← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · Maryland
Our call — vote NO
The measure
Question 1 is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on Maryland's November 3, 2026 ballot. It would require the governor's budget to fully fund the wages, hours, fringe benefits, and health benefits set by memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with state employees — including higher-education employees and the Maryland Environmental Service — whether those terms were negotiated or imposed through binding arbitration. Contingent statutory changes attached to the amendment create that binding-arbitration system, with a neutral arbitrator deciding terms the parties cannot agree on.
What YES does
A yes vote locks negotiated or arbitrated state-employee compensation into the constitution, removing the governor's and legislature's ability to trim it in the budget.
What NO does
A no vote keeps compensation for state employees subject to the normal budget process, where elected officials can weigh it against every other priority.
The math
No fiscal note quantifying the locked-in cost was published on the measure's Ballotpedia page — which is itself the point: the amendment commits future budgets to amounts set by negotiation or an arbitrator, whatever they turn out to be.
OUR CALL
Our call: NO.
A constitution should structure government, not pre-spend its budget. Question 1 hands a compensation bill written by unions — or, failing agreement, by an unelected arbitrator — a constitutional guarantee of full funding, ahead of schools, roads, and taxpayers. When money gets tight, elected officials, not arbitrators, must be able to say no. This grows a mandate and shrinks democratic control of spending. Vote no.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- Ballotpedia — Maryland Question 1 measure page (accessed October 25, 2026)
- Ballotpedia — 2026 ballot measures — https://ballotpedia.org/2026_ballot_measures
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.