# Maryland HB 0156: Election Law - Affiliating With a Party and Voting - Unaffiliated Voters

Maryland HB 0156, Election Law - Affiliating With a Party and Voting - Unaffiliated Voters, is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Kris Fair (Democratic); status failed, last action 2026-03-12 (Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment) (as of 2026-10-16).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0156-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-16
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland HB 0156
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Election Law - Affiliating With a Party and Voting - Unaffiliated Voters
- Status: failed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-10-03
- Last action: 2026-03-12, Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment
- Sponsor: Kris Fair (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 8
- Subjects: Elections, Elections Supervisors, Emergency Bills, Health -see also- COVID19; EnvHlth; MedCon; etc., Political Parties, Residency -see also- Immigrants and Citizenship, Rules and Regulations, Safety -see also- Occupational Safety, Voting -see also- Absentee and Mail-In Voting
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (110 yes, 26 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Kris Fair (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Mary A. Lehman (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Cheryl E. Pasteur (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Sheila Ruth (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Stuart Michael Schmidt (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Jared Solomon (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Vaughn Stewart (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Jen Terrasa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Chao Wu (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-11 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 110 | 26 | 1 |

## Actions (8)

- 2026-03-12: Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Third Reading Passed (110-26) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (House)
- 2026-03-10: Favorable with Amendments {483629/1 Adopted (House)
- 2026-03-09: Favorable with Amendments Report by Government, Labor, and Elections (House)
- 2026-01-16: Hearing 2/04 at 2:00 p.m. (House)
- 2026-01-14: First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections (House)
- 2025-10-03: Pre-filed (House)

## Bill text

- Third Reading, 2026-03-10: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0156t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-01-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0156f.pdf)

## Related bills

- SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law)
- SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law)
- SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)
- SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law)
- SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law)
- HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)

## Sources
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0156t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/hb/hb0156f.pdf)

## Related
- [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS)
- [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS)
- [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS)
- [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS)
- [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS)
- [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS)
- [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills)
- [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0156-2026RS (as of 2026-10-16).