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Laws governing the referendum process in Maryland
Laws and procedures
Citizens of Maryland may repeal any legislative act or part of an act via veto referendum. Maryland does not feature the power of initiative.
Subject restrictions
The Maryland Constitution forbids the use of the veto referendum power on any law "making any appropriation for maintaining the State Government, or for maintaining or aiding any public institution, not exceeding the next previous appropriation for the same purpose." In other words, the continuation of basic appropriations to meet the state's budget cannot be put to a vote through a signature petition. Increases to appropriations made in the past, however, are subject to the referendum power.
Moreover, the constitution declares, "No law, licensing, regulating, prohibiting, or submitting to local option, the manufacture or sale of malt or spirituous liquors, shall be referred or repealed under the provisions of this Article."
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 2 and Section 6
Veto referendums on emergency legislation
In Maryland, veto referendums can be used on emergency legislation.
- Signatures are due the first day of June following the legislature's adjournment.
- Emergency legislation cannot be suspended and remains in effect until 30 days after the election.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 2
Starting a petition
Applying to petition
A draft of the petition form should be submitted prior to circulation to receive approval or technical suggestions from the state board of elections.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3 and Maryland State Statutes, Election Law, Section 6-202
Petition summary
The form of the petition for a veto referendum is set out by state law. The petition must contain (1) an information sheet and (2) the signature sheets.
The information sheet must contain:
- a description of the purpose of the petition
- identification of the sponsor of the petition
- summary information about the signatures contained in the petition
- an affidavit as to the validity of the petition
Each signature sheet must contain:
- a description of the purpose of the petition
- a fair and accurate summary of the bill or parts of a bill targeted by the referendum or the full text of the targeted law
- a statement to which each signer subscribes saying that the signer supports the purpose of the petition and is a registered voter in the county specified
- a space for the signer's signature and required information, including
- the signer's name and signature
- the date of signing
- the signer's address
- the county in which the signer is registered to vote
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3 and Maryland State Statutes, Election Law, Section 6-201
Collecting signatures
Each initiative and referendum state employs a unique method of calculating the state's signature requirements. Some states mandate a certain fraction of registered voters while others base their calculation on those who actually voted in a preceding election. In addition, many states employ a distribution requirement, dictating where in the state these signatures must be collected. Beyond these overarching requirements, many states regulate the manner in which signatures may be collected and the timeline for collecting them.
Number required
In Maryland, the number of signatures needed to place a referendum on the ballot is equal to 3 percent of the total number of votes cast for the governor in the preceding election. The requirement for veto referendums on local laws is equal to 10 percent of the total number of votes cast for the governor in the affected jurisdiction.
Below are the signature requirements that referendum proponents must meet to get their initiatives on the ballot in that year, with gubernatorial election years bolded.
| Year | Signatures |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 60,157 |
| 2024 | 60,157 |
| 2022 | 69,135 |
| 2020 | 69,135 |
| 2018 | 51,996 |
| 2016 | 51,996 |
| 2014 | 55,736 |
| 2012 | 55,736 |
| 2010 | 53,650 |
| 2008 | 53,650 |
| 2006 | 51,185 |
| 2004 | 51,185 |
Distribution requirements
- See also: Distribution requirements
Of the signatures required to qualify a veto referendum question for the ballot, not more than half can be from residents of Baltimore City or any one county.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3
Restrictions on circulators
Affidavit
- See also: Circulator affidavit
Attached to each signature petition sheet, an affidavit signed by the circulator must state, "that the signatures were affixed in his (/her) presence and that, based upon the person's best knowledge and belief, every signature on the paper is genuine and bona fide and that the signers are registered voters at the address set opposite or below their names."
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 4
Who may sign
Qualified electors of the state are permitted to sign a referendum petition.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3
Electronic signatures
- See also: Electronic petition signatures
Since electronic signatures are an emerging technology, the constitutionality of bans on e-signatures and the legality of e-signatures in states without bans is largely untested. Maryland law does require petitioners to sign an affidavit stating that all signatures were affixed to the petition in his or her presence.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 4
Deadlines for collection
Signatures for a referendum petition against a legislative bill must be collected after the bill has been approved by the legislature.
Unless a bill is approved by a three-fifths supermajority in the legislature and labeled as an emergency bill, all bills passed by the legislature go into effect on the first day of June in the year following the legislative session in which the bill was passed.
For non-emergency bills, at least one-third of the required signatures, which amounts to a number equal to 1 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, must be filed with the secretary of state by the first of June on which the bill would have gone into effect. If this is accomplished, petitioners have until June 30 to turn in the remaining two-thirds of the required signatures.
For emergency bills or bills passed less than 45 days before June 1, referendum petitioners have until 30 days after the bill is passed by the legislature to turn in the first one-third of required signatures. If this is accomplished, they have 30 more days to collect and submit the remaining two-thirds of the signatures.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3
Withdrawal
Up until the petition is filed, any signer can have his signature removed from the petition "upon written application to" the secretary of state.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3 and Maryland State Statutes, Election Law, Section 6-203
Getting on the ballot
Once signatures have been collected, state officials must verify that requirements are met and that fraudulent signatures are excluded. States generally employ a random sample process or a full verification of signatures. After verification, the issue must be prepared for the ballot. This often involves preparing a fiscal review and ballot summary.
Signature verification
- See also: Signature certification
A preliminary verification takes place upon the submission of a petition to ensure that there are least enough raw signatures to potentially make the threshold and to make sure all technical and formatting rules were followed. The process for signature verification is set out by state law. Its goal is "to ensure that the name of the individual who signed the petition is listed as a registered voter." Once a petition is submitted, but before the deadline for submission of signatures, additional signature petition sheets can be attached to the already submitted petition.
In Maryland, a random sampling method can be used as prescribed by the State Board. At least 5 percent or 500 of the submitted signatures, whichever is greater, must be inspected in the random sampling verification process. If between 95 percent and 105 percent of the required number of signatures are indicated by the random sampling, a full check is required.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3 and Maryland State Statutes, Election Law, Section 6-205, Section 6-207 and Section 6-208
The election and beyond
Ballot measures often face additional challenges beyond qualifying for the ballot and receiving a majority of the vote. Several states require ballot measures to get more than a simple majority. While some states mandate a three-fifths supermajority, other states set the margin differently. In addition, ballot measures may face legal challenge or modification by legislators. If a ballot measure does fail, some states limit how soon that initiative can be re-attempted.
Ballot title
For the election, the secretary of state provides a ballot title for the targeted law "in such form as to present the purpose of said measure concisely and intelligently." The law specifies that the legislative title can be used, but does not have to be used. The following options must be presented to voters.
"For the referred law" and "Against the referred law."
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 5
Supermajority requirements
- See also: Supermajority requirements
A simple majority of the votes cast on the referendum is required to dictate the outcome.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3
Effective date
If the referendum was on a non-emergency bill, which was halted from going into effect by the referendum petition, the law continues to be ineffective if voters reject it. If voters vote in favor of the referred law, it goes into effect 30 days after the election.
If the referendum targeted an emergency bill that already became effective, no change would be made by a majority vote in favor of the bill. Upon a majority vote against the bill, the law would be repealed effective 30 days after the election.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3
Litigation
- See also: Ballot measure lawsuit news
Any complaints as to the referendum title or the sufficiency of signatures should be made in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County.
See law: Maryland Constitution, Article XVI, Section 3 and Maryland State Statutes, Election Law, Section 6-209
Legislative alteration
- See also: Legislative alteration
See also
- Laws governing ballot measures
- Laws governing ballot measures in Maryland
- List of Maryland ballot measures
Changes in the law
| Contents |
|---|
| 1 Laws and procedures |
| 2 Changes in the law |
| 2.1 Proposed changes by year |
| 2.1.1 2022 |
| 2.1.2 2021 |
| 2.1.3 2010 |
| 2.1.4 2019 |
| 2.1.5 2018 |
| 2.1.6 2017 |
| 2.1.7 2016 |
| 2.1.8 2015 |
| 2.1.9 2014 |
| 2.1.10 2013 |
The following laws have been proposed that modify ballot measure law in Maryland. If a box is empty for any given year, it means Ballotpedia did not track any ballot measure or recall-related laws in that year.
Proposed changes by year
2021
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2020
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2019
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2018
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2017
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2016
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2015
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2014
The following bills were introduced in the Maryland State Legislature:
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2013
The following bills were introduced in the Maryland State Legislature:
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2012
The following bills were introduced in the Maryland State Legislature:
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2011
The following bills were introduced in the Maryland General Assembly:
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2010
The following bills were introduced in the Maryland General Assembly:
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Footnotes
