Want 2 More County Council Members? There's A Referendum For That In Baltimore County

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD —Voters will decide if the Baltimore County Council should expand from seven to nine members in a Nov. 5 referendum.

Proponents think the council expansion would improve representation. The county population has more than doubled since the County Council structure was established in 1956. That's left each voter with less power in elections today than they originally had nearly 70 years ago.

Backers also believe adding two council seats would produce more diverse districts with more diverse candidates than the currently all-male, almost all-white council.

Opponents, however, worry about a proposed district map that accompanied the legislation sending the County Council expansion to a referendum. Some saw the map as a compromise to ensure Republicans have a chance in the predominantly Democratic county.

Others saw the map as an overstep made without public hearings. Supporters countered, reminding them that the proposed districts could be redrawn by Oct. 1, 2025, if necessary.

The Baltimore Sun reported that "Democratic state legislators and the ACLU of Maryland have hinted at a lawsuit." They argue the map violates federal civil rights law by diluting the voting power of residents of color by splitting mostly-Black districts.

The opposition also alleges the bill "violates state law by replacing two-state appointed county school board members with council appointees," the Sun said.

Council members frustrated with the maps and the school board issues filed legislation to repeal those sections. The Baltimore Banner said the bill to revoke the suggested maps failed, however.

Randallstown NAACP President Ryan Coleman said the County Council expansion "moves us forward. This is progress."

"This is how you get things done — by compromising and making bridges," Coleman said in a July 2 press release. "This legislation gives the county hope of more diversity and the efficiency to meet Baltimore County needs."

The County Council on July 1 reached a bipartisan agreement to send the two-seat expansion to a referendum this fall. Republican council members agreed that the proposed new district maps were fair. The same ballot question will also ask voters if council members should be paid a full-time salary, rather than their current part-time pay.

Council Member David Marks (R-Upper Falls) said the two-seat expansion "gives both political parties a fighting chance across Baltimore County."

Democrats currently have a 4-3 advantage on the council.

The proposed new map "guarantees five democratic council members, and you guarantee four Republican seats," State Sen. Charles Sydnor (D-District 44) told WYPR.

The Baltimore Banner said the measure passed 5 to 1 with Pat Young (D-Catonsville) as the only nay and Julian Jones (D-Woodstock) as the only member not present at the meeting. Young said he voted no because he would prefer 11 council members instead of nine.

Democratic County Executive Johnny Olszewski applauded the expansion. He thinks it would "empower voters and allow their voices [to] be heard on expanding the County Council — providing a more responsive and equitable government."

"Should voters approve Council expansion, I strongly encourage Councilmembers to provide a more responsive, equitable and inclusive map-drawing process," Olszewski said July 2 on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Because the referendum would amend the county charter, the council needed five votes to send the ballot question to the voters.

The Banner said the Democrats had to compromise with the Republicans to reach this threshold. The GOP worried the new maps would carve out some of their districts or hurt their election chances. The Republicans all felt comfortable with the compromise and voted for the expansion referendum.

"We needed a sweet spot to make this happen," Council Chair Izzy Patoka (D-Pikesville) told the Banner. "We came up with this configuration."

WYPR reported it would cost Baltimore County an extra $1.4 million annually in staffing and supplies to add two council members. It would also require a one-time payment of $12.2 million to create offices for each new council member and their team, The Banner said.

Council members would become full-time employees if the resolution passes, bringing an undetermined pay raise. The Banner said the council chair currently makes $77,000 annually, and the other members make $69,000. It's not clear how much full-time council members would make, but Montgomery County's full-time council members earn over $156,000 per year.

There was also a separate, unsuccessful push to add four seats to the council instead of two.

WYPR said the grassroots four-seat expansion effort, orchestrated by Vote4More, was trying to gather 10,000 signatures by the July 29 deadline to put it on the general election ballot. It would've competed against the two-seat expansion referendum, but the four-member addition measure ran into complications.

The Baltimore Sun reported that the Board of Elections discarded nearly 3,000 signatures during the review required under state law.

Election officials said those signatures lacked the signers' middle initial or middle name, WYPR reported.

Vote4More submitted 1,400 supplemental signatures, but The Sun reported that they didn't meet the state requirements.

"What hurts me is that getting them so excited, I can't deliver it," Vote4More Chair Linda Dorsey-Walker said, according to WYPR.

Related:

• Push To Add 4 Seats To Baltimore County Council Fails: Reports
• Referendum Will Settle Baltimore County Council Expansion Debate

This is the exact wording of the referendum that will appear on ballots this fall:

Sections 201, 204, 206, 207, 522, 601, and 1201 of the Baltimore County Charter are amended to: increase from 7 to 9 the number of Councilmembers and Council Districts; make membership on the County Council a full-time position for purposes of determining compensation; provide for an equal number of Board of Appeals members as the number of Councilmembers, and that no more than two-thirds of the Board of Appeals members may belong to the same political party; increase
from 7 to 9 the number of Council appointments to the Planning Board; provide for an equal number of members of a councilmanic redistricting commission as the number of Councilmembers, with each Councilmember nominating one member and subject to Council confirmation; provide that redistricting of Council Districts may only occur: before October 1, 2025, after each decennial U.S. Census, or during the year after ratification of a Charter amendment changing the number of Council Districts; and increase from 6 to 8 the number of affirmative votes required for the Council to approve a legislative act that proposes a ballot question to terminate the Charter and return the County to a county commissioner form of government.

How To Vote

Early voting runs from Thursday, Oct. 24 through Thursday, Oct. 31. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day that week. Marylanders can vote at any early voting center in the county they live in. All the early voting center locations are posted here.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Residents must vote at their assigned polling place on Election Day.

Residents can request a mail-in ballot from the State Board of Elections or their local board.