Baltimore City GOP

**Statement** I am disappointed in today’s decision by the Supreme Court of Maryland. It is pretty clear we are in a post-constitutional era, one in which Supreme Court justices can act as legislators. Article 8 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights says that the legislative, executive, and judicial powers “ought to be forever separate and distinct,” and that no person exercising the functions of one department “shall assume or discharge the duties of any other.” Article 14 gives the General Assembly — not the courts — the duty to prescribe the form of a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Today, the Court took that duty for itself. The Supreme Court's decision confirms that there is no real consequence for the General Assembly breaking the law. Due process is something you can ignore. The single-subject rule is just a mere suggestion. If the state misses a deadline that the rest of us have to meet, the Court will invent a workaround. It's important to remember that the State missed many deadlines that the General Assembly itself passed into law. That is a violation of the law, not a technicality that needs clarification. The next time you miss your car registration or file your taxes late, ask for the same courtesy the General Assembly just received. See how far it gets you. The General Assembly got caught lying on the ballot. The Court did the homework for them. Two circuit courts found the question misleading and took it off the ballot. The Supreme Court agreed that the language was misleading and violated due process. They then refused the only remedy that mattered. Instead of leaving a dishonest question off the ballot, the justices rewrote it. That is not judging a case. That is legislating from the bench. Judge Gould wrote, joined by Senior Justice Harrell, that the Court should not draft ballot language. Even the replacement text still hides what voters are being asked to do. They are being asked to surrender state constitutional protections that are independent of, and sometimes stronger than, federal law. Two justices said the quiet part out loud. You are voting away rights you already have. And they still will not tell you that in plain English. Question 3 should never have been rescued. A constitution that can be rewritten from the bench, on a missed deadline, with a misleading summary, is a constitution in name only. We are currently reviewing the order with our legal team and looking at our options. Until then...... Don't vote your rights away by voting yes to Question 3. Vote NO on Question 3. Then vote Republican down the ballot. Marylanders have given Wes Moore and his allies enough ground. Not one inch more.