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March 26, 2023

The Chestertown Spy

An Educational News Source for Chestertown Maryland

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Gubernatorial Candidates Talk Eastern Shore Economic Development at Crisfield Clam Bake and Crab Feast

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Droves of visitors swelled the population of Crisfield, the southernmost town in Maryland, on Wednesday for the J. Millard Tawes Clam Bake and Crab Feast.

The feast – typically held at the end of July each year and delayed since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic – is one of two major annual events hosted by the coastal town’s Chamber of Commerce.

Ahead of and during Wednesday’s event, Maryland Matters spoke to each of the candidates vying to be Maryland’s next governor about their ideas for boosting the Eastern Shore economy ― though some offered more details than others and, in some cases, the proposals are essentially repackaging their broader campaign themes.

Here is a sampling of their views:

Former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D)

Baker, who only recently returned to the campaign trail following his wife’s death, was not on hand in Crisfield — though he made news this week by announcing that Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Navarro (D) was joining his ticket.

Baker said that with its outdoor recreation opportunities and low cost of living, the Eastern Shore is “the perfect place to attract technology companies or other employers that primarily provide virtual services and folks who can work remotely.”

“In order to do that, we have to invest in infrastructure like high speed broadband and 5G in every community,” he said. “We can also utilize the state’s economic development fund to attract new companies to the region. That’s exactly what I did as county executive with 2U, an education technology company that we convinced to build their headquarters in Lanham… They employ over 5,000 people now. Between technology and the pandemic, our economy is transforming as we speak and there are lots of opportunities for communities on the Eastern Shore if we have the right leadership that’s prepared to take advantage of them.”

Jon Baron (D)

Baron, a former Clinton administration official making his first run for office, moved slowly through the circus-sized tent erected by Annapolis lobbyist Bruce C. Bereano, introducing himself to the elected officials and political insiders congregated inside.

“I love it, I really do,” he said. “I’m talking to a lot of people. I like talking to them and learning what’s on people’s minds. I’m talking about some of my policies and they’re giving me feedback.”

Baron’s core message is that the state’s biggest challenges have existed for decades and that current programs aren’t addressing them. He has held leadership positions at policy-oriented nonprofit groups and believes that there are proven solutions to to problems with health care, education, economic development and the criminal justice system that can be borrowed from different jurisdictions around the country and can be applied in Maryland. For the Eastern Shore, he said, “broadband especially” has been a vexing challenge.

Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D)

Franchot has been to more Crisfield crab feasts than any other candidate for governor, and he moved through the crowd with the largest entourage — most of them sporting electric blue T-shirts. It displayed an incumbent’s strength — Franchot is completing his fourth term as comptroller — but also kept him from engaging in substantive conversations.

Franchot said that “when” he wins, his administration will “reverse some of the policies that have prevented the state from really prospering,” like impediments on homeownership and the effects of redlining in areas with high concentrations of poverty.

“We’re gonna address that very vigorously,” Franchot said.

Anecdotally, Franchot is seen as having the strongest support among Eastern Shore Democrats, at least at this early stage.

Former Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler (D)

Gansler, sporting a red golf shirt, moved in and out of the tents, greeting old friends.

Gansler said he’s the only candidate in the race “besides the tax collector” — Franchot — who has a long, solid relationship with the Eastern Shore and intends to augment the job market that exists there.

“Too often,” he said, politicians “pay lip service to the Eastern Shore … and we need to make sure we support our businesses on the Eastern Shore and bring Democratic values back to the Eastern Shore.”

Gansler recently rolled out his environmental plan, which includes off-shore wind energy for Ocean City, “which is a no-brainer and far past its time and due,” he said. He also wants to build a power plant on the Shore to help convert millions of pounds of chicken manure into energy and economic opportunity.

“I’m the only one with a record of environmental accomplishment,” Gansler said.

Ashwani Jain (D)

Jain, a former Obama administration official, did not attend the crab feast.

Jain said he plans to make state government more accessible to the Eastern Shore.

“When I talk to residents — when I see their concerns, when I hear what they’re always talking about — they always feel that, no matter what … their specific local economy is going through, no one at the high levels are actually listening to them or making them feel like they’re being heard and respected,” he said.

Jain also said he wants to eliminate the state income tax for anyone who makes less than $400,000 and proposes to create the nation’s first guaranteed jobs program.

“In that way, we’re going to make sure that everyone has [a] lower cost of living, more disposable income in their pocket, and a good job if they need one and they can’t find one,” he said.

Former U.S. Education Secretary John B. King Jr. (D)

King was not in Crisfield, but he had a handful of campaign volunteers handing out fliers by the marina entrance.

In an interview, he said it is important to ensure Eastern Shore residents have access to affordable child care and health care while thinking about economic development in the region.

He suggested the development of a state bank, which would hold state assets and give loans to businesses that private commercial banks may not give, would help provide smaller businesses on the Shore with greater access to capital.

Wes Moore (D)

Moore, the author and former nonprofit CEO, was a sought-after figure at the crab feast, having lengthy conversations with scores of voters.

Moore said the economic challenges facing the Eastern Shore are not new — and there is no “one solution.”

“The reality is there are three jurisdictions in the entire state of Maryland where 100% of the children are on free and reduced lunch; two of them are on the Eastern Shore.” In many homes, parents and children face other challenges, like mental health and substance abuse.

“When the Shore says we have felt ignored and left out of the conversation, they’re not wrong,” Moore said.

The candidate said he would focus on “accessible broadband,” improved transportation and “smart jobs/green jobs.”

Moore said he is spending a lot of time on the Eastern Shore.

“I want to show people that how we are campaigning is how I plan on governing,” he said. “When people say, ‘you guys are working hard’ and ‘you’re everywhere,’ that’s exactly how I plan on governing.”

Former DNC Chair Tom Perez (D)

Perez, a former state Labor secretary and former Montgomery County councilmember, is not a stranger to the crab feast. He called it “retail politics, I think, at its best.”

Perez said he believes the Eastern Shore has the potential to have a robust diversified economy by complementing its seafood, poultry and tourism industries with the budding clean energy economy in offshore wind.

The Shore, he said, could be a “vital engine of a clean energy economy,” especially with offshore wind offering good union jobs, Perez said. “Extreme weather is a huge challenge for the Shore and for our survival and that is why becoming a solar and wind capital of America is an existential interest and it’s vital to our economic survival,” Perez said.

As governor, Perez said he would work with local community colleges, universities and businesses to build a pipeline of workers, especially in the clean energy industry. He referred to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future’s expansion of career and technical education programs as something to take advantage of on the Shore.

Not only is access to broadband important for the Eastern Shore, but it is also vital to its economy, Perez said.

“Broadband is like water — it’s an essential public utility that should be affordable and accessible to everyone,” he said.

Michael Rosenbaum (D)

Rosenbaum, a Baltimore-based tech CEO, missed the crab feast — “the logistics of trying to be in every corner of the state are complicated sometimes,” he said. But Rosenbaum said he believes his prescription for jump-starting the economy, by offering training programs that propel workers into the middle class, will especially resonate on the Shore.

“We have not made it possible for folks to have a pathway to economic opportunity,” he said.

Rosenbaum points to his own work as a job creator in the private sector and says the state needs “a coherent strategy” to do the same on the Eastern Shore — a strategy that also includes affordable, accessible child care, better transportation, and stronger health care coverage.

“We need to support the jobs for the people on the Eastern Shore to support a family,” he said. “We need to create the resources to make it easier to work.”

Del. Daniel L. Cox (R-Frederick)

Cox, who is running as a vocal supporter of President Trump, had a tent at the crab feast and moved through the crowd with a small but enthusiastic group of supporters.

“Above all,” he said, Maryland’s next governor should lift restrictions on watermen.

Cox said he opposed bills in the General Assembly to expand Maryland’s oyster sanctuaries, and he pointed out that one of the Democratic candidates, Franchot, recently angered watermen by suggesting he would phase out wild fishery and oystering.

“I want to make sure the Eastern Shore has the freedom it needs to grow its watermen, its water industry, as well as its farming industry,” Cox said. “I think those are two crucial areas that need to be honored and respected. We need to protect it.”

Robin Ficker (R)

Ficker, the attorney and perennial candidate whose Cut Sales Tax by 2 Cents signs lined the highways leading to Crisfield, said his focus on cutting Maryland’s sales tax by a third would help the state attract businesses generally and would specifically help economic fortunes on the Eastern Shore.

“We have an 85-mile border with Delaware, which has no sales tax at all, so a 6% difference. That’s enough to get people to move across the line,” said Ficker, who moved aggressively throughout the crab feast crowd. “So we’re going to cut the sales tax, give everyone a tax cut, give everyone a fiscal stimulus each and every year and bring business in here and bolster our economy.”

Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly M. Schulz (R)

Schulz also had a presence at the event, pressing the flesh while accompanied by supporters in white T-shirts.

“We have a very positive message about the state of Maryland moving forward and what we can do in this race for governor,” she said.

Schulz touted Maryland’s Outdoor Recreation Economic Commission as a way to “bring tourism and recreation into the business world,” which is also a shared goal of the Department of Commerce she heads and the state’s Department of Natural Resources. Recently, Hogan established the Office of Outdoor Recreation in response to one of the commission’s proposals.

Schulz also said she would also support the Shore’s agricultural, forestry and waterman industries as governor.

By Bruce DePuyt, Danielle E. Gaines, Hannah Gaskill, Josh Kurtz and Elizabeth Shwe

At Offshore Wind Announcement, New Hope for Steel Industry, but Climate Change Gets Short Shrift

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The topline news carried a political, economic and cultural wallop: State, federal and local officials, along with corporate chieftains and union heavyweights, announced Tuesday that steelmaking would return to the iconic Sparrows Point industrial complex in eastern Baltimore County, as a prominent wind energy developer looks to expand its operations in Maryland.

But the announcement, bathed in a celebratory air near the hulking remains of the old Bethlehem Steel plant, comes with many questions — some of which probably won’t be answered for years. And while the development is a huge boost for the fledgling offshore wind energy industry in the U.S., the words “climate change” were barely uttered by the long line of speakers.

The four-pronged announcement centered around the plans of US Wind, Inc., one of two companies state regulators have selected to build wind energy turbines off the coast of Ocean City. US Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski told hundreds of dignitaries who assembled Tuesday that the company:

  • Hopes to expand significantly its offshore wind presence in federal waters off Maryland with a new project called Momentum Wind to complement its ongoing MarWin development;
  • Has reached major labor agreements with the Baltimore-D.C. Building & Construction trades union and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to provide union labor for ongoing work on the first phase of the offshore wind development;
  • Has signed an agreement with Tradepoint Atlantic, the company that has taken over management of the Sparrows Point development, to invest $77 million in a new 90-acre port facility to service offshore wind development in Maryland;
  • Wants to build a new steel fabrication facility at Tradepoint Atlantic, which would eventually hire 500 welders, painters, crane operators and equipment operators — with the blessings of the powerful United Steelworkers union.

U.S. Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski addresses the crowd at Sparrows Point on Tuesday. Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) is to his left. Photo by Josh Kurtz., Maryland Matters

Grybowski and many other speakers called the announcement “transformational” — for the Tradepoint Atlantic development, for the Baltimore-area economy, for Maryland’s potential as a clean energy leader, and for the overall U.S. offshore wind industry.

“We’ve been waiting for a long time for some good news, and here it is,” said U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.), a former Baltimore County executive whose district includes Sparrows Point.

The potential economic impact of the developments is stunning. According to US Wind, just the second phase of the offshore wind project could produce 3,500 direct construction jobs, over $300 million in construction labor income, 100 direct operations jobs, and over $500 million in operations labor income over 25 years.

Several of the leaders who spoke harkened back to the old Bethlehem Steel plant’s history as a key supplier for the American military during two world wars and for public works landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge.

“We are at a historic location — the former home of U.S. Steel,” Grybowski said. “The shipyard. One of the most important industrial sites in the history of the U.S.”

Kerry Doyle, managing director of Tradepoint Atlantic, called the announcement “a full-circle moment.”

Jim Strong, assistant director of the United Steelworkers, offered perhaps the most poignant remarks.

“Prior to this announcement, the only thing steelworkers had was memories,” he said. “…We know now that there’s a future. We know it’s just a matter of time before steelworkers return home. And it’ll be here at Sparrows Point.”

But despite the multiple agreements signed, commitments made and vows of support by powerful leaders, it could be years before the projects fully come together — and most haven’t even gone through the earliest stages of government approval.

Even US Wind’s MarWin project, approximately 17 miles from the Ocean City beach — which would build up to 22 wind turbines generating enough energy to power 80,000 homes — still awaits final approval from the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM). The company also still needs approval from the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to build taller windmill towers than it originally proposed — a process that Ocean City leaders hope will prompt the PSC to push the windmills farther offshore. And US Wind has yet to figure out where to land the electric cables it would run onshore from the wind turbines out at sea.

US Wind currently estimates that this first segment of the wind development will be up and running by 2025.

The next phase — Momentum Wind — envisions 82 turbines in the ocean, just west of the MarWin project, enough to power 400,000 homes. That proposal requires PSC approval as well as a sign-off from the federal government — a process that could take years.

Last month, Ørsted, the Danish offshore wind developer that also has secured state approval for the first phase of a wind farm in the ocean and awaits a final green light from BOEM, announced that it had submitted a bid to the PSC for a second offshore wind project. Ørsted officials are aiming to have the first phase of the wind development up and running by 2026.

Even the agreement to build a new steel plant at Sparrows Point — a dream of local leaders that has taken on almost-mythical proportions over the years — is probably years from fruition and will require approval from federal, state and local regulators.

Still, the second phases of the US Wind and Ørsted developments, if they are approved, would help burnish Maryland’s reputation as a place where clean energy projects can flourish, as would a manufacturing hub for wind energy at Tradepoint Atlantic. Right now, Maryland is behind certain other Northeastern states when it comes to development of offshore wind, but these projects can help close the gap.

“Offshore wind presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the state of Maryland to expand and diversify our economy and our energy portfolio,” Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) said at the ceremony Tuesday. “For six and a half years now, our state has been leading the charge when it comes to supporting responsible and clean energy projects, and we are proud to continue setting an example for the nation of strong environmental leadership.”

Legislative permission to bring offshore wind projects to Maryland came in 2013, when Hogan’s predecessor, former Gov. Martin J. O’Malley (D), was in office. And the Democratic-led General Assembly passed legislation in 2019 to expand clean energy mandates in the state — a bill that Hogan criticized but allowed to become law without his signature.

So it was perhaps fitting that the only mentions of the climate crisis during Tuesday’s public presentation came from the presiding officers of the legislature, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County).

“These projects are further indication that we can take aggressive action to reverse climate change while stimulating the state’s workforce and economy,” Jones said.

Some environmentalists — many of whom attended the event but were not invited to speak — were privately irked that climate change got short shrift in the narrative. But they seemed generally happy with the substance of the announcement.

Gesturing to the massive tent-like structure that was erected to house all the dignitaries, and then to the cross-section of political, business, civic and environmental leaders present, Jamie DeMarco, the federal and Maryland policy director for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network observed, “Offshore wind is the big tent.”

Top Developer Submits Bid for Second Phase of Offshore Wind Project in Maryland

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The Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted announced Wednesday that it has submitted a bid to generate up to 760 megawatts of power with a proposed second offshore wind project off the coast of Maryland. 

The project, called Skipjack Wind 2, is in response to the Maryland Public Service Commission’s call for proposals for a second round of offshore wind projects in federal waters off the Maryland coast. 

The Clean Energy Jobs Act of 2019 expanded Maryland’s renewable portfolio standard to require that utilities get 50% of the electricity they sell to consumers from renewable sources by 2030. More specifically, it directed the Public Service Commission — which regulates the state’s energy utilities — to find “Round 2” offshore wind projects that could provide at least 1,200 megawatts of power by 2030. 

The application period for this round closed on June 21, and the PSC’s consultant, ICF, has 30 days to review applications. The bids are confidential until then, according to Tori Leonard, spokeswoman for the PSC. It is unclear if any other companies besides Ørsted have submitted a bid for this round of offshore wind projects. 

After the consultant reports to the PSC, the commission will review all applications and award offshore renewable energy credits to a project or projects for this round by Dec. 18, Leonard said. 

Ørsted’s new project proposal would power over 250,000 homes in the Delmarva Peninsula, according to the company’s announcement. 

“Ørsted is privileged to already be a long-term partner to the state of Maryland as it works to meet its offshore wind goals,” David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America, said in a statement. 

“We are proud to build, own, and operate wind farms across the world and will bring that same approach to Maryland. As such, these at least 30-year commitments we are making to the state are designed to provide long-term benefits to all of the communities that will be home to our facilities. In continuing to deliver on our commitments now, and well into the future, we will ensure that Maryland’s offshore wind industry will thrive for decades to come,” he continued. 

In 2013, the General Assembly passed legislation enabling offshore wind development and the Maryland PSC was designated by the federal government to award leases for offshore wind developments in federal waters. The commission finally approved two projects off the coast of Ocean City in 2017. 

Ørsted is in the middle of developing one of these projects, called Skipjack Wind 1, which is to the north of Ocean City and about 19 miles off the coast. It could power 40,000 homes in the Delmarva Peninsula and is slated to start operating by 2026, company officials have said. 

This project is currently under review for final approval by the federal government, as is the MarWin project by US Wind, which would generate 240 megawatts of power — enough to power almost 80,000 for a year. It is 17 miles off the coast of Maryland and tentatively slated to start operating in 2024. 

These projects would run cables under the ocean, connect to the electric grid on land and provide electricity to Maryland utilities, helping the state depend less on fossil fuels and reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2045. 

Both projects have generated controversy in Ocean City, particularly among political and business leaders who believe views of wind turbines from the beach could hurt tourism and the real estate industry. But many other leaders in Delmarva believe the wind industry could be a powerful economic driver for the region.

Ørsted said it would host a virtual open house on its proposal to build a second phase of the offshore wind project on the evening of July 19.

By Elizabeth Shwe

Democrats Slam Hogan’s Decision to End Expanded Unemployment Benefits, Look to Block Action

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Alarmed at the prospect that needy families will be hurt by Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.’s decision to end supplemental unemployment benefits in early July, members of the General Assembly scrambled on Wednesday to blunt — and perhaps block — his action.

Legislative leaders sought advice from Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) about a possible special session — and a powerful committee chairman said he will introduce legislation to advance the effective date of Maryland’s $15-per-hour minimum wage law.

The flurry of activity was set in motion by Hogan’s decision to end the $300-per-week supplemental unemployment insurance benefit that some Marylanders have been collecting, effective July 3.

The state will also stop providing a $100-per-week payment that “mixed earners” — typically gig workers who have multiple sources of wage income — have been receiving.

In addition, people who have been out of work for more than 26 weeks will see their benefits end.

Congress approved enhanced payments last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In announcing his actions, Hogan pointed to the state’s improving economy and the surge in the state’s supply of vaccines. Even though 70% of adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the governor said many employers are having trouble finding workers.

Two dozen Republican governors have taken similar steps, with many arguing that jobless benefits create a disincentive to seek work.

More than 175,000 Marylanders receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance — which expanded eligibility to the self-employed, independent contractors and gig workers — and those receiving payments after extended periods out of work — more than 86,000 people as of May 8 — would lose benefits entirely under Hogan’s action.

All Marylanders receiving unemployment would stop receiving an enhanced $300 payment. As of May 15, there were 42,895 continued unemployment claims in the state; an additional 8,625 new claims were filed in the week ending May 22.

In a letter to Hogan, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and Unemployment Insurance Oversight Committee co-chairwoman Kathy Klausmeier (D-Baltimore County) wrote, “Solving problems requires more than buying into partisan narratives that ignore the very real plight of countless Marylanders facing complex futures.”

The lawmakers urged the governor to reconsider his actions and look at ways to incentivize people back into the labor force, such as those adopted by Colorado.

If Hogan fails to alter his position on supplemental unemployment benefits, the leaders wrote, ”our chamber will be forced to consider all other tools at our disposal to ensure our state’s prosperity.”

The fiscal year 2022 budget was approved by the General Assembly earlier this year — and lawmakers were unclear on Wednesday whether they have the power to force Hogan to reverse his stance. Lawmakers adjourned in April and are not scheduled to return to Annapolis until January.

Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) urged lawmakers to consider an emergency special session to insist that Hogan keep the payments flowing.

In an interview, Frosh said it would be a challenge for lawmakers to find a way to block Hogan immediately.

“It’s going to be tough to get it done right away, but it may be possible,” he said. “We’ll see.”

A former legislator from Montgomery County, Frosh hammered Hogan for ending federally-funded benefits at a time when many out-of-work residents have yet to find new jobs.

“The fact is, if you’re looking to help the economy and help businesses, the best thing you can do is put money in the hands of low-income families, because it goes right back out the door,” he said. “They spend it.”

Frosh called the supplemental payments “a lifeline for folks who are unemployed” — and he said GOP claims that benefits discourage job-seeking are “fallacious.”

Although the unemployment rate has dropped since the height of the pandemic, the attorney general said many jobs don’t pay enough for people to make ends meet, a claim echoed by Del. Dereck E. Davis (D-Prince George’s), the chairman of the Economic Matters Committee.

Davis told Maryland Matters he will introduce legislation in January to move up the effective date of Maryland’s $15-an-hour minimum wage law by 2 1/2 years.

Under his proposal, employers with 15 or more workers would be required to pay at least $15/hour effective on July 1, 2022, instead of January 1, 2025.

Employers with fewer than 15 employees would have to boost pay starting on July 1, 2023, instead of January 1, 2026.

“I don’t think we need to take away the benefits. I think we need to increase the wages,” Davis said. “It’s simple economics.”

Davis said he was motivated to offer the legislation in response to Hogan’s actions on Tuesday.

Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Darryl Barnes (D-Prince George’s) will co-sponsor the measure, which has the support of Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County).

“If this is strictly dollars and cents, what that tells me is that they’re not paying enough,” Davis said.

Senate Minority Leader Bryan W. Simonaire (R-Anne Arundel) said Davis’s proposal buttresses his belief that the General Assembly is lurching to the left.

“It’s a constant attack on small business, without the balance,” he said. “This is just another way they can redistribute wealth. … Thank God we have Hogan in office to provide a little balance to the legislature.”

Davis said he will pre-file his bill — and he intends to hold a hearing on it at 2 p.m. on the first day of the 2022 session.

The state’s top fiscal officers also hammered Hogan for ending supplemental benefits.

Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp (D) said the move will cause the most harm to single women with children or older dependents, who will now live in “greater misery.”

Franchot, a candidate for governor, noted that the supplemental federal benefits are set to expire on Sept. 6. He said pandemic-era stimulus payments to individuals and businesses have helped the state’s economy weather the pandemic because they are “economic multipliers.”

“We’re giving up, voluntarily, $1.5 billion in additional economic stimulus,” he said. “And it’s not even our money. It’s coming from Washington.”

“This is about compassion for those who are suffering through no fault of their own,” Franchot added. “The end of the pandemic is in sight. We owe them a bridge to it.”

Del. Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore and Harford counties) applauded Hogan’s action.

“With so many businesses unable to fully operate because they cannot find workers, it makes sense,” she said. “There are ‘help wanted’ signs everywhere. Americans are logical. If you pay them to stay home, they will. It’s time to get people back in the labor market and working for a brighter future for themselves and their families.”

An organization representing small business owners also said it welcomed Hogan’s decision.

“Small business owners have been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis. While they are seeing their sales grow amidst a steady economic recovery, a record 44% of owners reported job openings that could not be filled in NFIB’s latest jobs report,” said Mike O’Halloran, the head of NFIB-Maryland.

“The Governor is right to call this a ‘critical problem.’ Now that capacity restrictions and closings are behind us, we’re hopeful these jobs will quickly be filled as the summer is unofficially underway.”

Even if lawmakers don’t return to Annapolis, they hope to pressure him to allow benefits to flow an additional month — until early August — to give jobless Marylanders more time to find work.

“It’s not like he’s saving the state money by doing this,” Montgomery County Executive Marc B. Elrich (D) said.

Late on Wednesday, the nine Democratic members of Maryland’s congressional delegation issued a statement urging Hogan to reconsider cutting off the benefits.

“…The governor unnecessarily bowed to partisan pressure and ignored the needs of struggling workers and families. We urge the governor to reconsider this decision, which will cost our state money in the long run — and wastes federal resources we fought hard to secure,” the lawmakers wrote. “Marylanders are anxious to get back to work, but this pandemic is not over and many unemployed Marylanders are still suffering.”

By Bruce DePuyt and Danielle E. Gaines

Hogan Joins GOP Governors in Ending Supplemental Unemployment Aid

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Maryland will join two dozen other Republican-led states whose governors have decided to end enhanced unemployment benefits, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. announced late Tuesday.

The move, which takes effect on July 3, will end the $300 supplemental weekly payment that some out-of-work residents have been receiving under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program.

Hogan’s decisions will end unemployment insurance checks at 26 weeks.

A pandemic-era change extended them to 39 weeks, but that will expire early next month.

Hogan’s move also ends a $100-per-week payment available to “mixed earners” — typically gig workers who have multiple sources of income.

In making the announcement, Hogan (R) cited Maryland’s improving economy, the increased availability of COVID-19 vaccines, and the growing number of “Help Wanted” signs springing up around the state.

The moves come as Republican leaders express the concern that unemployment assistance is keeping some workers from seeking new jobs.

“While these federal programs provided important temporary relief, vaccines and jobs are now in good supply,” said Hogan, a potential 2024 candidate for president, in a statement.

“And we have a critical problem where businesses across our state are trying to hire more people, but many are facing severe worker shortages. After 12 consecutive months of job growth, we look forward to getting more Marylanders back to work.”

Democrats said Hogan’s decision will harm working families.

“There have been many thoughtful decisions made by Governor Hogan during this pandemic. This is not one of them,” said Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) in a statement.

“This rash and rushed decision will hurt Marylanders who have been hit the hardest during the pandemic, having lost jobs through no fault of their own. It feeds into a hard right-wing narrative that denies human dignity, puts profits over people, and puts politics over sound economic research.”

Del. Dereck Davis (D-Prince George’s) said the state should have kept the commitment it made to keep enhanced benefits in place through August — particularly in light of difficulties that the Maryland Department of Labor had getting checks to some applicants.

“It’s easy to make the claim that folks are taking advantage or folks don’t want to work,” Davis said. “I think people do want to work.”

Many of the 24 Republican governors who decided to end supplement benefits in May said the aid served as a crutch. But research distributed by the economics team at JPMorgan Chase last week cast doubt on that theory.

The move to cut federal unemployment benefits seems “tied to politics, not economics,” those economists concluded, according to CNBC.

“While some of these states have tight labor markets and strong earnings growth, many of them do not,” researchers wrote.

Last month, Hogan — a business tycoon before entering politics — hinted that the state would soon curtail supplemental benefits.

“We’re hearing over and over again about businesses not able to staff up because people won’t come back to work,” he told reporters on May 14.

Davis, who chairs the House Committee on Economic Matters, said many of the people who are still out of work are struggling with child care issues, sick parents and other concerns.

He accused the state of “pulling the rug” from people who are in need, despite a commitment to continue passing on federal assistance to unemployed Marylanders through the summer.

“We could have waited. Another two months wasn’t going to kill us,” he said.

According to the statement issued by Hogan’s office, Maryland has “prioritized” the reopening of child care centers. “As of today, 92% of licensed providers in Maryland are open and operating.”

Since March 2020, the State of Maryland has paid out more than $12.3 billion in unemployment benefits to 730,759 recipients, resolving more than 97% of claims, the statement added.

In addition to ending the pass-through of supplemental federal benefits, Maryland has reinstated the requirement that aid recipients engage in three “reemployment activities” each week, beginning on July 4.

Those who fail to do so may become ineligible for future benefits.

Out-of-work Marylanders can submit a job application through the state’s workforce exchange, complete an American Job Center workshop, or attend a job fair.

Additional employment opportunities and services can be found at labor.maryland.gov/employment.

By Bruce DePuyt

Spy Interview: Comptroller Peter Franchot on Tax Season, COVID-19 Stimulus, and Md.’s Economy

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During a Friday visit to Easton, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot spoke via videoconference with The Spy.

Franchot talked about Maryland’s tax season, which began Feb. 12; the state’s COVID-19 stimulus checks, processed by his office; and how Maryland’s economy looks after nearly a year of the pandemic.

This video is about 18 minutes long.

Md. General Assembly Passes Billion-Dollar RELIEF Act; Hogan to Sign into Law Monday

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After the House of Delegates nixed a last-minute provision that would’ve included broader stimulus checks for Maryland taxpayers, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) plans to sign a billion-dollar relief effort into law Monday.

Hogan’s RELIEF Act, as currently amended and approved by both the House and Senate on Friday, would include sweeping tax relief for small businesses and Marylanders, and direct stimulus checks to certain low-income taxpayers. The proposal was overwhelmingly passed by the legislature Friday after a day of contentious debate over whether to include taxpayers without Social Security numbers, including undocumented immigrants, in the bill’s direct stimulus.

Hogan, who has repeatedly called on the legislature to quickly pass his relief proposal, lauded lawmakers’ fast action in a Friday statement.

“The RELIEF Act will deliver more than $1 billion in tax relief and economic stimulus for struggling families and small businesses,” Hogan wrote. “It will help Marylanders barely hanging on right now as we work to bring this global pandemic to an end. While Washington gears up for yet another partisan fight, here in Maryland we are once again setting an example of what effective and bipartisan leadership looks like.”

A spokesperson for Hogan confirmed that the governor plans to sign the emergency relief package into law on Monday.

The relief package includes direct stimulus payments – $500 for families and $300 for individuals – to low-income taxpayers who filed for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in 2019. But because the EITC requires a Social Security number, advocates have warned that thousands of Maryland taxpayers would be excluded from those stimulus payments.

House Democrats on Thursday added people who file taxes with individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITIN) who meet the EITC income guidelines to the RELIEF Act’s stimulus checks.

ITIN filers also include undocumented immigrants and “some people who are lawfully present in the U.S., such as certain survivors of domestic violence, Cuban and Haitian entrants, student visa–holders, and certain spouses and children of individuals with employment visas,” according to the National Immigration Law Center.

But the proposal to send ITIN filers stimulus checks was withdrawn Friday after Republican objections and questions over its viability threatened to hold up the bill. Instead, lawmakers plan to pass separate legislation next week to provide assistance to ITIN filers.

More than 86,000 ITIN filers paid more than $100 million in state and local taxes last year, according to Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D), and many of those taxpayers meet the EITC income qualifications.

House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedkte (D-Montgomery County) said the removal of ITIN filers from the relief proposal was a compromise. He promised to quickly pass an “equivalent program” that would provide relief for those taxpayers as early as next week.

“Every Maryland taxpayer in poverty deserves help,” Luedtke said.

In a joint statement, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) promised to pass legislation to “include every Maryland taxpayer in the Earned Income Tax Credit” next week.

“No Marylander deserves to wonder where their next meal will come from, how to buy their child’s diapers, or how to pay for life saving medicine – especially when they go to work every single day,” the statement reads.

Ferguson and Jones wrote that, combined with the newly passed RELIEF Act, the proposal will be “the best anti-poverty legislation to have passed the General Assembly in years.”

That relief won’t include immediate stimulus payments to ITIN filers, a spokesperson for Ferguson said. It’ll extend EITC benefits to ITIN filers for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 tax years, Ferguson said at a Friday evening media briefing. He noted that Hogan currently holds “all the cards” in determining how to distribute relief funding.

In a Friday statement, CASA Research and Policy Analyst Cathryn Paul demanded the fast passage of that legislation, including a veto override if necessary.

“Today, leaders of the Maryland House and Senate issued a joint statement committing to immediately passing EITC reform expanding coverage to include ITIN filers,” Paul said. “While EITC reform is certainly needed, it is unimaginable that an anti-immigrant Governor like Larry Hogan will not veto the bill when it reaches his desk. Only a veto-proof majority and rapid veto override vote will provide the critical relief needed by immigrant tax filers.”

(Hogan’s wife, First Lady Yumi Hogan, immigrated to the U.S. from South Korea.)

After the House approved of the relief proposal Friday, the bill returned to the Senate floor just before 5 p.m. on Friday and was passed by a unanimous vote, 45-0.

“We have seen livelihoods destroyed and we have seen lives lost. And this is a clear message to Marylanders everywhere … relief is on its way. Not next year, not in the next month, but now. That is why we put partisanship aside and put public service first,” Sen. Craig Zucker (D-Montgomery) said.

Senate Minority Whip Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick) commended the chamber for working through a compromise quickly

“I think the Senate really showed leadership here and did a good thing. We’re going to get direct aid to people, relief,” Hough said. “It’s not a perfect bill, compromises are never perfect … but nonetheless I think this is a good bill overall.

In a Friday press release, leaders of the Maryland Legislative Latino Caucus said Maryland would join California and Colorado if it expands EITC benefits to ITIN taxpayers. According to that release, Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) said that the previous proposal to include ITIN filers in the RELIEF Act “would not be viable.”

“Now, more than ever, we must ensure there are no barriers to help those in need,” Latino Caucus Vice Chair Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George’s) said in the release. “Immigrants have been working to keep our communities afloat during this time, so we absolutely need to step up for them.”

Franchot, in a statement after the vote, said he still believes the RELIEF Act “falls considerably short,” but was improved by legislative amendments.

“I was disappointed that tax-paying immigrants were excluded from receiving direct stimulus payments,” Franchot said. “They are our friends and neighbors who are also struggling to feed their families and pay their bills. The taxes they pay provide financial relief to others, but they are being cast aside without immediate assistance. This is economic injustice, plain and simple.”

His office will work with the General Assembly to “provide EITC benefits to all eligible Marylanders ― regardless of whether they file their taxes with a Social Security Number or an ITIN ― as soon as possible.”

By Bennett Leckrone and Danielle E. Gaines

Hogan’s State of the State: Md. More Resilient Than Ever

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Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) touted the state’s vaccine plan and urged state lawmakers to quickly pass his COVID-19 relief proposal in an unusual State of the State address Wednesday evening.

While normally Hogan would have delivered his annual address to a midday joint gathering of the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates, the governor live-streamed his comments. In the address, Hogan urged Marylanders to get the vaccine – but acknowledged it may be some time before everyone is vaccinated.

And as in past years, Hogan emphasized bipartisanship and cooperation in his address.

“Over this past year, as we have faced unimaginable challenges, those words were truly put to the test,” he said. “But together we rose to the challenge, and it is because of the courage, the sacrifices, and the strength of the people of Maryland that the state of our state is more resilient than it has ever been before.

Here’s what Hogan said in his seventh State of the State address:

On the state’s vaccine plan

More than 570,000 Marylanders have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday, Hogan said, and the state is ready to vaccinate many more when the federal government allocates more doses.

“Unfortunately, right now the amount of vaccines being allocated by the federal government is just a tiny fraction of what we need,” Hogan said. “That is the hard truth not just for us in Maryland, but for every state in America.”

Hogan echoed his Acting Secretary of Health Dennis R. Schrader in saying that the state is building “infrastructure” to cope with a larger supply of the long-sought vaccine. He noted that the new single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine could soon receive federal approval – and that it’s being manufactured in Maryland.

Despite the limited supply, the state recently opened up eligibility to a much larger portion of Marylanders, leading some Democratic lawmakers to question the rapid expansion. In his rebuttal to Hogan’s address, House Majority Leader Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery) pointed out that Maryland has lagged behind other states in its vaccine rollout.

Luedtke called the state’s vaccine plan “bungled” and criticized Hogan for “abysmal communication” on vaccines.

“The single-most important thing is communication. The public is deeply confused about how to get access to the vaccine,” Luedtke said during a conversational, interview-style response, unlike the pre-filmed rebuttal speeches of the past.

Hogan acknowledged that vaccination will take time, and urged Marylanders to be patient and continue following COVID-related precautions while they await the vaccine.

“It is going to require a great deal of patience for many months while states continue to push the federal government and the manufacturers to increase the production and to drastically increase the allocations they provide to the states,” Hogan said. “In the meantime, we must continue to take the necessary precautions, which keep our families, our friends, and our neighbors healthy and safe.”

On COVID-19 relief and the economy

Hogan again urged lawmakers to pass his billion-dollar relief plan, but made no mention of an additional $520 million amendment that senators tacked onto his proposal this week.

Hogan’s RELIEF Act of 2021 consists mostly of tax cuts and money from the state’s reserves, and includes relief checks of up to $750 for families and $500 for individuals who filed for the earned income tax credit.

“I am once again calling on the legislature to pass this bill and get it to my desk as soon as possible, so that I can sign it into law, so that it can take effect immediately,” Hogan said. “There is absolutely nothing more important for the legislature to do, and Marylanders simply cannot afford to wait.”

The amended bill received preliminary approval in the Senate on Wednesday. Final debate is currently scheduled for Friday.

But the proposal might see even more additions in the House. Luedtke said there’s bipartisan agreement that relief needs to get to Maryland families and businesses fast but said the House may take a “slightly different position” than the Senate on how to best help Marylanders.

“We believe that the bill should absolutely be focused, laser-tight, on making sure Maryland middle class families and small businesses have the support they need,” Luedtke said.

Hogan touted his proposed budget as “structurally balanced with absolutely no tax increases,” and no layoffs for state employees. He said he’s also proposing more than $1 billion in tax cuts for retired Marylanders, which he said will keep “tens of thousands of Marylanders from feeling our state.”

“Now more than ever, Marylanders need to be able to keep more of their hard-earned money in their own pockets,” Hogan said.

Luedtke said the problem isn’t high taxes, but rather low taxes on wealthy Marylanders and businesses. He slammed Hogan’s veto on the proposed digital ad tax, which legislators plan to use to fund the also-vetoed Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reforms.

“It’s not that taxes are too high, it’s that we let too many people get away without paying their fair share,” he said. He noted that House and Senate leaders are set to unveil unemployment insurance reform tomorrow.

On Maryland’s recovery

Hogan said he’s issued more than 85 emergency health orders since the onset of the pandemic and noted that it was only a few days after his 2020 State of the State address that he met with other governors and federal officials in the District of Columbia to learn more about the spread of the coronavirus.

He lauded Maryland small businesses, essential workers and teachers for their actions over the past year and noted the Maryland National Guard’s role in distributing COVID-19 tests and, more recently, at the Capitol on Jan. 6. “When our democracy itself came under attack, they were first to arrive to protect our nation’s capital,” he said.

He also praised health care workers, and noted Daisy Solares, a Baltimore City resident and respiratory therapist at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He said Solares, who lost her father to COVID-19, was one of the first Marylanders to get the vaccine. She described it as a “step forward at healing,” Hogan said.

The pandemic “will not end overnight,” but Marylanders working together can “get life back to normal once again,” Hogan said.

“A better future is on the horizon where we can get back to doing the everyday things we all miss, like celebrating with friends and family at a crowded restaurant or taking our kids and grandkids to a baseball game,” he said. “A better future where our kids are thriving, our communities are safer, and our economy is booming once again. We will get there, but we must continue looking out for one another and continue working together to build that better future.”

In his response, Luedtke said the Democratic majority in the General Assembly will be focused on racial equity in the state’s pandemic recovery. He said he hopes Hogan works with the legislature as they attempt to pass police reform and pursue House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones’ (D-Baltimore County) racial justice agenda.

Luedtke said Maryland is “well-positioned” to lead the nation in economic recovery in the next few years but said an equitable recovery will be important as the state moves forward.

“The inequalities that exist in our society have been brought to light like never before,” Luedtke said.

Report: Incarceration Destabilizes Neighborhood Economies, Doesn’t Increase Safety

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A report released by the Maryland Center for Economic Policy suggests decreasing the state’s prison budget will lead to a healthier economy and increased public safety.

The report, released Wednesday, found that Black Marylanders are 4 1/2 times more likely to serve prison sentences than any other racial or ethnic group. Indigenous Maryland residents are twice as likely to be incarcerated than any other racial or ethnic group.

“None of what we’re doing is making any of us safer and it’s most certainly not making those Black communities that are being robbed of human capital ― it’s not making them any safer,” Tara Huffman, director of the criminal and juvenile justice program at the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, said during the Maryland Center for Economic Policy’s third annual policy summit Thursday afternoon.

“It’s destabilizing them even more and you cannot contain destabilization; it will eventually spread.”

Christopher Meyer, research analyst for the Maryland Center for Economic Policy, a liberal think tank, said at the summit that the state currently spends about $1 billion of its budget on incarceration.

“We’re spending all of that money locking up all of those Black folk, and we’re not any safer for it,” Huffman asserted. “We’re not any safer for it.”

Maryland has the highest rate of incarceration for Black men among the 50 states. Despite making up just 31% of the state’s total population, 70% of the prison population is Black.

According to Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesman Mark Vernarelli, there were 18,300 sentenced individuals in the custody of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services at the end of October.

The agency also runs Baltimore City’s pre-trial facilities, which, according to Vernarelli, has population changes “very often.” At the end of October, those facilities held about 2,000 people.

According to a February 2015 Justice Policy Institute report, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spent $288,304,000 of its $1 billion budget incarcerating Baltimore City residents, alone.

Huffman said that one-third of the state’s incarcerated population comes from the city. According to a 2019 estimate conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, almost 63% of the city’s population is Black.

“What we know is that taxpayers in the state of Maryland are paying a lot of money from year to year to lock up a whole lot of Black folk,” she said. “Period.”

The report from the Maryland Center for Economic Policy said that there is “scant evidence” that heavy-handed sentencing policy leads to healthy economies and safer communities.

Instead, their report points to cutbacks in housing, healthcare, public transportation and economic opportunities and the criminalization of underground economy jobs, like sex work and the sale of illicit drugs, as factors that lead to increased incarceration and declining public safety.

For example, Marylanders who live in the 50 zip codes with the highest unemployment rates are five times more prone to being incarcerated than those living in other areas of the state.

The Maryland Center for Economic Policy recommends legalizing jobs in the underground economy, abolishing policies in the criminal justice system that criminalize poverty, and implementing comprehensive sentencing reform to decrease the state’s prison population.

Additionally, the findings of the report suggest that investment in public schools, public spaces and adequate drug treatment is the pathway towards a healthy economy and public safety.

“Then thinking about how we ensure that those investments are benefiting … communities,” said Meyers. “Again that comes back to measuring equity as part of the budget-making process [and] making sure that our investments are distributed geographically in an equitable way because we know housing discrimination makes geography really kind of a fulcrum of racial justice and injustice.”

By Hannah Gaskill

In an Anxiety-Ridden Year, U.S. Voter Turnout Rate Highest Since 1900

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More people voted in this year’s election than ever before, some motivated by fear, some by peer influence, some by the wide options available for voting, some by social media and still others by love or hate for President Donald Trump.

As of Thursday, an estimated 159 million people, accounting for 66.4% of the eligible voting population, cast ballots in this election, according to the University of Florida’s United States Elections Project. That exceeds the turnout percentages for the past 120 years, going back to the 1900 race, when 73.2% of the voting eligible population cast ballots, ultimately re-electing President William McKinley over Democratic challenger William Jennings Bryan.

“High turnout is a sign of a healthy democracy,” Michael McDonald, who runs the Elections Project, wrote in USA Today on Wednesday.

He also pointed to a pre-election Gallup Poll in which 77% of registered voters said the 2020 election mattered more to them than previous elections – the highest level since the polling firm started asking that question in 1996. Still, over one-third of voting eligible people did not cast a ballot in this election.

Experts say fear of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and about the economy, strong feelings about Trump, the current social climate and peer influences, among other factors, spawned this historic turnout. And many states still are tabulating ballots.

Following an established pattern since at least 2000, turnout rates were especially high in key swing states. Over 75% of eligible voters cast ballots in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Iowa, while over 70% of eligible voters did so in Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina and Florida. Georgia received ballots from just under 70% of eligible voters.

“There’s a couple of things going on there,” said Michael Hanmer, research director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civil Engagement.

“The feeling that something more is at stake could be part of the internal motivator” for individual voters, Hanmer said, in states where, because of the Electoral College system, a vote for Trump wouldn’t have much impact in a state that voted Democratic, and a vote for Biden wouldn’t count for much in a state that voted Republican.

Voters in the battleground states don’t have that concern. Campaigns spend more energy and money in states that could go either way.

“It’s harder in those states to ignore what’s going on. It’s going to be on TV, it’s going to be on radio, it’s more likely to be on their social media, they’re more likely to get a door knock,” Hanmer said.

Non-swing states with especially high turnout rates, estimated by the Elections Project, were Maine, Minnesota, Colorado, Washington and Oregon – all saw three-quarters or more of their eligible voters cast ballots. Maryland ranked fifteenth in voter turnout, with just over 72% of eligible voters, according to the Elections Project estimates.

The availability of mail-in voting and early voting due to the coronavirus pandemic may have contributed to high turnout in some states. In Maryland, about half of the state’s voters mailed in their ballots.

Historically, states that regularly conduct elections by mail, such as Oregon, have greater voter turnout than those states that traditionally do not use the mails for balloting.

In Pennsylvania, where ballots still were being counted, Secretary of State Kathy Bookvar told reporters Thursday that she expected a very high turnout in the battleground state.

“Pennsylvanians have had more choices this year than in the history of the commonwealth,” she said.

Hanmer said that voting law changes to accommodate the pandemic likely generated some turnout, but added that since even many states that did not make these changes, like Texas, saw increased turnout, there were other factors at play as well.

“I really think that the turnout story for this election is more about general interest and mobilization,” Hanmer said.

The pandemic may have been responsible for some of this mobilization: “We’ve had our lives upended and we’re in this environment where our physical social circles have largely shrunk, and we’re really hard pressed to avoid coverage of what’s going on in the news,” Hanmer said.

David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University’s Political Research Center, said usually “what increases voter turnout is the quality of the candidates,” but this year is historic in that high voter turnout seemed to be primarily motivated by fear.

“it’s just ironic to me that Joe Biden … has the ability to get the most votes, ever, ever, and he’s not the person that people are excited about,” Paleologos said.

Memories of Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016 may also have spurred additional turnout for Biden.

“People didn’t get out to vote because they assumed she was going to win,” Paleologos said, adding that there wasn’t “that element of surprise” this time around.

Hanmer also suspects social media and peer influence contributed to the high turnout.

“A lot of people were engaged this year in contacting other people, and I mean just regular people contacting their friends, not necessarily always part of some wider formal campaign activity,” Hanmer said. “That’s just been increasingly common as a tactic.”

Alexandra Palm, a 24-year-old nanny and pizza deliverer in Spokane, Washington, said she did not want to vote this year, but was shamed into casting a ballot for Biden.

“On social media is where I felt shamed a lot,” Palm said. She said that it wasn’t usually personally directed toward her, but “if I ever brought up that I was not voting, there was never a time when someone would just ever respect that decision, ever.”

Instead, she said people told her she couldn’t complain about election results if she didn’t vote, and that if she didn’t vote for Biden it counted as a vote for Trump. Her father and people on social media told her “you have to vote, you have to vote, you have to vote,” she said.

Ralph Watkins, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters, said “just the tone overall seemed to be far stronger than in many recent elections.”

“Democrats were very passionate about wanting to turn (Trump) out of office, and many Republicans were equally passionate about wanting to keep (Trump) in office,” Watkins said.

Watkins said the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn generated turnout along party lines: those who worried more about the economy tended to vote Republican, while those who worried more about the pandemic tended to vote Democrat.

Additionally, “concerns about racism are really critical, and turnout in African American areas was very high and very democratic,” Watkins said.

Marqus Shaw, 35, of Oklahoma City, voted for Biden — his first time voting. He said it was mainly to vote against Donald Trump.

“(Biden)’s better than Trump to me,” Shaw said. “Trump just says things that you shouldn’t say, he shows no compassion, and he’s a racist.”

In the past, Shaw said, he has felt like his vote wouldn’t matter, but this year he said he “just can’t take Trump anymore.”

Paleologos said turnout driven by fear “doesn’t bode well for the system at large” and may indicate a failure of the party system.

“If we’re going to have two parties, the key is for the party system to enable and support candidates who have broad appeal,” he said. “Right now we don’t have that. Right now the party system thrives on negativity.”

By Gracie Todd and Luciana Perez Uribe