ELECTIONS

Changes the way the Governor fills a vacancy of the Attorney General or the Comptroller and requires a special election for vacancies that occur on or before a certain date. Under current law, the Governor fills a vacancy by appointing an individual to serve for the remainder of the term. Under the amended law, if the vacating Attorney General or Comptroller was a member of a political party, the Governor must fill the vacancy from a list of three names provided by the political party of the vacating official, and if no names are provided by the political party within a set time period, then the Governor must select a successor from the political party of the vacating official. If the vacating Attorney General or Comptroller was not a member of a political party, then the amended law requires the Governor to appoint any qualified individual. The Governor must make the appointment within a set time period following the vacancy. The amended law requires a special election to replace the successor if the vacancy occurs early enough in the term to allow for candidates to participate in the regular elections held in the second year of the vacating official's term (amending Article V, Section 5 & Article VI, Section 1, Maryland Constitution).

	For*	Against
Allegany Co.	18,277	7,010
Anne Arundel Co.	155,657	77,165
Baltimore City	164,425	42,994
Baltimore Co.	246,160	101,663
Calvert Co.	28,433	12,774
Caroline Co.	9,063	3,787
Carroll Co.	55,179	27,486
Cecil Co.	27,468	10,815
Charles Co.	51,948	18,728
Dorchester Co.	9,554	3,552
Frederick Co.	79,025	30,762
Garrett Co.	8,561	3,476
Harford Co.	82,438	38,773
Howard Co.	96,412	48,005
Kent Co.	6,087	2,734
Montgomery Co.	312,231	106,168
Prince George's Co.	249,300	58,234
Queen Anne's Co.	15,005	9,474
St. Mary's Co.	29,320	14,812
Somerset Co.	6,269	2,089
Talbot Co.	11,790	6,154
Washington Co.	39,936	15,665
Wicomico Co.	28,048	10,019
Worcester Co.	18,300	7,178
TOTAL	1,748,886	659,517
% of Total	72.6%	27.4%