Maryland Moment, the Washington Post blog, reports that the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee has decided to use open ballots in future votes on appointments to open state legislative and central committee seats:
Looks like Delegate Saqib Ali won the argument if not the Senate seat.Montgomery County's Democratic Central Committee has decided to ditch the secret ballot and open up its process for filling vacancies in the General Assembly.
Three Montgomery delegates had introduced legislation this session to try to force the committee's hand to create a more transparent process. But the party has voluntarily decided to change its rules as part of an overhaul of several policies.
Karen Britto, the committee chairman, said the idea was overwhelmingly endorsed to have a "nice, open process so that everyone would know how everyone voted."
Del. Saqib Ali, the sponsor of the legislation, praised the committee and said this afternoon that he would withdraw his bill.
"I applaud the central committee for making the process more transparent and improving it for future elections," he said. "They got out in front of the issue."
