Third Maryland county set to limit big money’s influence in elections

Another Maryland county has taken action to offset the influence of wealthy special interests over our elections.

Another Maryland county has taken action to offset the influence of wealthy special interests over our elections.

In the early hours of Oct. 24, Prince George’s County council members narrowly approved CB-99, a bill to publicly finance local political candidates. The bill still needs approval from County Executive Rushern Baker and won’t go into effect until 2026, but the vote is a step in the right direction.

“Passing the Fair Elections Fund makes Prince George’s County the third in Maryland to support the notion that big money should not dictate our political discourse,” said Emily Scarr, state director of Maryland PIRG. “[The vote] is a big win for everyone in the county who wants to see local candidates run on the strength of their ideas, not their access to big money.”

The idea works. Montgomery County, which has a similar measure in place, has seen an increase in the number of first-time candidates.

Read more about Prince George’s new bill here.

Photo Caption: Citizen influence in Prince George’s County elections will now increase as that of special interests decreases. 

Photo Credit: Jay Baker via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) 

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