The 2024 elections already seem like forever ago, but many of the people we elected have already been in office for a short while! I’m sure we all know who won the presidential election, but do you know who will be representing you in the Senate for the next 6 years? Or who will be considering appeals from almost any Maryland court case for the next 10 years? The important decisions we made last year are going to affect our everyday lives for the upcoming years. Let’s find out more about the recent changes in our government at all levels!
The winner of the most popular and trending election, the presidential election, is Donald Trump and his Vice President is J.D. Vance. They will be inducted into office Monday, January 20th. This ceremony is very traditional, and, although some events have changed, other parts date all the way back to the first swearing in of George Washington. It starts with a procession to the Capitol where, typically, the outgoing President accompanies the President-elect. At the capitol, the Vice President is sworn in first and the President follows shortly after. After the swearing in ceremony, the first lady and President return to the White House and partake in a few other formalities.
This year the elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate has resulted in the Republican party having control of both houses, meaning the party controls both the executive and legislative branch. However, the majority of our newly elected Maryland officials are Democrat: our new senator, Angela Alsobrooks, and our district representatives, John Olszewski, Sarah Elfreth, Glenn Ivey, Steny Hoyer, April McClain Delaney, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, with the exception of senator Andy Harris who is Republican. Our district’s representative is Steny Hoyer, who has represented us since 1981. All the new senators and representatives have already been sworn in on January 3rd, 2025 starting the session of the 119th congress of the US.
The St. Mary’s County Board of Education election may have been the most important to us Raiders, as the members make decisions about our schools, such as who will be the superintendent, approving what will be included (or not) in the budget, evaluating policies, and many more important decisions that directly affect our students. This year, we reelected Cathy Allen as our Vice Chairman At-Large, Mary Washington as our District 4 Member, and elected new member Josh Guy as District 2 Member. These elected officials were sworn in on December 4th, 2024, and have already participated in many meetings.
Another part of our state government that has undergone changes from the election are the Circuit and Appellate Courts. The Circuit Court is in charge of considering appeals from almost any case that originates in a circuit court or an orphans’ court in Maryland. This year, Amy Lorenzini was re-elected to the Associate Judge of the Circuit Court after being appointed there at the beginning of her previous term. The Appellate Court, another part of the Maryland Judicial System, considers appeals from final and other appealable judgments entered in the circuit courts and the orphans’ courts. Our past election has resulted in three new 3 Judges At Large, Anne K. Albright, Kevin F. Arthur, and Andrea M. Leahy. They have already been sworn in and have started hearing cases this year.
Sources:
- https://www.inaugural.senate.gov/inaugural-events/
- https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/36loc/sm/html/smj.html
- https://www.stmaryscountymd.gov/SupervisorOfElections/Election/Results/Race/104/
- https://www.courts.state.md.us/acm
- https://ktla.com/news/washington-dc-bureau/when-do-new-members-of-congress-get-sworn-in-and-what-happens-until-then/
- https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/30sp/html/sp.html
- https://apnews.com/ap-elections-explained
- https://www.smcps.org/about-us/board-of-education
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtHJicy-fUg
- https://www.courts.state.md.us/sites/default/files/import/publications/pdfs/mdjudicialsystem.pdf
