Baltimore City Hall in January 2025. Photo: Jonmallard, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Unofficial returns from the Maryland State Board of Elections show Baltimore City voters approving Question F, the charter amendment on legislation, the budget and the Board of Estimates.
With all 295 election-day precincts reported, the unofficial count on the State Board’s results page for Baltimore City is 94,906 votes for the amendment, or 64.51 percent, and 52,204 against, or 35.49 percent. Those figures remain unofficial. The page is still labeled unofficial, and the board has not posted a certified result.
The official ballot language says the amendment shortens the time the mayor has to veto legislation and the time the City Council has to override a veto. It would also end the preliminary budget hearing, shift preparation of the proposed budget to the mayor before April 30 each year, and require the council to adopt the budget at least eight days before the fiscal year begins on July 1. The $1 million cap on the contingent fund would come out of the charter. Other Board of Estimates duties, including advertising for contracts and approving collective bargaining agreements, would be removed from the charter and could be assigned by ordinance.
If the unofficial count holds, the official text sets staggered effective dates: Dec. 3, 2026, for most of the changes; Dec. 5, 2028, for the veto timeline; and Nov. 7, 2028, for charter sections that are removed, unless an ordinance or regulation on that subject is adopted sooner.
