Uphold Maryland's Constitution and the People's Will

Maryland's Constitution mandates that every 20 years the General Assembly place a referendum on the ballot giving voters the opportunity to convene a state constitutional convention. The Framers of Maryland's 1851 constitution inserted this self-executing provision in the Constitution because they knew that the Assembly would have a conflict of interest in convening a constitutional convention to implement democratic reforms that did not enhance their own power.

Prior to the most recent referendum on Nov. 2, 2010, not a single member of the General Assembly publicly supported a yes vote on the referendum. This was no surprise, as many legislators feared a constitutional convention would lead to popular constitutional amendments that they strongly opposed, such as independent redistricting, legislative transparency, legislative term limits, and a balanced budget.

On Nov. 2, 2010, 54.4% of Marylanders voting on the question voted yes to convene a state constitutional convention. But members of the General Assembly have refused to convene it, despite their claims to respect the will of their constituents, the original intent of the Framers and Ratifiers of the self-executing constitutional convention provision, and their oath of office to uphold the Constitution.

Sign this petition to uphold Maryland's Constitution and the people's right to convene a state constitutional convention.

Sources

1. Snider, J.H. It will take a con-con to untangle Maryland’s gerrymanders, Washington Post (print edition), February 12, 2012

2. Snider, J.H. State ignores voters on constitutional convention; Majority voted in favor of con-con in 2010, yet it hasn’t been convened, Baltimore Sun (print edition), January 19, 2012

See MarylandConCon.org for more information.