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Highlandtown on the last day of early voting in Maryland. Many voters said they wanted to cast their ballots early to get it done.

Is a letter received by Baltimore-area voters promoting election participation or intimidating voters? The mailer shows whether the recipient voted in the past four elections, as well as information about their neighbors' voting history. Some recipients feel like the information shouldn't be publicly accessible, calling the letter a "voter intimidation tactic."

For weeks, a coalition of City Council members, labor leaders, community organizers and Mayor Brandon Scott have warned that a measure to shrink the Baltimore City Council will take away vital representation from Black residents and poor neighborhoods. Well, it turns out those residents are largely the reason the measure, known as Question H, is on the ballot this November.