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City elections in Baltimore, Maryland (2020)
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2022 →
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| 2020 Baltimore elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: January 24, 2020 |
| Primary election: June 2, 2020 General election: November 3, 2020 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor, city comptroller, 15 city council seats, five circuit court judgeships |
| Total seats up: 22 (click here for mayoral elections) |
| Election type: Partisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2020 |
The city of Baltimore, Maryland, held general elections for mayor, city comptroller, 15 city council seats, and five circuit court judgeships on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for June 2, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was January 24, 2020.
Click here to learn more about the city's mayoral election.
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Maryland modified its absentee/mail-in and candidate filing procedures, early voting, and polling places for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:
- Absentee/mail-in voting: Absentee/mail-in ballot request forms sent to all qualified voters in the general election. The return deadline for absentee/mail-in ballot requests was October 20, 2020.
- Candidate filing procedures: The petition signature requirement for obtaining party status for the Green and Libertarian parties was reduced from 10,000 to 5,000 signatures. The nomination petition signature requirement for unaffiliated candidates was reduced by 50 percent.
- Early voting: An early voting period ran from October 26, 2020 through November 2, 2020.
- Polling places: All early voting centers and Election Day polling locations were open on November 3, 2020. The Maryland State Board of Elections operated a limited number of centralized voting centers in lieu of precinct polling places for in-person voting in the general election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Elections
Click on the tabs below to show more information about those topics.
Candidates and results
City comptroller
General election
General election for Baltimore City Comptroller
Bill Henry won election in the general election for Baltimore City Comptroller on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Bill Henry (D) | 98.7 | 206,919 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 2,684 | ||
| Total votes: 209,603 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Baltimore City Comptroller
Bill Henry defeated incumbent Joan Pratt in the Democratic primary for Baltimore City Comptroller on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bill Henry | 54.7 | 74,135 |
| Joan Pratt | 45.3 | 61,388 | ||
| Total votes: 135,523 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
City council
Baltimore City Council general election candidates |
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Franca Muller Paz (Green Party) |
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Circuit court judgeships
General election candidates
- Sylvester B. Cox Jr. (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Althea M. Handy (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Gregory Sampson (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Robert Taylor (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
- Anthony Vittoria (Incumbent) (Nonpartisan) ✔
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Maryland elections, 2020
Local ballot measures
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question A, Affordable Housing Program Bond Issue (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported the city issuing $12 million in bonds to provide funding for planning, developing, and executing the city Affordable Housing Program. |
A "no" vote opposed the city issuing $12 million in bonds to provide funding for planning, developing, and executing the city Affordable Housing Program. |
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question B, School Bond Issue (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported the city issuing $38 million in bonds to provide funding for school construction and improvements. |
A "no" vote opposed the city issuing $38 million in bonds to provide funding for school construction and improvements. |
A "yes" vote supported the city issuing $38 million in bonds to provide funding for community, commercial, and industrial economic development programs. |
A "no" vote opposed the city issuing $38 million in bonds to provide funding for community, commercial, and industrial economic development programs. |
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question D, City Buildings and Infrastructure Bond Issue (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported the city issuing $72 million in bonds to provide funding for public buildings, structures, and facilities. |
A "no" vote opposed the city issuing $72 million in bonds to provide funding for public buildings, structures, and facilities. |
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question E, Charter Revision Commission Amendment (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported this charter amendment to require a Charter Revision Commission to meet at least once every 10 years for the purpose of making recommendations for deletions, additions, or revisions to the City Charter. |
A "no" vote opposed this charter amendment to require a Charter Revision Commission to meet at least once every 10 years for the purpose of making recommendations for deletions, additions, or revisions to the City Charter. |
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question F, City Council Budget Powers Amendment (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported this charter amendment to allow the city council to reduce and increase spending in the city budget as long as additions do not exceed reductions. |
A "no" vote opposed this charter amendment, thus continuing to allow the city council to reduce spending in the city budget but not re-allocate the money in the budget. |
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question G, Veto Override Vote Requirement Amendment (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported this charter amendment to reduce the number of votes needed to override a mayor's veto from three-fourths to two-thirds of city council members. |
A "no" vote opposed this charter amendment, this keeping the number of votes needed to override a mayor's veto at two-thirds of city council members. |
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question H, Veto Override Schedule Amendment (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported this charter amendment to allow the city council to override a veto at the next regular council meeting if no meetings are held between when the veto is presented to the council and 20 days thereafter. |
A "no" vote opposed this charter amendment, thus continuing to require that the city council can override a veto no more than 20 days after the veto is presented to the council. |
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question I, Council Vote to Remove Elected Officials Amendment (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported this charter amendment to allow the city council to remove council members, the council president, the mayor, or the comptroller by a three-fourths vote of council members upon charges brought by the mayor, the city council committee on legislative investigations, the inspector general, or a petition signed by 20% of qualified voters in the city. |
A "no" vote opposed this charter amendment to allow the city council to remove council members, the council president, the mayor, or the comptroller by a three-fourths vote of council members, thereby leaving existing provisions allowing the city council to remove the council president with a two-thirds vote or the comptroller from office with a majority vote based on charges brought by the mayor. |
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question J, City Auditor Duties Amendment (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported this charter amendment to empower the city auditor to issue subpoenas to city officers, municipal employees, or any other person receiving public funds and to require the city auditor to give copies of agency audits to the agencies that were audited. |
A "no" vote opposes this charter amendment to empower the city auditor to issue subpoenas to city officers, municipal employees, or any other person receiving public funds and to require the city auditor to give copies of agency audits to the agencies that were audited. |
• Baltimore, Maryland, Question K, City Administrator Amendment (November 2020): ✔
A "yes" vote supported this charter amendment to establish the position of City Administrator as the Chief Administrative Officer of Baltimore City. |
A "no" vote opposed this charter amendment to establish the position of City Administrator as the Chief Administrative Officer of Baltimore City. |
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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About the city
- See also: Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is an independent city in Maryland. As of 2020, its population was 585,708.
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Baltimore uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Baltimore, Maryland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | Maryland | |
| Population | 585,708 | 6,177,224 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 80 | 9,711 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 29.7% | 54.2% |
| Black/African American | 62.3% | 29.9% |
| Asian | 2.5% | 6.4% |
| Native American | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% |
| Other (single race) | N/A | 4.7% |
| Multiple | 3.2% | 4.5% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 5.4% | 10.3% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 85.5% | 90.6% |
| College graduation rate | 32.9% | 40.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $52,164 | $87,063 |
| Persons below poverty level | 20% | 9% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Pivot Counties
- See also: Pivot Counties by state
There are no Pivot Counties in Maryland. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.
In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Maryland with 60.3 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 33.9 percent. In presidential elections between 1789 and 2016, Maryland voted Democratic 52 percent of the time and Republican 21 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Maryland voted Democratic all five times.[1]
See also
| Baltimore, Maryland | Maryland | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
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