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Maryland Question 2, Residency Requirements for State Legislators Amendment (2022)

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Maryland Question 2
Flag of Maryland.png
Election date
November 8, 2022
Topic
State legislatures measures
Status
Approveda Approved
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
State legislature

Maryland Question 2, the Residency Requirements for State Legislators Amendment, was on the ballot in Maryland as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.[1] The ballot measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to require beginning in January 2024 that candidates for the state legislature maintain a primary place of abode in the district they wish to represent for at least six months prior to the date of their election or for as long as the district has been in existence and changing all gendered language in the amended sections to gender-neutral language.

A "no" vote opposed amending the state constitution to require, in addition to the existing six-month district residency requirement, that candidates for the state legislature maintain a primary place of abode in the district they wish to represent for at least six months prior to the date of their election or for as long as the district has been in existence and changing all gendered language in the amended sections to gender-neutral language.


Election results

Maryland Question 2

Result Votes Percentage

Approved Yes

1,684,519 90.20%
No 183,099 9.80%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Overview

What did Question 2 change?

See also: Text of measure

Question 2 required that state legislative candidates maintain a primary home in the district that a candidate wishes to represent for at least six months prior to the date of the election or for as long as the district has been in existence.

The law also changed gendered language in the amended section to gender-neutral language. It took effect on January 1, 2024.[2]

What were the existing requirements for state legislative candidates?

See also: Background

At the time of the election, state legislative candidates were required to be:

  • at least 25 years of age to run for the Senate or at least 21 years of age to run for the House;
  • a citizen of the state;
  • a resident in the state for at least one year prior to the election; and
  • a resident in the district the candidate wishes to represent for at least six months prior to the election.[2]

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:[3]

“ Adds to the eligibility requirements to serve as a senator or a delegate to the Maryland General Assembly by requiring a person to have maintained a primary place of abode in the district that the person has been chosen to represent. Under current law, a person must have resided in the district to which the person has been elected for at least six months immediately preceding the date of the person's election or, if the district has been established for less than six months prior to the date of election, as long as the district has been established. The new law requires, beginning January 1, 2024, a person must have both resided in and maintained a primary place of abode in the district for the same time periods as under current law.

(Amending Article IL, Section 9 to the Maryland Constitution)

[ ] For the Constitutional Amendment

[ ]Against the Constitutional Amendment[4]

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article III, Maryland Constitution

Question 2 amended section 9 of Article III of the Maryland Constitution. The following underlined text was added, and struck-through text was deleted:[2] Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Text of Section 9: A person is eligible to serve as a Senator or Delegate, who on the date of his the person's election, (1) is a citizen of the State of Maryland, (2) has resided therein for at least one year next preceding that date, and (3) if the district which he that the person has been chosen to represent has been established for at least six months prior to the date of his the person's election, has resided in that district for six months next preceding that date and, beginning January 1, 2024, has maintained a primary place of abode in that district for six months next preceding that date.

If the district which that the person has been chosen to represent has been established less than six months prior to the date of his the person's election, then in addition to (1) and (2) above, he the person shall have resided in the district for as long as it has been established and, beginning January 1, 2024, has maintained a primary place of abode in the district for as long as it has been established.

A person is eligible to serve as a Senator, if he the person has attained the age of twenty-five years, or as a Delegate, if he the person has attained the age of twenty-one years, on the date of his the person's election.[4]

Full text

The full text can be found here.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 17, and the FRE is 35. The word count for the ballot title is 138.


Support

Supporters

Officials

Organizations

  • Black Girls Vote, Inc.
  • Prince George's Young Democrats

Individuals

Arguments

  • State Sen. Charles Sydnor III (D): "While 'intent' seems like it should be a straightforward standard that fairly represents someone’s domicile, in reality one can provide evidence suggesting their intent to domicile in one place while actually spending most of their time at a place of abode located elsewhere. Allowing legislators to do this will prevent a true understanding of the issues that their constituents’ day to day experiences. Ultimately, the ruling in Blount harms constituents because it opens up the possibility that they may be represented by someone who does not understand the needs of their community and may not have their best interests at heart. ... This amendment fills this constitutional gap and requires that representatives or individuals seeking office not only reside in the district they represent, but also maintain a place of abode there."


Opposition

If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Maryland ballot measures

Ballotpedia has not identified any committees registered in support of or opposition to Question 2.[5]

Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Support $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Oppose $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Total $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Media editorials

See also: 2022 ballot measure media endorsements

Ballotpedia identified the following media editorial boards as taking positions on the measure.

Ballotpedia lists the positions of media editorial boards that support or oppose ballot measures. This does not include opinion pieces from individuals or groups that do not represent the official position of a newspaper or media outlet. Ballotpedia includes editorials from newspapers and outlets based on circulation and readership, political coverage within a state, and length of publication. You can share media editorial board endorsements with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Support

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opposition

  • Baltimore Sun Editorial Board: "Question 2: Against. ... The current residency requirement for Maryland legislators is already stricter than requirements U.S. Congress members are held to (they only have to live in the state they represent, not the district), and it’s enough to ensure a commitment from political candidates."


Background

Blount v. Boston (1998)

Senator Clarence W. Blount (D) was first elected to the Maryland State Senate to represent District 41 in 1970. Prior to the primary election in September 1998, Frank D. Boston, Jr., who was running against Blount in the primary, filed a lawsuit to have Blount removed from the ballot arguing that he did not meet the constitutional residency requirement of residing in District 41. On September 1, 1998, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that Blount was eligible to represent District 41 because he domiciled at an address within District 41. Blount owned several other properties in Maryland outside of District 41 where he also resided when he was recovering from surgeries. The court ruled, "If the residency requirement for representing a particular legislative district in the General Assembly were that one must have his or her primary place of abode in that district, we would have affirmed the judgment of the court below. Under such a requirement, many prior cases in this Court would have been decided differently. The requirement, however, is that one must be domiciled in the district, and domicile is not synonymous with primary place of abode." The court ruled that domicile is determined by the intent of the candidate.[6]

Requirements to run for state legislature in Maryland

See also: Article III, Maryland Constitution

At the time of the election, Section 9 of Article 3 of the Maryland Constitution stated the requirements to run for state legislature in Maryland. Candidates must be:

  • a citizen of Maryland;
  • a resident of Maryland for at least one year prior to the election;
  • a resident of the district they wish to represent for at least six months prior to the election or if the district has not been established for at least six months they must be a resident for as long as the district has been established;
  • 25 years of age to be elected to the Maryland State Senate; and
  • 21 years of age to be elected to the Maryland House of Delegates.

Requirements to run for state legislature by state

Below is a sortable table with the minimum candidate requirements for state legislatures by state. Click show to view the full table.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Maryland Constitution

To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a 60% vote is required in both the Maryland State Senate and the Maryland House of Representatives.

Question 2 was introduced as Senate Bill 55 (SB 55) on January 13, 2021, by Senator Charles Sydnor III (D). It was approved in the state Senate in a vote of 47-0 on April 9, 2021. On April 12, 2021, the state House passed an amended version in a vote of 137-0 with four not voting or absent. The state Senate concurred with the amendments on the same day with a vote of 47-0.[1]

Vote in the Maryland House of Representatives
April 12, 2021
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 85  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total13704
Total percent97.16%0.00%2.84%
Democrat9504
Republican4200
Vote in the Maryland State Senate
April 12, 2021
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 29  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total4700
Total percent100.00%0.00%0.00%
Democrat3200
Republican1500

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Maryland

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Maryland.

How to vote in Maryland


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maryland State Legislature, "Overview of SB 55," accessed April 12, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Maryland State Legislature, "Text of SB 55," accessed April 12, 2021
  3. ↑ Marlyand.gov, "Ballot titles," accessed August 11, 2022
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
  5. ↑ Maryland.gov, "Campaign finance," accessed March 29, 2022
  6. ↑ Justia, Blount v. Boston, September 1, 1998
  7. ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Rules and Information for Voters," accessed April 18, 2023
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Maryland State Board of Elections, "Introduction," accessed April 18, 2023
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 NCSL, "State Profiles: Elections," accessed August 25, 2024
  10. ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
  11. ↑ Maryland Attorney General, "Voting FAQ," accessed April 13, 2023
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