July 2024. A momentous month in presidential history. When the books are written on the country and its Commanders in Chief, no single month may be more important to tell the tale.
Really?
What about September 1796, when President George Washington issued his Farewell Address, signaling that he’d be stepping away from the office after two terms and warning of the dangers of political parties on the way out?
Or the week in April 1865 when President Abraham Lincoln saw the end of the Civil War, expressed his support for the voting rights of (some) Blacks, and was assassinated three days after that?
March 1968 was turbulent too. During a period of division in the country over the war in Vietnam, the brother of the previous president (who like Lincoln was assassinated) entered the presidential primary in opposition to the war supported by the Commander in Chief of his own party. President Lyndon Johnson, also a Democrat, and one who backed the war effort, dropped out of the presidential running that same month, choosing not to seek reelection as the war in Southeast Asia still raged.
What made July 2024 so monumental in presidential history is the month had many elements of the moments above. In addition, it had a Supreme Court decision that changed the office, according to the current Oval Office occupant.
“I dissent,” said President Joe Biden from the White House, on the first day of July. His short, approximately five-minute speech came hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, which granted presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts during a president’s time in that office.
“This nation was founded on the principle that there are no kings in America. Each — each of us is equal before the law,” the Democrat Biden said. “No one — no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States.”
The subject of that July Supreme Court ruling was former President Donald Trump, who is running again for president. The July ruling changed the context of the federal indictment — based on his actions after the 2020 election — he faces.
Less than two weeks after the Supreme Court ruling, during a rally outside in Pennsylvania, the Republican presidential candidate, Trump, was the target of an assassination attempt. He survived; politicians across party lines and the country condemned political violence at home. Foreign wars continued overseas.
Days after the shooting, the former president spoke at the Republican National Convention.
Then, in late July, in a move that reminded some of Washington’s farewell and others of Johnson’s decision to drop out, Biden jolted the country again when he said that he would not seek reelection. Within days, Vice President Kamala Harris, a Black woman, received official support to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee from many Americans, including Maryland’s governor.
More: Maryland leaders react as President Joe Biden announces he won’t seek re-election
A quote often attributed to the once publisher of The Washington Post Philip Graham states: “Journalism is the first rough draft of history.” The first rough draft of July’s history is written, but what that month in 2024 means to the nation now becomes the work of historians — as well as of voters. In November, based on the results at the ballot box, the context for how that story is told is set to be decided by Americans who cast their votes for president.
Voter registration numbers for July in Maryland
For now, Marylanders’ movement because of these national political events can be examined in the context of voter registrations. To be clear, party registration may not move because of national events, nor does a registration necessarily equal a vote for a party’s candidate for any particular office. It is, however, a measurement of political activity, and one that is tied to a specific month.
New voter registrations in July were up from the totals in June as 37,976 people registered across the state, according to a July report from the Maryland State Board of Elections. This total was about 4,000 new registrations more than the total of the previous month.
Of the approximately new 38,000 registrations statewide, a little more than 17,500 registered as Democrats, 6,206 registered as Republicans, and 12,791 registered as unaffiliated in July.
In Washington County, 114 individuals registered as Democrats, 67 individuals registered as Republicans, and 85 registered as unaffiliated during the month of July. This total of less than 300 is somewhat of a drop-off from the 400-plus new voter registrations the county recorded in June.
At the end of July, in Washington County, there were 44,080 registered Republicans (a slight decrease from the total the month prior). The county had 30,258 registered Democrats (also a slight decrease from the total the month prior), and 23,642 registered unaffiliated voters (a slight increase from the total the month prior).
In the state in total, 3,998,102 individuals were registered to vote at the end of July, dipping under the total of 4 million-plus that had been registered the previous month. Most of those removals were done due to “confirmation mail,” the report said.
This is when a registered voter is sent a card to confirm their address, Washington County’s election director said in an interview last month. The card enables a jurisdiction to keep its voting rolls “clean” and the voter to keep registration current.
Statewide, there were 936,742 registered Republicans in July, according to the state board’s website, about 50,000 less than were registered with the party in June.
In July, there were 2,127,771 Democrats in Maryland registered, an approximately 87,000-person dropoff from the month before. This figure was still more than twice the number of the state’s listed Republicans.
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Close to a million people (902,407 to be exact) were registered as unaffiliated in July, according to the state board’s website, the same total as in June.
So what do all of those voter registration numbers mean for the election in November? Time will tell. This much is clear: In Maryland, there was more activity with voter registrations in July 2024. In the country, there were tides of history that changed the nation in July. The direction of those tides?
Like voter registration, it depends on us, American citizens.
The 2024 Presidential General Election is scheduled for Nov. 5.
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Publish date : 2024-08-25 21:00:00
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