President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris received all 10 of Maryland’s electoral votes. The now-certified vote will be given to Vice President Mike Pence to be read aloud to the U.S. Congress.
During the official voice votes and signing of numerous documents on Monday, the 10 electors cast their votes with descriptions like optimism, pride and a repudiation of hate.
Maryland has 10 electors, eight for each of its United States senators and two for its representatives. As it is a winner-take-all state, Biden and Harris were awarded all 10 votes from the six female and four male members.
In the Nov. 3 election, Marylanders cast 300,000 more votes for Biden and Harris than for Pres. Donald Trump and Pence.
Gov. Larry Hogan addressed the electors prior to their vote, thanking them for their work in “the peaceful transition of power,” adding, “It is a hallmark of our democracy that has been handed down.”
Gloria Lawlah, who was state Secretary of Aging from 2007 to 2015 and is from Prince Georges’ County, is president of Maryland’s Electoral College. She presided over the 45-minute meeting on Monday, calling the vote “a repudiation of hate” as well as “an affirmation of benevolence.”
“Today we are turning a page. We are assuring a better nation for our children, for our grandchildren and a better nation for generations to come,” she said right before she called the role. Electors voted separated for Biden and Harris.
Kathleen Matthews, who chaired the Maryland Democratic Party from 2017 to 2019, said she was proud to vote for Biden. She noted that Marylanders had the highest turnout in the state’s history and that Biden and Harris “won our state of Maryland by more than any other presidential ticket in our history.”
According to Jared DeMarinis, director with the state board of elections, said that the United States has held 54 meetings of the electoral college, and Maryland has participated in every one of them, dating back to 1789 when Maryland cast its votew for George Washington. It is only one of six states that has participated in every electoral college, Demarinis said.
Gloria Lawlah, president of Maryland’s Electoral College, Kathleen Harris of Montgomery County and Md. Secretary of State John Wobensmith hold up the certificiation of Maryland’s Electoral College votes.
RIGHT NOW: Meeting of Electoral college. MD is one of 5 states to have participated in every electoral college vote pic.twitter.com/8ydS9tukj8
— Kate Amara (@kateamaraWBAL) December 14, 2020
