Against 1, 2 & 3. For Question A.
Four questions will be on your ballot this fall. Three would rewrite the Maryland Constitution; one would strengthen Frederick County's term limits. Here is what each one does, and how we recommend you vote.
Turn your ballot over. The ballot questions are on sheet 2, on both the front and the back. Don't stop after the candidates.
Binding arbitration for state employee contracts
What it does
Requires the Governor's budget to fund every state employee union contract, including terms set by an outside arbitrator when negotiations reach an impasse. A companion law that creates the binding-arbitration process takes effect only if this amendment passes.
Why we're against it
- Someone voters never elected would set the cost. If talks stall, an arbitrator could decide pay and benefits, and the Governor would be required to fund whatever is decided.
- Taxpayers lose bargaining power. When a union knows an impasse ends in arbitration with guaranteed funding, the State has far less leverage at the table.
- It puts spending pressure in the Constitution. Maryland's budget is already under strain, and a constitutional requirement can't be fixed with an ordinary bill if costs outgrow revenue.
- Accountability belongs with elected officials. The people who set the budget should be the people voters can replace.
Temporary appointments to the Commission on Judicial Disabilities
What it does
The Commission on Judicial Disabilities disciplines Maryland judges. When a member is recused, disqualified, or reaches the end of a term, this would let the Chair recall a former member, or let the Governor, at the Chair's request, appoint a temporary substitute or extend a member's term.
Why we're against it
- It skips Senate confirmation. Regular members must be confirmed by the Senate. Substitutes and recalled members would not be.
- Seats would be filled case by case. A substitute picked after a recusal is chosen with a specific complaint against a specific judge already pending. That invites the appearance, or the reality, of choosing who judges the judges.
- It concentrates power. Control over judicial discipline would shift toward the Commission Chair and the Governor.
- There's a better fix. Standing alternates, confirmed ahead of time, would cover vacancies without ad hoc appointments.
Congressional redistrictingStop the 8–0 gerrymander
What it does
Removes the Maryland Constitution's standards for congressional maps (compact districts that respect natural boundaries and county and city lines), declares that the state constitution provides no criteria for congressional districts, and allows the General Assembly to send challenges to the maps directly to the Supreme Court of Maryland.
Why we're against it
- It opens the door to an 8–0 map. The goal is to let Annapolis redraw the lines to eliminate Maryland's only Republican seat in Congress.
- It undoes a ruling that protected voters. In 2022, a Maryland judge struck down the legislature's congressional map as an extreme partisan gerrymander. This amendment is designed so that can't happen again.
- It removes protections for communities. Without the rule to respect county and city lines, Frederick County could be split up to serve party goals instead of being kept together.
- It was rushed. It passed in a summer special session and was blocked by two lower courts before a divided Supreme Court of Maryland allowed it onto the ballot.
- It limits review. Sending challenges straight to the Supreme Court skips the trial-level fact-finding that exposed the 2022 gerrymander.
Lifetime term limits for County Council and County Executive
What it does
Amends the County Charter so a County Council member could serve no more than three terms, and the County Executive no more than two, in a lifetime. Today those limits apply only to consecutive terms.
Why we're for it
- It closes a loophole. Under the current rules, an official can sit out one term and then run again, resetting the clock. This makes the charter's limits mean what they say.
- It keeps county government close to residents. Term limits favor citizens who serve for a while and return to private life over career politicians.
- It opens the door to new candidates. Long-serving incumbents build advantages in name recognition, fundraising, and connections that newcomers struggle to match.
- It limits entrenched influence. Fixed limits cut down on the long-term ties between officials and special interests that build up over decades.
- It's a familiar principle. The President is limited to two terms for life. Voters still choose every election; this simply sets an outer limit.
- Frederick County can lead. Frederick would be the first county in Maryland with lifetime limits for these offices.
Keep power with the voters.
Questions 1, 2, and 3 would permanently change the Maryland Constitution, and each one moves power away from voters: to arbitrators, to appointed officials, and to map-drawers in Annapolis.
Question A does the opposite. It strengthens the term limits already in our County Charter and keeps power turning over to the people.
Vote Against Questions 1, 2 & 3, and For Question A.