In Maryland, it is illegal to influence a voter’s decision to go to the polls or vote through the use of force, menace, intimidation, bribe, reward, or offer of reward.

That became our law after the General Assembly overrode Governor Ehrlich’s veto of Senate Bill 287 in 2005.

The Voter’s Rights Protection Act of 2010 authorized a judge to issue an injunction to prevent voter intimidation if there are reasonable grounds to believe such actions are about to happen.

However, this bill did not become law because Senator Andrew Harris objected to its consideration during the final hour of the 90-day session.

He was not alone. Nine Republican senators and 34 Republican delegates voted against this legislation.

In light of the Fox News frenzy over the actions of members of the new Black Panther Party at a polling place in Philadelphia, I welcome bipartisan support when Senator Gladden and I reintroduce this legislation next year.

For the first time in 28 years, I do not have a contested Democratic primary!

July 6 was the filing deadline, and the only candidates for the three seats in the House of Delegates for the 41st District are my two colleagues, Delegates Jill Carter and Nathaniel Oaks, and myself.

We will have a Republican opponent in November, but the Democratic nomination virtually assures us of election. Lisa Gladden, my State Senator, has no opponents in the primary or general election.

We have come a long way from eight years ago. I won then by only 245 votes when the boundary lines of the district were redrawn by the courts after the census.

As I told a reporter, “I am credible when I talk about religious freedom in the Orthodox Jewish community and civil rights issues in the African-American community.”

In addition, our delegation has delivered for the diverse communities of the 41st District – from capital improvements for firehouses and outdoor running tracks, to making the wheels of government function properly for our constituents.

I won’t be taking the summer off. I have some bills I hope to pass next year, and I’ll now be able to begin the groundwork to accomplish that. There are several friends in the House of Delegates whom I’ll be campaigning for in the coming weeks, as well as Governor O’Malley and the rest of the Democratic ticket in the fall.

“Sunlight is the most powerful of all disinfectants,” wrote Justice Louis Brandeis, decades before Congressional Republicans slunk to the shadows on disclosure of campaign contributions.

There are no limits on independent campaign expenditures by corporations in federal or state law in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s reversal of precedent in the Citizens United case.

In this year’s elections, we will undoubtedly see special interest money flooding into races where a governor or legislator took action that moneyed interests disliked.

The House of Representatives has passed an amended version of Congressman Chris Van Hollen’s bill rerquiring disclosure of the principal funding sources for independent expenditures. This legislation would also limit campaign spending by companies doing business with the government, as well as foreign controlled corporations.

Despite crippling amendments, the bill still has merit. Now it must survive a filibuster by Senate Republicans to become law.

Whatever the outcome in Washington, we will reintroduce legislation in Annapolis next year addressing the consequences for our electoral process flowing from United Citizens.

Two of my colleagues, Delegate Jon Cardin and Senator Brian Frosh, joined me in sending this letter to the editor of the Sun. We sponsored legislation in response to Citizens United at this year’s General Assembly Session.

“All politics is local,” House Speaker Tip O’Neill famously said.

The lesson that the future Speaker learned when he first ran for public office – and lost, I put into practice at every front door.

After his unsuccessful race for the City Council in Cambridge, Massachusetts, O’Neill asked a relative if she had voted for him.

“No,” she replied, “you never asked.”

Every election after that, on his way to the polls, Tip would turn to his wife and say, “Mrs. O’Neill, I’m asking for your vote.”

That’s what I say to people when they open their door for me.  Even if I’m interrupting their dinner, they appreciate the fact that I came to ask for their vote.

I didn’t take advantage of their going shopping to thrust my campaign piece in their hands or their grocery bag.

After all, all politics is local – and personal.