To form a political party in Maryland, a group of voters must file a valid petition in a timely manner with the State Board of Elections. To retain party status, however, either the party's candidate must poll 1% of the entire vote in the next general election, or at least 1% of the State's registered voters must be affiliated with the party by year's end (Code Election Law Article, sec. 4-103). If neither of these criteria are met, then the party must requalify with the State Board of Elections by petition.
In Maryland, provisions for recognition of political parties by the State Board of Elections are established by law. They are found in the Annotated Code of Maryland (Code Election Law Article, secs. 4-101 through 4-103).
As of January 2019, three political parties were recognized by the State Board of Elections: the Bread and Roses Party, the Democratic Party, and the Republican Party. The Americans Elect Party, the Constitution Party of Maryland, the Green Party, the Independent Party of Maryland, the Libertarian Party, the Populist Party, and the Reform Party no longer are recognized as political parties by the State Board.
State central committees evolved at the end of the nineteenth century as progressive reforms transformed the electoral process, and the procedure for voting came to be more closely regulated. When primary elections developed at the end of the nineteenth century, state central committees formed to oversee their conduct.* In 1886, legal provisions for primaries in Baltimore City were enacted. They were
Two years later, the General Assembly provided for primaries in Allegany County.
By 1892, responsibilities of a local state central committee were noted in a law defining procedures for Queen Anne's County primary elections.
What later became public charges were intermingled with political party expenses.
That same year, legislation outlining the primary process for Baltimore County referred to the state central committee as well.
In recent times, an important function of state central committees has been to name those who will replace General Assembly members who have died, resigned, refused to act, or been disqualified, expelled, or removed from office (Chapter 584, Acts of 1935, ratified Nov. 3, 1936). Although the Governor makes the appointment to fill a vacancy in the General Assembly, the Governor must select the person nominated by the state central committee of the party with which the vacating legislator had been affiliated (Const., Art III, sec. 13).
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