SB 615 Maryland Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Election Law - Petitions and Ballot Questions - Contents, Plain Language Requirement, and Procedures

SB 615 requires that petitions seeking to place ballot questions and the ballot questions themselves include summaries written in plain language, avoiding legal jargon, passive voice, and double negatives. It mandates that petition signature pages and ballot questions feature a clear, concise summary of the proposal’s purpose and a statement explaining the practical outcome of each voting choice. The bill also sets new deadlines for ballot question preparation, requires the State Board of Elections to post relevant information for public comment before elections, and demands that all such summaries meet specific readability standards. This directly affects petition sponsors, voters, and election officials by changing how ballot measures are presented and verified.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 29, 2025 Last action Mar 26, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

First - Election Law - Petitions and Ballot Questions - Contents, Plain Language Requirement, and Procedures → Third - Election Law - Petitions and Ballot Questions - Contents, Plain Language Requirement, and Procedures · 8 edits

MODERATE

This bill adds new requirements for plain language summaries on petition signature pages and ballot questions, ensuring voters can easily understand the purpose and outcome of proposed measures without legal jargon. It also clarifies that the State Board must consider federal plain writing guidelines when creating petition instructions.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for petition signature pages to include a brief title describing the topic, goal, or outcome of the ballot question

Added requirement that petition summaries must be written in plain, clear language that voters can easily understand

Added requirement that summaries must not explain the legal mechanism providing for policy change

Added requirement that summaries must not contain legal jargon or use double negatives or passive voice

Added requirement that ballot questions must include a condensed statement describing policy changes in plain language

Added requirement that ballot summaries must not contain legal jargon or use double negatives or passive voice

Added requirement for State Board to consider Federal Plain Writing Act guidelines when creating petition instructions

Modified section references to include additional sections (7-105 and 9-207) in the repeal and reenactment provisions

Floor votes · Senate Feb 23, 2025

How they voted

46–0

Passed

Total votes 46

Feb 23, 2025

D Democratic33

33 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican13

13 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 13, 2025

Committee

Referred Ways and Means

lower

Mar 12, 2025

Upper · Passed

Third Reading Passed

upper

Mar 11, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments {

upper

Mar 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

Favorable with Amendments Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

Feb 23, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (46-0)

senate

Jan 29, 2025

Committee

First Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors