Early voting begins today in Maryland. In addition to choosing candidates, voters will be asked to approve five amendments to the state constitution, plus other local charter amendments. The WYPR News Team has been digging into those ballot measures, and senior reporter Rachel Baye joined Nathan Sterner to highlight some.

Sterner: 

Let’s start with those five statewide ballot measures. What are they?

Baye:

The most high-profile of these is Question 4, which would legalize recreational marijuana use for anyone at least 21 years old. You may have seen an ad like this one, urging you to support this measure:

Ad:

“By legalizing cannabis for adult use, our state will create new good-paying jobs and generate millions of tax dollars that can fund our schools and public services while keeping our community safe. By voting yes on four, we’ll expunge the criminal records of Marylanders who were unfairly targeted for minor cannabis offenses.”

Baye:

The ad was paid for by a group led by former Ravens player Eugene Monroe. The group raised about $200,000 between July and the end of September, mostly from companies already involved in Maryland’s medical marijuana industry.

But that ad is a bit misleading.

John Hudak at the Brookings Institution has studied various states’ marijuana legalization efforts. He says this constitutional amendment, if it passes, is the just the first step in what will be a complicated legal process.

Hudak: 

“Adult-use cannabis systems typically take months, or in some cases over a year, to get up and running. And so while very quickly, things like criminal penalties will go away, the ability for the average Maryland adult consumer to be able to walk into a dispensary will take time.”

Baye: 

And the state legislature still has to work out a lot of the regulations for this new industry, like those tax details mentioned in the ad.

Sterner: 

So that’s one constitutional amendment. There are four more?

Baye: 

Yes. Most of the others are less flashy. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re less important.

Question 1 would change the names of Maryland’s courts to make them more consistent with how the courts in other states are named. The state’s highest court, currently the Court of Appeals, would become the Supreme Court of Maryland, and the court currently known as the Court of Special Appeals would become the Appellate Court of Maryland.

Question 2 would tweak the residency requirements for state legislators. If passed, legislators must have both lived in and maintained a primary residence in the district they represent for at least six months before an election.

Question 3 would authorize the General Assembly to limit the right to a jury trial in civil cases to those in which at least $25,000 is in question. The current floor is $15,000.

We’ve already discussed Question 4.

And Question 5 relates to the probate court in Howard County, known as the Orphans’ Court. If it passes, voters in Howard County would no longer elect Orphans’ Court judges. Instead, circuit court judges would serve as Orphans’ Court judges.

Sterner: 

So those are the statewide ballot measures. What about local measures here in Baltimore City?

Baye:

There are eleven measures on the ballot in Baltimore City, including four bond issues, which authorize the city to borrow money for various purposes. That’s more than we will have time to get into, but I’ll highlight a few, starting with Question E.

This would prohibit the city from selling or franchising its 700-mile, underground conduit system, which houses phone, cable, and traffic light wiring.

Sterner: 

What’s the background on that? Why is that significant?

Baye:

The gist is that, if this passes, it would prevent the privatization of the city services that rely on these underground cables. And though some of the services that use the conduits are private now — internet, for example — keeping the system public-owned leaves the door open for things like a public broadband system.

Sterner:

So that’s one ballot measure. What are some of the others?

Baye:

Question H is one of these issues we’ve been hearing about for a long time. It would establish a Baltimore City Police Department. Right now, the Baltimore Police is actually considered a state agency.

I’ll let Baltimore Chief Equity Officer Dana Moore explain.

Moore: 

“That means that a lot of the major decisions that need to be made about the police department have to go through the state legislature, as opposed to the Baltimore City Council. And it also means that other jurisdictions get to say what happens about Baltimore's Police Department. We're the only jurisdiction in the state of Maryland that has that burden.”

Baye: 

This dynamic dates back to the Civil War. But this charter amendment, if passed, would make the police fully a city agency, run by the Baltimore police commissioner.

Question K would limit city elected officials to two four-year terms in office. The campaign pushing this has been largely funded by David Smith, the executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group. According to state records, he has spent more than half a million dollars on the initiative since March.

City Comptroller Bill Henry tried to create term limits when he was on the City Council. But his version, which did not pass, would have capped district council members at three four-year terms, as he explained in a recent interview.

Henry: 

“For most people on the City Council, this is the first time you've been elected to anything. This is your first time in, you know, in city government. And I thought it was worth giving people a little bit more time to get up to speed.”

Sterner:

Are there any other local ballot measures we should highlight?

Baye:

There’s a question on the ballot in Howard County that would bar county resources from being used to aid in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. That means, for example, no county officials would be able to ask someone about their citizenship or immigration status.

Baltimore County also has a long list of ballot questions, mostly authorizing the county to borrow money for various purposes. But there’s one measure I want to highlight.

Question A would change the legal age at which someone can run for County Council to 21.

Baltimore County Councilman Julian Jones sponsored the measure.

Jones: 

“Twenty-one is the legal age for so many things, and I think it gives people an opportunity. We should have diversity in race, gender, as well as age. So I think for years the age was 25, and I certainly understand why, but I think we will leave it up to the citizens to decide.”

Sterner:

And there are so many other measures we can’t go into. What resources do you recommend for people looking for more information?

Baye:

In addition to our website, I recommend checking out our partner, The Baltimore Banner, which has done some excellent reporting on ballot measures.

And the State Board of Elections has sample ballots on its site, which allow voters to read through the ballot measures before they go to vote.