Five Ballot Questions you'll see in the Maryland Election this fall

As we approach the General Election, we're taking a closer look at the five constitutional amendment questions all Marylanders will see on their ballot this fall.

Question 1 proposes renaming the top two levels of Maryland's court system.

What's now considered the Maryland Court of Appeals would become the Supreme Court of Maryland, and the Court of Special Appeals would become the Appellate Court of Maryland, if the majority of voters vote in favor of this amendment.

Question 2 asks voters to adds a place of abode requirement for State Senators and Delegates.

If passed by the voters, it would require a candidate for senator or delegate to the General Assembly "to have maintained a primary place of abode in the district that the person has been chosen to represent." This would be in addition to a six-month residency requirement (or as long as the district has been established, if fewer than six months.

Question 3 could amend the Maryland Declaration of Rights to increase the minimum dollar amount for a civil jury trial.

Current law sets that the "amount in controversy must exceed $15,000" for a party in a civil proceeding to demand a jury trial. If Maryland voters vote in favor, this would authorize the state legislature to limit this to controversies exceeding $25,000.

Question 4 will likely be the most talked about ballot question as we near the election, and asks voters if they are in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana.

Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

The language of the question is as follows:

If passed, the General Assembly will need to create laws surrounding the "use, distribution, possession, regulation and taxation of cannabis within the State."

Question 5 is a statewide question despite being specific to the Circuit Court for Howard County.

This question asks voters to remove the election for orphans' court judges in the County and instead requires the Circuit Court judges to sit on the orphan's court.

You can find the letter to the State Elections Administrator discussing the language for these questions here.

In addition to these statewide questions, there are also several local questions that will appear on ballots.