EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*sb0615*
SENATE BILL 615
G1 5lr1183
CF HB 816
By: Senator Kagan
Introduced and read first time: January 25, 2025
Assigned to: Education, Energy, and the Environment
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
Senate action: Adopted
Read second time: February 21, 2025
CHAPTER ______
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 7–105, and 9–207 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 2 SENATE BILL 615
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 1
BY adding to 2
Article – Election Law 3
Section 7–103(e) 4
Annotated Code of Maryland 5
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 6
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 7
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 8
Article – Election Law 9
6–103. 10
(b) (1) The State Board shall: 11
(i) prepare guidelines and instructions relating to the petition 12
process; and 13
(ii) design and arrange to have sample forms available to the public 14
conforming to this title for each purpose for which a petition is authorized by law. 15
(2) WHEN PREPARING GUIDEL INES AND INSTRUCTION S FOR 16
COMPLIANCE WITH THE PLAIN LANGUAGE REQUI REMENT OF § 6–201(C)(2)(II) OF 17
THIS TITLE, THE STATE BOARD SHALL: 18
(I) CONSIDER ANY GENERAL LY ACCEPTED GUIDELIN ES 19
REGARDING COMPLIANCE WITH THE FEDERAL PLAIN WRITING ACT OF 2010; AND 20
(II) PROHIBIT THE USE OF THE PASSIVE VOICE , LEGAL JARGON , 21
AND DOUBLE NEGATIVES . 22
(3) The guidelines, instructions, and forms shall be provided to the public, 23
on request, without charge. 24
6–201. 25
(a) A petition shall contain: 26
(1) an information page; and 27
(2) signature pages containing not less than the total number of signatures 28
required by law to be filed. 29
(c) Each signature page shall contain: 30 SENATE BILL 615 3
(1) a description of the subject and purpose of the petition, conforming to 1
the requirements of regulations; 2
(2) if the petition seeks to place a question on the ballot[, either]: 3
(i) A BRIEF TITLE THAT D ESCRIBES THE TOPIC , GOAL, OR 4
OUTCOME OF THE BALLO T QUESTION; 5
(II) 1. a fair and accurate summary of the substantive provisions 6
of the proposal WRITTEN IN PLAIN , CLEAR LANGUAGE THAT : 7
A. A VOTER CAN EASILY U NDERSTAND ; 8
B. DOES NOT EXPLAIN THE LEGAL MECHANISM 9
PROVIDING FOR THE PO LICY CHANGE; AND 10
C. DOES NOT CONTAIN LEGAL JARGON OR USE DOUBLE 11
NEGATIVES OR THE PAS SIVE VOICE; or 12
[(ii)] 2. the full text of the proposal; AND 13
(III) A BRIEF STATEMENT EX PLAINING WHAT THE PR ACTICAL 14
OUTCOME OF EACH VOTI NG CHOICE WOULD BE ; 15
(3) a statement, to which each signer subscribes, that: 16
(i) the signer supports the purpose of that petition process; and 17
(ii) based on the signer’s information and belief, the signer is a 18
registered voter in the county specified on the page and is eligible to have his or her 19
signature counted; 20
(4) spaces for signatures and the required information relating to the 21
signers; 22
(5) a space for the name of the county in which each of the signers of that 23
page is a registered voter; 24
(6) a space for the required affidavit made and executed by the circulator; 25
and 26
(7) any other information required by regulation. 27
4 SENATE BILL 615
(d) If the petition seeks to place a question on the ballot and the sponsor elects to 1
print a summary of the proposal on each signature page as provided in subsection [(c)(2)(i)] 2
(C)(2)(II)1 of this section: 3
(1) the circulator shall have the full text of the proposal present at the time 4
and place that each signature is affixed to the page; and 5
(2) the signature page shall state that the full text is available from the 6
circulator. 7
7–103. 8
(b) Each question shall appear on the ballot containing the following information: 9
(1) a question number or letter as determined under subsection (d) of this 10
section; 11
(2) a brief designation of the type or source of the question; 12
(3) a brief [descriptive] title in boldface type THAT DESCRIBES THE 13
TOPIC, GOAL, OR OUTCOME OF THE BA LLOT QUESTION ; 14
(4) a condensed statement [of the purpose of the question] DESCRIBING 15
THE CHANGE IN POLICY TO BE ADOPTED IN PLA IN AND CLEAR LANGUAGE THAT : 16
(I) A VOTER CAN EASILY U NDERSTAND ; 17
(II) DOES NOT EXPLAIN THE LEGAL MECHANISM PROV IDING 18
FOR THE POLICY CHANG E; AND 19
(III) DOES NOT CONTAIN LEG AL JARGON OR USE DOU BLE 20
NEGATIVES OR THE PAS SIVE VOICE; [and] 21
(5) the voting choices that the voter has; AND 22
(6) A BRIEF STATEMENT EX PLAINING WHAT THE PR ACTICAL 23
OUTCOME OF EACH VOTI NG CHOICE WOULD BE . 24
(c) (1) [The] ON OR BEFORE JULY 1 IMMEDIATELY PRECEDIN G A 25
GENERAL ELECTION , THE Secretary of State shall prepare and certify to the State Board[, 26
not later than the 95th day before the general election,] the information required under 27
subsection (b) of this section, for all statewide ballot questions and all questions relating to 28
an enactment of the General Assembly which is petitioned to referendum. 29
SENATE BILL 615 5
(2) [The] ON OR BEFORE JULY 1 IMMEDIATELY PRECEDIN G A 1
GENERAL ELECTION , THE State Board shall prepare and certify to the appropriate local 2
board[, not later than the 105th day before the general election,] the information required 3
under subsection (b) of this section for all questions that have been referred to the voters of 4
one county or part of one county pursuant to an enactment of the General Assembly. 5
(3) (i) [The] ON OR BEFORE JULY 1 IMMEDIATELY PRECEDIN G A 6
GENERAL ELECTION , THE county attorney of the appropriate county shall prepare and 7
certify to the State Board[, not later than the 95th day before the general election,] the 8
information required under subsection (b) of this section for each question to be voted on in 9
a single county or part of a county, except a question covered by paragraph (1) or paragraph 10
(2) of this subsection. 11
(ii) If the information required under subsection (b) of this section 12
has not been timely certified under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the clerk of the 13
circuit court for the jurisdiction shall prepare and certify that information to the State 14
Board not later than the first Friday in August. 15
(4) (i) [The] ON OR BEFORE JULY 1 IMMEDIATELY PRECEDIN G A 16
GENERAL ELECTION , THE municipal attorney of the appropriate municipal corporation 17
shall prepare and certify to the State Board[, not later than the 95th day before the general 18
election,] the information required under subsection (b) of this section for each question to 19
be voted on in the municipal corporation, except a question covered by paragraphs (1) 20
through (3) of this subsection. 21
(ii) If the information required under subsection (b) of this section 22
has not been timely certified under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the clerk of the 23
circuit court for the county in which the municipal corporation is located shall prepare and 24
certify that information to the State Board not later than the first Friday in August. 25
(5) (I) THE STATE BOARD SHALL MAKE THE INFORMATION 26
SUBMITTED IN ACCORDA NCE WITH THIS SUBSECTION AVAILABLE TO THE PUB LIC 27
FOR A 15–DAY COMMENT PERIOD . 28
(II) ON OR BEFORE THE FOUR TH DAY IMMEDIATELY 29
FOLLOWING THE END OF THE COMMENT PERIOD R EQUIRED UNDER SUBPAR AGRAPH 30
(I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH , THE PERSON REQUIRED TO PREPARE A QUESTIO N UNDER 31
PARAGRAPH (1), (2), (3), OR (4) OF THIS SUBSECTION S HALL: 32
1. REVIEW THE COMMENTS RECEIVED DURING THE 33
COMMENT PERIOD AND M AKE ANY NECESSARY CH ANGES TO THE QUESTIO N; AND 34
2. SUBMIT THE CERTIFIED PLAIN TEXT OF THE 35
QUESTION TO THE STATE BOARD FOR PUBLICATION ON IT S WEBSITE UNDER § 9–207 36
OF THIS ARTICLE. 37 6 SENATE BILL 615
(6) The information required under subsection (b) of this section for a 1
question that is being placed on the ballot by petition may be prepared before the petition 2
is certified under § 6–208 of this article. 3
(E) THIS SECTION MAY NOT BE CONSTRUED TO PROH IBIT THE USE OF 4
LEGISLATIVELY MANDAT ED BALLOT QUESTION L ANGUAGE. 5
7–105. 6
(a) A local board shall provide notice of each question to be submitted statewide 7
and each question to be submitted to the voters of the county, by: 8
(1) specimen ballot mailed at least 1 week before any early voting period 9
before the general election; or 10
(2) publication or dissemination by mass communication during the 3 11
weeks immediately preceding the general election at which a question will appear on the 12
ballot. 13
(b) (1) For any question submitted under Article XIV or Article XVI of the 14
Maryland Constitution, the notice required by subsection (a) of this section shall contain 15
the information specified in § 7–103(b) of this title and a brief statement, prepared in clear 16
and concise language, devoid of technical and legal terms to the extent practicable, 17
summarizing the question. 18
(2) The statement required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be: 19
(i) prepared by the Department of Legislative Services; 20
(ii) approved by the Attorney General; and 21
(iii) submitted to the State Board by the first Monday in August. 22
(3) The statement required under paragraph (1) of this subsection is 23
sufficient if it is: 24
(i) contained in an enactment by the General Assembly, and the 25
enactment clearly specifies that the statement is to be used on the ballot; or 26
(ii) consistent with some other process mandated by the Maryland 27
Constitution. 28
(c) The State Board shall adopt regulations governing notice of questions to 29
appear on the ballot, including the use and content of specimen ballots and the publication 30
or dissemination of notice by mass communication. 31
SENATE BILL 615 7
(d) (1) The complete text of a question shall be posted or available for public 1
inspection in the office of the State Board and each applicable local board for 65 days prior 2
to the general election. 3
(2) Copies of the complete text of all statewide questions shall be furnished 4
by the State Board to the local boards in quantities as determined by the State Board, 5
including quantities sufficient to provide one copy of each for posting in each polling place 6
and in each local board office. 7
(3) An individual may receive without charge a copy of the complete text of 8
all constitutional amendments and questions from a local board, either in person, by mail, 9
or electronically. 10
(E) THE STATE BOARD AND EACH APPLIC ABLE LOCAL BOARD SHA LL POST 11
IN A MANNER WIDELY A CCESSIBLE TO THE PUB LIC FOR AT LEAST 65 90 DAYS 12
BEFORE THE GENERAL EL ECTION: 13
(1) THE COMPLETE TEXT OF : 14
(I) FOR A QUESTION RELAT ING TO THE CREATION OR 15
ADOPTION OF A NEW CONSTITUTION, THE PROPOSED CONSTITUTION; 16
(II) FOR AN AMENDMENT UND ER ARTICLE XIV OF THE 17
MARYLAND CONSTITUTION, THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MARYLAND 18
CONSTITUTION; 19
(III) FOR AN ENACTMENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 20
REFERRED IN ACCORDAN CE WITH ARTICLE XVI OF THE MARYLAND 21
CONSTITUTION, THE ENACTMENT ; 22
(IV) FOR A PROPOSED COUNT Y CHARTER OR AMENDME NT TO A 23
COUNTY CHARTER UNDER ARTICLE XI–A OF THE MARYLAND CONSTITUTION: 24
1. THE PROPOSED CHARTER ; OR 25
2. THE PROPOSED AMENDME NT TO A COUNTY CHART ER; 26
(V) FOR AN ENACTMENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 27
REFERRING A QUESTION TO THE VOTERS , THE ENACTMENT ; AND 28
(VI) FOR A CHARTER COU NTY ENACTMENT IN ACC ORDANCE 29
WITH § 9–205 OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ARTICLE OR A CODE COU NTY 30
ENACTMENT IN ACCORDA NCE WITH §§ 9–310 THROUGH 9–313 OF THE LOCAL 31
GOVERNMENT ARTICLE, THE PROPOSED ENACTME NT; AND 32
8 SENATE BILL 615
(2) FOR EACH QUESTION PO STED UNDER ITEM (1)(II), (III), (IV), (V), 1
OR (VI) OF THIS SUBSECTION , A LINK TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OR COUNTY 2
WEBPAGE FOR THE APPL ICABLE LEGISLATION . 3
9–207. 4
(a) The State Board shall certify and publicly display the content and 5
arrangement of each ballot: 6
(1) for a primary election, at least 64 days before the election; 7
(2) for a general election, at least 64 days before the election; 8
(3) for a special primary election, at least 55 days before the election; and 9
(4) for a special general election, not later than a date specified in the 10
Governor’s proclamation. 11
(b) The Supreme Court of Maryland, on petition of the State Board, may establish 12
a later date in extraordinary circumstances. 13
(c) The State Board shall publicly display the content and arrangement of each 14
certified ballot on its website. 15
(d) Except pursuant to a court order under § 9–209 of this subtitle, or as provided 16
in § 9–208 of this subtitle, the content and arrangement of the ballot may not be modified 17
after the second day of the public display. 18
(e) Unless a delay is required by court order, the State Board may begin to print 19
the ballots after certification and 3 days of public display and correct any noted errors. 20
(F) THE CERTIFICATION OF A BALLOT UNDER THIS SECTION THAT 21
INCLUDES A QUESTION MAY NOT BE CONSTRUED TO BE A CERTIFICATION O F THE 22
BALLOT LANGUAGE REQU IRED TO BE INCLUDED ON THE BALLOT UNDER § 7–103 OF 23
THIS ARTICLE , INCLUDING THE PLAIN LANGUAGE CONDENSED S TATEMENT 24
REQUIRED UNDER § 7–103(B)(4) OF THIS ARTICLE. 25
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTH ER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 26
October 1, 2025. 27