Transparent Elections Must Be Maintained Oppose HB1212 - CITIZEN ACTION GUIDE

BILL#: HB1212

TITLE: Election Law - Voter Registration List - Right to Opt Out of the Sale of Personally Identifiable Information

COMMITTEE: House Ways and Means

SYNOPSIS: Requiring the State Board of Elections to establish, by regulation, a process by which an individual may opt out of the sale of personally identifiable information in the individual's voter registration record to any person other than an employee or a vendor of the State Board or a local board; and prohibiting personal information in an individual's voter registration record from being sold under certain provisions of law if the individual has opted out of disclosure.

POSITION: OPPOSE

STATUS: In the House - Hearing Tuesday, 3/07 at 1:00 p.m.

WITNESS SIGNUP DEADLINE: Friday, 3/3 8am-3pm

CALL TO ACTION (in order of IMPACT): Please consider ACTING on ALL or at least ONE of these suggestions

1. IN-PERSON WITNESS TESTIMONY (MOST IMPACTFUL): Create an MGA Account and SIGN UP FOR In-Person Witness Testimony!*

2. WRITTEN TESTIMONY (IMPACTFUL): Create an MGA Account and submit a Written Testimony*

3. SUBMIT YOUR POSTION THROUGH YOUR MGA ACCOUNT (IMPACTFUL) At the bare minimum, we hope all of you will do this!*

4. EMAIL/CALL COMMITTEE MEMBERS (IMPACTFUL): Voice your support by calling and emailing Committee Members (link to House Ways and Means Contact list HERE: http://mfrw.org/house-ways-and-means-group-email-list/ )

*HOW TO TESTIFY AT THE MGA

To sign-up to testify on a bill, you must first make a “MyMGA account”.

1. You can do so HERE: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Account/Register/Tracking

2. You will be asked to provide identifying information and a confirmation will be sent to your provided email address. NOTE: ONLY enter an organization in the last field if you've been given express permission and instruction by that organization to speak on its behalf.

3. SPECIAL NOTE:

   • The signup window for Senate bills is only available one business day ahead of a bill's hearing between the hours of 8am and 3pm. To speak during a hearing on Monday, one must signup on the preceding Friday.

   • The signup window for House bills is only available two business days ahead of a bill's hearing between the hours of 8am and 3pm. If a bill is scheduled to be heard on Monday or Tuesday, signup is available on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

   • Use the Bill Tracking feature to keep track of when your Bill’s window is open

4. Once you've signed in, navigate to “Witness Signup” which you can get to by clicking the MyMGA logo in the top right of the webpage.

5. Select the bill or bills you'd like to testify on and whether you are speaking, submitting written testimony, or you can (and we encourage you to!) select "Both." The committee does not have to let you speak, as the Chairs have wide discretion over how the hearing proceeds, but your written testimony and stance will always be with the bill file.

6. Take your time here and be deliberate with your choices. Review your choices before clicking the Save button toward the top of the chart.