EARLY VOTING JUNE 11–18 | ELECTION DAY IS JUNE 23
Ashanti
Martinez
DEMOCRAT
for Maryland House of Delegates | District 22
From New Carrollton.
Built for Service.
Ashanti Martinez grew up in a working-class family in New Carrollton. Of Afro-Latino heritage with roots in Puerto Rico, he was organizing before he could vote: joining the Prince George's County Young Democrats at 14 and creating the LGBTQ Student Liaison position for the county's regional student government association before finishing high school.
He is the first Latino to represent District 22 and the first openly gay person to represent Prince George's County in the Maryland General Assembly. In December 2025, less than three years after being sworn in, House Speaker Peña-Melnyk named him House Majority Whip — one of the most consequential leadership positions in the chamber.
Ashanti Martinez Is Fighting For:
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Quality Health Care for Every Marylander
Ashanti has focused on health care access and quality since his first day in office. Two of his bills were signed into law — one requiring the state to study nursing home staffing wages and care spending, another expanding public tracking of Alzheimer's disease prevalence and hospitalization data. In 2026, he joined the House Health Committee, focused on elder care, maternal health, and reducing health disparities.
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LGBTQ+ Equality
Ashanti has consistently supported LGBTQ+ equality in law. He championed the Trans Health Equity Act requiring Maryland Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care, and in 2026 introduced the Birth Certificate Modernization Act to allow non-binary Marylanders to select "X" as a gender option on their birth certificates.
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Protecting Immigrant Communities
Ashanti has been one of the most active members of the General Assembly on immigration. He supported the Community Trust Act and legislation banning formal jail-ICE cooperation agreements. He also chairs the NHCSL Immigration Task Force, leading immigration policy work for Hispanic state legislators across all U.S. states, commonwealths, and territories.
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Children's Mental Health and Education
Ashanti supported the Cameron Carden Act — the first Maryland law allowing college students to withdraw and receive a tuition refund for mental health reasons. In 2026, he introduced legislation to tax large social media companies and direct those dollars to children's mental health programs in Maryland schools.
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A Fairer Criminal Justice System
Ashanti supported the Expungement Reform Act, reducing waiting periods and expanding the convictions eligible for erasure. He also supported the Maryland Second Look Act, allowing people convicted of crimes between ages 18–25 to petition for a sentence reduction after serving 20 years.
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Clean Energy
Before taking office, Ashanti signed a pledge committing Maryland to 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035. He has backed that commitment in Annapolis — supporting landmark legislation setting a goal of 8.5 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2031 and modernizing the grid to transmit that energy to land.
Vote Ashanti Martinez for Maryland house of delegates
ELECTION DAY IS JUNE 23 | VOTE EARLY 6/11-6/18