Maryland Green and Forward Leaders to Host Joint Conversation on Election Reform

Andy Ellis, a candidate for the Maryland Green Party’s gubernatorial nomination, and PJ Benenati, Chair of the Maryland Forward Party, will co-host a joint discussion event next week in Baltimore focused on collaboration around electoral reform.

The event, titled “Forward Party & Go Green 2026 Happy Hour and Conversation,” will take place next Monday, October 20, at the Peabody Heights Brewery. It will open at 6:00 PM ET for casual socializing before transitioning into a discussion on collaboration between supporters of the state Forward Party and the Ellis campaign. Registration is open through both groups.

“Whether you’re a long-time Green, a Forward supporter, or simply curious about how we can break out of the two-party stranglehold, this is a space for honest dialogue, shared ideas, and building bridges toward the future,” event advertising reads.

The event will be led by Ellis and Benenati, who will focus on how to advance “a more responsive democracy in Maryland.” The discussion will center on what can be done over the next decade to transition Maryland to a healthy multiparty system and what measures should be taken to reform the primary process in the meantime.

Both the Ellis campaign and the Maryland Forward Party have made election reform a key part of their work. Ellis, who is seeking the Maryland Green Party’s gubernatorial nomination with Owen Andrews as his running mate, states on his campaign website that establishing a multiparty democracy in Maryland is one of his major political priorities. “Ultimately, our goal is to build a vibrant multiparty democracy in Maryland,” the campaign states, “one where five or six parties have the opportunity to represent the varied voices and communities that make up our state.”

Meanwhile, the Maryland Forward Party included multiple election reform proposals in its 2025 legislative agenda and was active this summer in collecting signatures for a proposed ballot measure in Annapolis that would have allowed nonpartisan voters the ability to vote in partisan primaries.