Press Release
Public Information Office
160 Duke of Gloucester Street
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Mitchelle Stephenson, 410-972-7724 or mwstephenson@annapolis.gov
Annapolis Elections Task Force to Hold Public Hearing
to Present Community Outreach Results
Annapolis, MD (August 31, 2023) – On Wednesday, September 6, 2023, the Task Force to Study the City Municipal Elections will hold a public hearing to present the results of a community outreach questionnaire. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Doors to City Hall will be open at 5:45 p.m. Parking is available at Hillman Garage ($3/hour or use the Resident Park Free code available from Premium Parking). The meeting will be broadcast live on the City’s YouTube channel.
Individuals who would like to present public testimony may do so by signing up at the beginning of the meeting or submitting online. There will be no virtual testimony accepted at this meeting. The next virtual meeting will be on September 13, at which time members of the public can dial in to present.
In February of 2023, the Annapolis City Council appointed five City residents to an ad hoc committee to study city municipal election laws. The five individuals selected include a diverse group of volunteer residents with subject area expertise. Members of the Task Force include: John Gruger, Ian Pfeiffer, Andrew Miller, Scott Gibson and Faye Gaskin. The purpose of the Task Force is to study election laws and make recommendations to improve the City Code, structure, and procedure for municipal elections.
City of Annapolis municipal elections take place every four years to elect the Mayor and members of the Annapolis City Council. Annapolis elections take place the year after United States Presidential elections and a year before state and county elections.
In a community questionnaire distributed electronically in July-August of this year, the Task Force asked Annapolis residents to weigh in on topics including aligning City elections with either federal or state elections to save costs and boost turnout, lowering the voting age, moving to open primaries, and more. At the meeting on September 6th, the Task Force will present the aggregated results to the public and begin deliberations before making final recommendations to the Annapolis City Council at the end of September.
The City Council may choose to adopt, in part or in whole, the Task Forces’ recommendations through regular legislative action (at which time the public will have further opportunities to offer testimony).
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