Bryan Sears

Bryan P. Sears

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Bryan Sears covers the governor and General Assembly, state politics and transportation for Maryland Matters. He has covered the Maryland State House for the last two decades at the Baltimore Sun Media Group, Patch.com and most recently, The Daily Record. Sears has won multiple state and national awards for police and crime reporting, local and state government coverage and investigative reporting that resulted in a guilty plea by a government official for stealing from his own campaign account. He’s a frequent radio and television contributor.

Moore makes changes, announcing new chief legislative officer, lottery head
Maryland

Moore shuffles staff, announcing new chief legislative officer, lottery head

Jul 24, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
Changes are coming to the second floor as a longtime State House aide leaves and the former regulator of the state’s cannabis industry moves in. Gov. Wes Moore (D) Friday named Will Tilburg, the former director of the Maryland Cannabis...
Minnesota printer takes responsibility for mail-in ballot error
Maryland

Minnesota printer takes responsibility for mail-in ballot error

Jul 24, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
Representatives at a Minnesota printing company took full responsibility Thursday for an error that required 447,000 mail-in ballots to be resent to Maryland voters and vowed new procedures had been put in place to ensure no future problems. Officials of...
Elections board chair announces departure, new chair takes the reins
Maryland

Elections board chair announces departure, new chair takes the reins

Jul 23, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
Maryland State Board of Elections Chair Michael G. Summers announced Thursday that he will leave the board on July 31, leaving the five-member board evenly split for now between Democratic and Republican members. Summers’ announcement came the same day the...
DeMarinis asks state prosecutor to investigate prediction markets
Maryland

Top election official asks state prosecutor to investigate prediction markets

Jul 23, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
Maryland’s top election official is asking the state prosecutor to investigate the legality of prediction market platforms. The letter comes weeks after Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis issued a strong warning about wagering on the outcome of elections in the state...
Board approves $109 million voting machine contract over objections
Maryland

Board approves $109M voting machine contract despite concerns

Jul 23, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
The Board of Public Works approved a multimillion-dollar contract Wednesday for a new voting system for the 2028 election, despite objections from critics that the system lacks some state and federal certifications. The board — with Comptroller Brooke Lierman absent...
Moore issues executive order officially calling special session
Maryland

Moore issues executive order officially calling special session

Jul 21, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
Gov. Wes Moore (D) has issued an executive order calling the Maryland General Assembly back to Annapolis next month. House and Senate leaders had already agreed on an Aug. 3-5 special session to pass legislation that will set legal standards...
House, Senate leaders draw hard line on special session topics
Maryland

House, Senate leaders draw hard line on special session topics

Jul 20, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
The leaders of the House of Delegates and the Senate are setting strict limits on legislation that can be introduced in the upcoming special session. In a joint letter to delegates and senators Monday, Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City)...
DeMarinis tells feds voter rolls are secure, removing voters ‘must be certain’
Maryland

DeMarinis tells feds voter rolls are secure, removing voters ‘must be certain’

Jul 16, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
Maryland’s top election official said in a letter to federal officials that Maryland is following federal and state law as it maintains voter rolls, and stressed the importance of reining in comments that sow distrust in elections. The letter Tuesday...
Sharply differing views, but unanimous ruling in election residency case
Maryland

Sharply differing views, but unanimous ruling in election residency case

Jul 14, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
Maryland’s highest court unanimously removed an Anne Arundel County candidate from the primary ballot, but an opinion published Monday shows division in how the court arrived at that decision. Monday’s opinion explained the reasoning behind the court’s April decision that...
Seidman moves on, Agriculture staffs up, Barron gets another role, in political notes
Maryland

Seidman moves on, Agriculture staffs up, Barron gets another role, in political notes

Jul 10, 2026
Bryan P. Sears Christine Condon
A senior aide to Senate President Bill Ferguson is leaving for the private sector. Ross Seidman, senior counsel to the Baltimore Democrat and an eight-year veteran of the Senate leader’s office, will become vice president of advisory services at MD...
State claims immunity from some sexual abuse lawsuits filed under the Child Victims Act
Maryland

State claims immunity from some sexual abuse lawsuits filed under the Child Victims Act

Jul 09, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
The Supreme Court of Maryland has agreed to hear the state’s challenge to the Child Victims Act in a case that could end hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits and save the state and its taxpayers more than $1 billion, while...
Justice Department threatens Maryland’s top election official with criminal charges
Maryland

Justice Department threatens Maryland’s top election official with criminal charges

Jul 08, 2026
Bryan P. Sears
Maryland’s top election official is being threatened with criminal charges by the Justice Department, the latest effort by President Donald Trump and his administration to pressure state elections officials and cast doubt on the validity of this fall’s elections, say...