Maryland’s ballot questions for 2022 elections

MARYLAND, USA — There are five measures on the ballot for Maryland voters to decide on in the 2022 election on Nov. 8. Of the five ballot questions, Question 4 is the one to watch, as a yes vote would legalize recreational marijuana in the state. Here’s a full rundown of what the ballot measures are and what they mean.

Question 1 renames the Maryland Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court of Maryland and the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to the Appellate Court of Maryland. A yes vote on this question would rename the two courts, as well as change the name of a Judge of the Court of Appeals to be a Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland and the name of the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland. It would also change the gendered language to gender-neutral in the articles of the Maryland Constitution that would be amended. 

A no vote would leave the courts as they currently are. 

Maryland and New York are the only states that do not refer to their state’s top court as the supreme court.

Question 2 would require 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.

If passed, the law would take effect on Jan. 1, 2024. 

Currently, state legislative candidates are 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
• a resident in the district the candidate wishes to represent for at least six months prior to the election

Known as the Civil Trials Amendment, Question 3 would increase the amount of money in controversies that guarantees a right to a jury trial in civil cases in the Maryland Declaration of Rights. Currently, the minimum amount required is $15,000. If passed, the amount would increase to $25,000. 

The Maryland State Bar Association supports changing the amount from $15,000 to $25,000, saying ” The MSBA has found that civil claims with lower amounts in controversy cannot be litigated economically in the circuit courts.”

The Maryland Defense Counsel opposes the amendment saying, “The net effect of the doubling of the minimum amount of jury trials in Maryland would be discriminatory, not associated with justice for all, but justice for some.”

Question 4 is the marijuana legalization amendment. A yes vote would legalize marijuana for anyone over the age of 21 beginning in July 2023. It would direct the Maryland State Legislature to pass laws for the use, distribution, regulation, and taxation of marijuana.  

Currently, marijuana is legal for medicinal use in Maryland under a 2013 law. In April 2014, possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana was decriminalized. As of 2022, 19 states and Washington, D.C., had legalized the possession and personal use of marijuana for recreational purposes. 

A recent poll conducted by the University of Maryland and the Washington Post found that the majority of Maryland voters support marijuana legalization.

Question 5 would include Howard County in the list of counties that requires circuit court judges to serve on their respective county’s orphans’ court. The list of counties currently includes Montgomery and Harford counties. 

The main job of the orphans’ court is to supervise the management of estates of people who have died while owning property in their name.

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