HB 568: Public Financing for Legislature
Favorable · Government, Labor, and Elections Committee · February 11, 2026 Oral testimony by Andy Ellis, Green Party candidate for Governor
Full Title: Public Financing Act - State Senate and House of Delegates Candidates Sponsor: Delegate Behler MGA Page: HB0568
Testimony as Delivered
I am Andy Ellis and I am a Green Party candidate for Governor and myself and my running mate Owen Silverman Andrews are the only active state level candidates using state level fair campaign financing fund.
Public finance is the best real world antidote we have to the corrosive effects of money in politics. It does not make everything even, but it does allows candidates without access to wealth to be on the same playing field.
I want to speak specifically to the way that public finance can help make candidates from non principal parties more viable and non principal parties more healthy.
Dr Bernard Tamas who is a leading academic expert on third parties says this:
Third parties are therefore stuck in a vicious cycle of not being able to build resources because they are seen as unable to win, and unable to increase their voter support because they cannot raise resources
Public financing is one of the key ways to address this resource problem, and is a key element in making Maryland multiparty system work better.
Even if Candidates outside of the two party system don't win, they play a significant role in our democratic process. They increase general election competition, increase turnout among dissatisfied voters, highlight spaces that the two parties can move toward and bring new and fresh ideas to the election.
Expanding public financing to state delegate and state senate candidates allows us to bring these benefits to every corner of the state and to some of the voters that could most benefit from multiparty competition.
The benefits of this legislation expand beyond non principal party candidates, but it is a key part of making Maryland's multiparty system healthier, better for voters, and better for democracy.
I urge a favorable report on HB 568.
Related
Campaign: Multiparty Democracy
On the Show: A Big Day for Democracy in Annapolis — February 12, 2026
See Also: HB0101: Debate Access Act · HB0584: Clean Democracy Amendment