The State Board of Elections is asking the Maryland Supreme Court to allow the counting of votes for a Baltimore ballot question that asks residents whether they want to rezone the Inner Harbor to make way for new development.
A lower court on Monday found the ballot question, which would change a section of Baltimore’s charter dealing with what can be built around the Inner Harbor, to be improper, and the judge ruled that any votes cast on the issue should not be counted.
A group of Baltimoreans, most of whom live in predominantly white neighborhoods, had challenged the measure, known as “Question F,” in Anne Arundel County Court on the grounds it was too confusing for voters.
On Tuesday, the State Board of Elections filed an appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court. The Baltimore Law Department also filed a motion to intervene in the case, which would allow it to argue why the Harborplace question should remain on the ballot.
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Friday’s request, if granted, would mean the state could count the votes as if the results would be official. Maryland Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis wrote on social media that his agency made the request in an effort to prevent “potential disenfranchisement” or “undervoting” while the appeal is ongoing.
The state elections board, in its filing, warned that voters could be inadvertently disenfranchised if they opt not to vote either way on Question F, but the ballot question gets reinstated later.
After learning about the order in the media, “voters may choose to not vote ‘for’ or ‘against’ a proposed charter amendment that they believe has been cancelled,” the state wrote. “And that rational choice could prove disenfranchising should the Supreme Court of Maryland ultimately reverse this Court’s judgement nullifying Question F.”
Mail-in ballots are being sent out beginning today, and early voting begins Oct. 24. The Supreme Court has not yet set a hearing date for when it will hear arguments as to whether it should overturn the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court’s decision.
In March, the Baltimore City Council passed legislation that would ask voters to determine whether to allow MCB Real Estate, a private company, to raze the existing Harborplace pavilions, reconfigure the nearby intersection and construct five new buildings — a mix of retail, office and residential space — along a completely reimagined waterfront promenade. The tallest would be two towers stretching 25 and 32 stories high and containing up to 900 residential units. The plan also called for construction of off-street parking.
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P. David Bramble, a Baltimore native, heads MCB Real Estate and had city and state backing for his grand plans. The total cost of Bramble’s proposal is estimated to be around $900 million, with $400 million coming from taxpayers in a hypothetical mix of state and federal funds that have yet to be fully secured.
The original preservation of public space around the Inner Harbor was done in 1978, also by charter amendment. The area is known in the city’s charter as “Inner Harbor Park,” which it describes as “from the World Trade Center around the shoreline of the Inner Harbor and including Rash Field.” Because it is protected as public parkland, it would need to be rezoned to allow for residential development and off-street parking.
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