EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb0816*
HOUSE BILL 816
G1 5lr1185
CF SB 615
By: Delegates Feldmark, Bartlett, Embry, Guzzone, and Hill
Introduced and read first time: January 29, 2025
Assigned to: Ways and Means
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ACT concerning 1
Election Law – Petitions and Ballot Questions – Contents, Plain Language 2
Requirement, and Procedures 3
FOR the purpose of altering the information that is required to be included on the signature 4
page of a petition seeking to place a question on the ballot and with a question on 5
the ballot; requiring that a certain summary included on the signature page of a 6
petition seeking to place a question on the ballot and a certain statement about a 7
question on the ballot be written in plain language; altering the deadline by which 8
ballot questions must be prepared and certified; requiring the State Board of 9
Elections to make certain information regarding a ballot question available for a 10
public comment period; requiring the State Board and each applicable local board of 11
elections to post certain information relating to certain ballot questions for at least 12
a certain period of time before the general election; and generally relating to petitions 13
and ballot questions. 14
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 15
Article – Election Law 16
Section 6–103(b), 6–201(c) and (d), 7–103(b) and (c), and 7–105 17
Annotated Code of Maryland 18
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 19
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 20
Article – Election Law 21
Section 6–201(a) 22
Annotated Code of Maryland 23
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 24
BY adding to 25
Article – Election Law 26
Section 7–103(e) 27
Annotated Code of Maryland 28 2 HOUSE BILL 816
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 1
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 2
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 3
Article – Election Law 4
6–103. 5
(b) (1) The State Board shall: 6
(i) prepare guidelines and instructions relating to the petition 7
process; and 8
(ii) design and arrange to have sample forms available to the public 9
conforming to this title for each purpose for which a petition is authorized by law. 10
(2) WHEN PREPARING GUIDEL INES AND INSTRUCTION S FOR 11
COMPLIANCE WITH THE PLAIN LANGUAGE REQUI REMENT OF § 6–201(C)(2)(II) OF 12
THIS TITLE, THE STATE BOARD SHALL: 13
(I) CONSIDER ANY GENERAL LY ACCEPTED GUIDELIN ES 14
REGARDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL PLAIN WRITING ACT OF 2010; AND 15
(II) PROHIBIT THE USE OF THE PASSIVE VOICE , LEGAL JARGON , 16
AND DOUBLE NEGATIVES . 17
(3) The guidelines, instructions, and forms shall be provided to the public, 18
on request, without charge. 19
6–201. 20
(a) A petition shall contain: 21
(1) an information page; and 22
(2) signature pages containing not less than the total number of signatures 23
required by law to be filed. 24
(c) Each signature page shall contain: 25
(1) a description of the subject and purpose of the petition, conforming to 26
the requirements of regulations; 27
(2) if the petition seeks to place a question on the ballot[, either]: 28
HOUSE BILL 816 3
(i) A BRIEF TITLE THAT D ESCRIBES THE TOPIC , GOAL, OR 1
OUTCOME OF THE BALLO T QUESTION; 2
(II) 1. a fair and accurate summary of the substantive provisions 3
of the proposal WRITTEN IN PLAIN , CLEAR LANGUAGE THAT : 4
A. A VOTER CAN EASILY U NDERSTAND ; 5
B. DOES NOT EXPLAIN THE LEGAL MECHANISM 6
PROVIDING FOR THE PO LICY CHANGE; AND 7
C. DOES NOT CONTA IN LEGAL JARGON OR U SE DOUBLE 8
NEGATIVES OR THE PAS SIVE VOICE; or 9
[(ii)] 2. the full text of the proposal; AND 10
(III) A BRIEF STATEMENT EX PLAINING WHAT THE PR ACTICAL 11
OUTCOME OF EACH VOTI NG CHOICE WOULD BE ; 12
(3) a statement, to which each signer subscribes, that: 13
(i) the signer supports the purpose of that petition process; and 14
(ii) based on the signer’s information and belief, the signer is a 15
registered voter in the county specified on the page and is eligible to have his or her 16
signature counted; 17
(4) spaces for signatures and the required information relating to the 18
signers; 19
(5) a space for the name of the county in which each of the signers of that 20
page is a registered voter; 21
(6) a space for the required affidavit made and executed by the circulator; 22
and 23
(7) any other information required by regulation. 24
(d) If the petition seeks to place a question on the ballot and the sponsor elects to 25
print a summary of the proposal on each signature page as provided in subsection [(c)(2)(i)] 26
(C)(2)(II)1 of this section: 27
(1) the circulator shall have the full text of the proposal present at the time 28
and place that each signature is affixed to the page; and 29
4 HOUSE BILL 816
(2) the signature page shall state that the full text is available from the 1
circulator. 2
7–103. 3
(b) Each question shall appear on the ballot containing the following information: 4
(1) a question number or letter as determined under subsection (d) of this 5
section; 6
(2) a brief designation of the type or source of the question; 7
(3) a brief [descriptive] title in boldface type THAT DESCRIBES THE 8
TOPIC, GOAL, OR OUTCOME OF THE BA LLOT QUESTION ; 9
(4) a condensed statement [of the purpose of the question] DESCRIBING 10
THE CHANGE IN POLICY TO BE ADOPTED IN PLA IN AND CLEAR LANGUAG E THAT: 11
(I) A VOTER CAN EASILY U NDERSTAND ; 12
(II) DOES NOT EXPLAIN THE LEGAL MECHANISM PROV IDING 13
FOR THE POLICY CHANG E; AND 14
(III) DOES NOT CONTAIN LEG AL JARGON OR USE DOU BLE 15
NEGATIVES OR THE PAS SIVE VOICE; [and] 16
(5) the voting choices that the voter has; AND 17
(6) A BRIEF STATEMENT EX PLAINING WHAT THE PR ACTICAL 18
OUTCOME OF EACH VOTI NG CHOICE WOULD BE . 19
(c) (1) [The] ON OR BEFORE JULY 1 IMMEDIATELY PRECEDIN G A 20
GENERAL ELECTION , THE Secretary of State shall prepare and certify to the State Board[, 21
not later than the 95th day before the general election,] the information required under 22
subsection (b) of this section, for all statewide ballot questions and all questions relating to 23
an enactment of the General Assembly which is petitioned to referendum. 24
(2) [The] ON OR BEFORE JULY 1 IMMEDIATELY PRECEDIN G A 25
GENERAL ELECTION , THE State Board shall prepare and certify to the appropriate local 26
board[, not later than the 105th day before the general election,] the information required 27
under subsection (b) of this section for all questions that have been referred to the voters of 28
one county or part of one county pursuant to an enactment of the General Assembly. 29
(3) (i) [The] ON OR BEFORE JULY 1 IMMEDIATELY PRECEDIN G A 30
GENERAL ELECTION , THE county attorney of the appropriate county shall prepare and 31 HOUSE BILL 816 5
certify to the State Board[, not later than the 95th day before the general election,] the 1
information required under subsection (b) of this section for each question to be voted on in 2
a single county or part of a county, except a question covered by paragraph (1) or paragraph 3
(2) of this subsection. 4
(ii) If the information required under subsection (b) of this section 5
has not been timely certified under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the clerk of the 6
circuit court for the jurisdiction shall prepare and certify that information to the State 7
Board not later than the first Friday in August. 8
(4) (i) [The] ON OR BEFORE JULY 1 IMMEDIATELY PRECEDIN G A 9
GENERAL ELECTION , THE municipal attorney of the appropriate municipal corporation 10
shall prepare and certify to the State Board[, not later than the 95th day before the general 11
election,] the information required under subsection (b) of this section for each question to 12
be voted on in the municipal corporation, except a question covered by paragraphs (1) 13
through (3) of this subsection. 14
(ii) If the information required under subsection (b) of this section 15
has not been timely certified under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the clerk of the 16
circuit court for the county in which the municipal corporation is located shall prepare and 17
certify that information to the State Board not later than the first Friday in August. 18
(5) THE STATE BOARD SHALL MAKE THE INFORMATION SUBMITTE D 19
IN ACCORDANCE WITH T HIS SUBSECTION AVAIL ABLE TO THE PUBLIC F OR A 15–DAY 20
COMMENT PERIOD . 21
(6) The information required under subsection (b) of this section for a 22
question that is being placed on the ballot by petition may be prepared before the petition 23
is certified under § 6–208 of this article. 24
(E) THIS SECTION MAY NOT BE CONSTRUED TO PROH IBIT THE USE OF 25
LEGISLATIVELY MANDAT ED BALLOT QUESTION L ANGUAGE. 26
7–105. 27
(a) A local board shall provide notice of each question to be submitted statewide 28
and each question to be submitted to the voters of the county, by: 29
(1) specimen ballot mailed at least 1 week before any early voting period 30
before the general election; or 31
(2) publication or dissemination by mass communication during the 3 32
weeks immediately preceding the general election at which a question will appear on the 33
ballot. 34
(b) (1) For any question submitted under Article XIV or Article XVI of the 35 6 HOUSE BILL 816
Maryland Constitution, the notice required by subsection (a) of this section shall contain 1
the information specified in § 7–103(b) of this title and a brief statement, prepared in clear 2
and concise language, devoid of technical and legal terms to the extent practicable, 3
summarizing the question. 4
(2) The statement required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be: 5
(i) prepared by the Department of Legislative Services; 6
(ii) approved by the Attorney General; and 7
(iii) submitted to the State Board by the first Monday in August. 8
(3) The statement required under paragraph (1) of this subsection is 9
sufficient if it is: 10
(i) contained in an enactment by the General Assembly, and the 11
enactment clearly specifies that the statement is to be used on the ballot; or 12
(ii) consistent with some other process mandated by the Maryland 13
Constitution. 14
(c) The State Board shall adopt regulations governing notice of questions to 15
appear on the ballot, including the use and content of specimen ballots and the publication 16
or dissemination of notice by mass communication. 17
(d) (1) The complete text of a question shall be posted or available for public 18
inspection in the office of the State Board and each applicable local board for 65 days prior 19
to the general election. 20
(2) Copies of the complete text of all statewide questions shall be furnished 21
by the State Board to the local boards in quantities as determined by the State Board, 22
including quantities sufficient to provide one copy of each for posting in each polling place 23
and in each local board office. 24
(3) An individual may receive without charge a copy of the complete text of 25
all constitutional amendments and questions from a local board, either in person, by mail, 26
or electronically. 27
(E) THE STATE BOARD AND EACH APPLIC ABLE LOCAL BOARD SHA LL POST 28
IN A MANNER WIDELY A CCESSIBLE TO THE PUB LIC FOR AT LEAST 65 DAYS BEFORE 29
THE GENERAL ELECTION : 30
(1) THE COMPLETE TEXT OF : 31
(I) FOR A QUESTION RELAT ING TO THE CREATION OR 32 HOUSE BILL 816 7
ADOPTION OF A NEW CONSTITUTION, THE PROPOSED CONSTITUTION; 1
(II) FOR AN AMENDMENT UND ER ARTICLE XIV OF THE 2
MARYLAND CONSTITUTION, THE PROPOSED AMENDME NT TO THE MARYLAND 3
CONSTITUTION; 4
(III) FOR AN ENACTMENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 5
REFERRED IN ACCORDAN CE WITH ARTICLE XVI OF THE MARYLAND 6
CONSTITUTION, THE ENACTMENT ; 7
(IV) FOR A PROPOSED COUNT Y CHARTER OR AMENDME NT TO A 8
COUNTY CHARTER UNDER ARTICLE XI–A OF THE MARYLAND CONSTITUTION: 9
1. THE PROPOSED CHARTER ; OR 10
2. THE PROPOSED AMENDME NT TO A COUNTY CHART ER; 11
(V) FOR AN ENACTMENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 12
REFERRING A QUESTION TO THE VOTERS , THE ENACTMENT ; AND 13
(VI) FOR A CHARTER COUNTY ENACTMENT IN ACCORDA NCE 14
WITH § 9–205 OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ARTICLE OR A CODE COU NTY 15
ENACTMENT IN ACCORDA NCE WITH §§ 9–310 THROUGH 9–313 OF THE LOCAL 16
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE, THE PROPOSED ENACTME NT; AND 17
(2) FOR EACH QUESTION PO STED UNDER ITEM (1)(II), (III), (IV), (V), 18
OR (VI) OF THIS SUBSECTION , A LINK TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OR COUNTY 19
WEBPAGE FOR THE APPL ICABLE LEGISLATION . 20
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 21
October 1, 2025. 22