# 2024 Maryland Question 1

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Question 1 :
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Ballot measures
Question P :
Government :
vte :
The 2024 Maryland Question 1 was a voter referendum that appeared on the ballot on November 5, 2024. It established in the Constitution of Maryland a right to reproductive freedom. The referendum was approved overwhelmingly, with more than three times as many voters voting in favor of it than against it, and only losing in Garrett County.

## Ballot measure

The ballot measure reads as follows:
   Question 1 Constitutional Amendment
   The proposed amendment confirms an individual's fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including, but not limited to, the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end the individual's pregnancy, and provides that the State may not, directly or indirectly, deny, burden, or abridge the right, unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.
The choices read as follows:
   For the Constitutional Amendment Against the Constitutional Amendment

## History

In 1992, Maryland voters approved Question 6, which upheld a state law to codify Roe v. Wade and guaranteed the right to an abortion, with 62 percent of voters approving the measure and 38 percent opposed.
In August 2018, Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates Michael E. Busch endorsed efforts to codify the right to an abortion into the state constitution, citing fears that the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn its ruling in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which held that the U.S. Constitution protected a woman's right to have an abortion. Republican Governor Larry Hogan, who personally opposes abortion, expressed support for the measure, but also questioned if a constitutional amendment to codify abortion protections was necessary. During the 2019 legislative session, Busch introduced legislation to create a 2020 referendum on enshrining abortion protects into the state constitution, but he withdrew it early into the session after Senate President Thomas V. Miller Jr. said he was reluctant to move it forward, following protests against late-term abortion bills in New York and Virginia.
In May 2019, following the election of Adrienne A. Jones as House Speaker, and after the Alabama General Assembly passed the Human Life Protection Act, Jones said she would continue Busch's efforts to enshrine abortion protection into the state constitution. As the Supreme Court began considering Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022, she introduced legislation to create a referendum on codifying abortion rights, which passed the Maryland House of Delegates by a 93–42 vote, but the bill died in the Maryland Senate after Senate President Bill Ferguson declined to put it up for a vote. The legislature also passed the Abortion Care Access Act, which provided $3.5 million toward clinical training for reproductive services, which became law after lawmakers overrode Governor Hogan's veto on the bill.
In June 2022, after the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs, and overturned Roe and Casey, Jones committed to re-introducing the bill during the 2023 legislative session. The court's ruling also made relevant the issue of abortion in the 2022 Maryland gubernatorial election, with all Democratic candidates promising to support Jones' measure; Republican candidate Kelly Schulz said that she was "personally pro-life", but would not change "current Maryland law" toward abortion if elected governor, while her challenger, far-right state delegate Dan Cox, celebrated the Dobbs decision and vowed to end taxpayer funding for abortions as governor.
During the 2023 legislative session, Jones again introduced legislation to enshrine abortion protections into the state constitution, which passed, and was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore, along with a package of bills to protect patients who come to Maryland seeking abortion rights from out-of-state criminal prosecution.

### House vote

The amendment was approved by the House on March 10, 2023, with 99 yeas, 37 nays, and 4 absent delegates. Before the vote, Republicans unsuccessfully sought to amend the bill, with state delegate William J. Wivell introducing two amendments to give constitutional protections to the "preborn" and another replacing the phrase "reproductive freedom" with "abortion", and state delegate April Fleming Miller introducing an amendment replacing the word "person" with "woman"; all three amendments were defeated in party-line votes.
House of Delegates :
| Party | Party | Votes for | Votes against | Absent |
| | Democratic (102) | 99 Gabriel AceveroJackie AddisonNick AllenTiffany AlstonMarlon AmpreyDalya AttarVanessa AtterbearyHeather BagnallBen BarnesDarryl BarnesJ. Sandy BartlettKumar BarveHarry BhandariAdrian BoafoRegina T. BoyceTony BridgesJon CardinMark S. ChangLorig CharkoudianNick CharlesLuke ClippingerFrank M. Conaway Jr.Brian M. CrosbyCharlotte CrutchfieldBonnie CullisonDebra DavisEric EbersoleMark EdelsonElizabeth EmbryKris FairJessica M. FeldmarkDiana M. FennellLinda FoleyCathi ForbesDavid Fraser-HidalgoBrooke GrossmanMichele GuytonPam GuzzoneKevin HarrisAndrea HarrisonAnne HealeyShaneka HensonTerri HillMarvin E. Holmes Jr.Julian IveyCarl W. JacksonAndre Johnson Jr.Steven JohnsonAdrienne A. JonesDana JonesAnne KaiserAaron KaufmanKen KerrMarc KormanMary A. LehmanJazz LewisRobbyn LewisJeffrie Long Jr.Lesley LopezSara N. LoveAshanti MartinezAletheia McCaskillBernice Mireku-NorthDavid MoonJulie Palakovich CarrCheryl PasteurEdith J. PattersonJoseline Peña-MelnykN. Scott PhillipsAndrew PruskiLily QiPamela QueenKirill ReznikMike RogersSamuel I. RosenbergSheila RuthSheree Sample-HughesEmily ShettyKaren SimpsonStephanie M. SmithJared SolomonDana SteinVaughn StewartDeni TaverasKym TaylorJennifer TerrasaKaren TolesVeronica TurnerKris ValderramaJoe VogelCourtney WatsonMelissa WellsJennifer White HollandJheanelle WilkinsNicole A. WilliamsC. T. WilsonJamila WoodsChao WuNatalie Ziegler | – | 2 Gary SimmonsCaylin Young |
| | Republican (39) | – | 37 Christopher T. AdamsCarl Anderton Jr.Steven J. ArentzLauren ArikanTerry BakerChristopher BouchatJason C. BuckelBrian ChisholmBarrie CilibertiJefferson L. GhristRobin Grammer Jr.Mike GriffithWayne A. HartmanJim HinebaughKevin HornbergerSeth A. HowardTom HutchinsonJay JacobsRobert B. LongNino MangioneSusan K. McComasRic MetzgarApril Fleming MillerMatthew MorganTodd MorganRachel MuñozRyan NawrockiCharles J. OttoJesse PippyTeresa E. ReillyApril RoseStuart Schmidt Jr.Joshua StonkoKathy SzeligaChris TomlinsonWilliam ValentineWilliam J. Wivell | 2 Mark N. FisherNic Kipke |
| Total (140) | Total (140) | 99 | 37 | 4 |

### Senate vote

The amendment was approved by the Senate on March 31, 2023, with 33 yeas and 14 nays. Republican state senator Bryan Simonaire introduced an amendment to ban abortions after fetal viability, which failed by a vote of 13–33, and another amendment to the Senate crossfile version of the bill that would exclude gender-affirming surgery for minors without parental consent under the bill's definition of reproductive freedom, which was rejected by a vote of 14–32.
Senate :
| Party | Party | Votes for | Votes against | Abstentions |
| | Democratic (34) | 33 Malcolm AugustinePamela BeidleJoanne C. BensonBenjamin BrooksJill P. CarterSarah ElfrethArthur EllisBrian FeldmanBill FergusonDawn GileMelony G. GriffithGuy GuzzoneAntonio HayesKatie Fry HesterShelly L. HettlemanMary-Dulany JamesCheryl KaganAriana KellyNancy J. KingKathy KlausmeierBenjamin F. KramerClarence LamKaren Lewis YoungCory McCrayC. Anthony MuseJames RosapepeWilliam C. Smith Jr.Charles E. Sydnor IIIJeff WaldstreicherAlonzo T. WashingtonMary L. WashingtonRon WatsonCraig Zucker | 1 Michael Jackson | – |
| | Republican (13) | – | 13 Jack BaileyMary Beth CarozzaPaul D. CordermanWilliam FoldenJason C. GallionStephen S. Hershey Jr.J. B. JenningsJohnny MautzMike McKayJustin ReadyJohnny Ray SallingBryan SimonaireChris West | – |
| Total (47) | Total (47) | 33 | 14 | 0 |

## Campaign

Question 1 was supported by Freedom in Reproduction — Maryland, which was made up of leaders from organizations including Planned Parenthood Maryland, the Baltimore Abortion Fund, and the Women's Law Center of Maryland. It was opposed by Health Not Harm MD, which was chaired by Deborah Brocato, a lobbyist for Maryland Right to Life. After President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 United States presidential election, supporters of Question 1 reported an increase in people interested in volunteering for efforts to support the ballot initiative. As of October 2024, pro-Question 1 groups have outraised and outspent the referendum's opponents 5-to-1.
Abortion access is widely popular in Maryland, and, as such, an intense campaign focused on Question 1 similar to the one advocates faced in 1992 was considered to be unlikely. The amendment's opponents claimed that its passage would allow children to receive gender-affirming care without their parents' consent; the amendment's supporters, including former Maryland First Lady Katie O'Malley, have called this a misinterpretation of the amendment's language, saying that it would only apply to issues like abortion, birth control, and In vitro fertilisation.
The issue of abortion became a key issue in the concurrent 2024 United States Senate election in Maryland, in which Democratic nominee Angela Alsobrooks heavily criticized Republican nominee Larry Hogan for his 2022 veto of the Abortion Care Access Act. Despite this, both candidates said they would vote for Question 1.

### Endorsements

U.S. Executive Branch officials
* John King Jr., 10th United States Secretary of Education (2016–2017) (Democrat)
* April McClain Delaney, former NTIA deputy administrator (2022–2023) (Democrat)
U.S. Senators
* Chris Van Hollen, Maryland (2017–present) (Democrat)
U.S. Representatives
* Jamie Raskin, MD-08 (2017–present) (Democrat)
Statewide elected officials
* Peter Franchot, 33rd Comptroller of Maryland (2007–2023) (Democrat)
* Doug Gansler, 45th Attorney General of Maryland (2007–2015) (Democrat)
* Larry Hogan, 62nd Governor of Maryland (2015–2023) (Republican)
* Brooke Lierman, 34th Comptroller of Maryland (2023–present) (Democrat)
* Aruna Miller, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland (2023–present) (Democrat)
* Wes Moore, 63rd Governor of Maryland (2023–present) (Democrat)
State senators
* Bill Ferguson, 86th President of the Maryland Senate (2020–present) from the 46th district (2011–present) (Democrat)
* Dawn Gile, state senator from the 33rd district (2023–present) (Democrat)
* Don Harmon, President of the Illinois Senate (2020–present) from the 39th district (2003–present) (Democrat)
* Shelly Hettleman, state senator from the 11th district (2020–present) (Democrat)
* Dana Jones, state delegate from district 30A (2020–present) (Democrat)
* Ariana Kelly, state senator from the 16th district (2023–2024) (Democrat)
* Jeff Waldstreicher, state senator from the 18th district (2019–present) (Democrat)
* Mary L. Washington, state senator from the 43rd district (2019–present) (Democrat)
State delegates
* Adrienne A. Jones, Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates (2019–present) from the 10th district (2007–present) (Democrat)
* Joseline Peña-Melnyk, state delegate from the 21st district (2007–present) (Democrat)
* Lily Qi, state delegate from the 15th district (2019–present) (Democrat)
* Samuel I. Rosenberg, state delegate from the 41st district (1983–present) (Democrat)
County officials
* All 11 members of the Montgomery County Council (Democrat)
* Angela Alsobrooks, Prince George's County Executive (2018–present) (Democrat)
* Marc Elrich, Montgomery County Executive (2018–present) (Democrat)
* Johnny Olszewski, Baltimore County Executive (2018–present) (Democrat)
Municipal officials
* Odette Ramos, Baltimore city councilor from the 14th district (2020–present) (Democrat)
Party officials
* Yvette Lewis, former chair of the Maryland Democratic Party (2011–2015, 2019–2023) (Democrat)
* Tom Perez, former chair of the Democratic National Committee (2017–2021), former U.S. Secretary of Labor (2013–2017), and former Maryland Secretary of Labor (2007–2009) (Democrat)
Individuals
* Dawn Moore, First Lady of Maryland (2023–present) (Democrat)
* Katie O'Malley, First Lady of Maryland (2007–2015) (Democrat)
* Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All (2021–present)
Organizations
* Freedom From Religion Foundation
* Maryland State Education Association
* Planned Parenthood of Maryland
* Reproductive Freedom for All
State senators
* Mary Beth Carozza, state senator from the 38th district (2019–present) (Republican)
* Stephen S. Hershey Jr., Minority Leader of the Maryland Senate (2023–present) from the 36th district (2013–present) (Republican)
* Justin Ready, state senator from the 5th district (2019–present) (Republican)
* Bryan Simonaire, state senator from the 31st district (2007–present) (Republican)
State delegates
* Lauren Arikan, state delegate from district 7B (2019–present) (Republican)
* Terry Baker, state delegate from district 1C (2023–present) (Republican)
* Jason C. Buckel, Minority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates (2021–present) from district 1B (2015–present) (Republican)
* Dan Cox, state delegate from the 4th district (2019–2023) (Republican)
* Richard Impallaria, state delegate from the 7th district (2003–2023) (Republican)
* Ryan Nawrocki, state delegate from district 7A (2023–present) (Republican)
* Neil Parrott, state delegate from district 2A (2011–2023) (Republican)
* Teresa Reilly, state delegate from district 35A (2019–present) (Republican)
* April Rose, state delegate from the 5th district (2019–present) (Republican)
* Kathy Szeliga, state delegate from district 7A (2011–present) (Republican)
Individuals
* Wilton Daniel Gregory, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington
* William Edward Koenig, bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington
* William E. Lori, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore
* Gloria Purvis, Catholic pro-life activist
Organizations
* Democrats for Life of Maryland
* Maryland Family Institute
* Maryland Right to Life

## Opinion polls

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | For | Against | Other/ Undecided |
| YouGov | October 23–27, 2024 | 500 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 75% | 18% | 7% |
| University of Maryland, Baltimore County | September 23–28, 2024 | 862 (LV) | ± 3.3% | 69% | 21% | 10% |
| OpinionWorks | October 20–23, 2022 | 982 (LV) | ± 3.1% | 71% | 19% | 11% |
| University of Maryland | September 22–27, 2022 | 810 (RV) | ± 4.0% | 78% | 16% | 5% |

## Results

2024 Maryland Question 1 :
| Choice | Votes | % |
| Yes | 2,199,319 | 76.06 |
| No | 692,219 | 23.94 |
| Total votes | 2,891,538 | 100.00 |
Source: Maryland State Board of Elections

### By county

By county :
Breakdown of voting by county :
| County | Yes | Yes | No | No | Margin | Margin | TotalVotes |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | TotalVotes |
| Allegany | 16,783 | 55.19% | 13,625 | 44.81% | 3,158 | 10.39% | 30,408 |
| Anne Arundel | 216,940 | 72.89% | 80,683 | 27.11% | 136,257 | 45.78% | 297,623 |
| Baltimore City | 188,398 | 86.50% | 29,407 | 13.50% | 158,991 | 73.00% | 217,805 |
| Baltimore | 300,431 | 76.56% | 91,985 | 23.44% | 208,446 | 53.12% | 392,416 |
| Calvert | 33,783 | 65.62% | 17,700 | 34.38% | 16,083 | 31.24% | 51,483 |
| Caroline | 9,300 | 59.65% | 6,290 | 40.35% | 3,010 | 19.31% | 15,590 |
| Carroll | 59,926 | 60.70% | 38,793 | 39.30% | 21,133 | 21.41% | 98,719 |
| Cecil | 31,251 | 64.30% | 17,350 | 35.70% | 13,901 | 28.60% | 48,601 |
| Charles | 69,395 | 77.91% | 19,671 | 22.09% | 49,724 | 55.83% | 89,066 |
| Dorchester | 10,718 | 67.59% | 5,140 | 32.41% | 5,578 | 35.17% | 15,858 |
| Frederick | 102,787 | 68.65% | 46,937 | 31.35% | 55,850 | 37.30% | 149,724 |
| Garrett | 6,773 | 44.81% | 8,342 | 55.19% | -1,569 | -10.38% | 15,115 |
| Harford | 97,082 | 66.70% | 48,465 | 33.30% | 48,617 | 33.40% | 145,547 |
| Howard | 139,939 | 79.37% | 36,365 | 20.63% | 103,574 | 58.75% | 176,304 |
| Kent | 7,773 | 72.58% | 2,937 | 27.42% | 4,836 | 45.15% | 10,710 |
| Montgomery | 404,351 | 82.35% | 86,641 | 17.65% | 317,710 | 64.71% | 490,992 |
| Prince George's | 335,057 | 87.83% | 46,419 | 12.17% | 288,638 | 75.66% | 381,476 |
| Queen Anne's | 19,647 | 63.44% | 11,322 | 36.56% | 8,325 | 26.88% | 30,969 |
| St. Mary's | 35,907 | 63.81% | 20,362 | 36.19% | 15,545 | 27.63% | 56,269 |
| Somerset | 5,463 | 57.57% | 4,027 | 42.43% | 1,436 | 15.13% | 9,490 |
| Talbot | 14,992 | 67.56% | 7,199 | 32.44% | 7,793 | 35.12% | 22,191 |
| Washington | 43,011 | 62.96% | 25,305 | 37.04% | 17,706 | 25.92% | 68,316 |
| Wicomico | 29,420 | 64.71% | 16,042 | 35.29% | 13,378 | 29.43% | 45,462 |
| Worcester | 20,192 | 64.30% | 11,212 | 35.70% | 8,980 | 28.60% | 31,404 |
| Total | 2,199,319 | 76.06% | 692,219 | 23.94% | 1,507,100 | 52.12% | 2,891,538 |

### By congressional district

"Yes" won all 8 congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.
| District | Yes | No | Representative |
| 1st | 65% | 35% | Andy Harris |
| 2nd | 74% | 26% | Dutch Ruppersberger (118th Congress) |
| 2nd | 74% | 26% | Johnny Olszewski (119th Congress) |
| 3rd | 75% | 25% | John Sarbanes (118th Congress) |
| 3rd | 75% | 25% | Sarah Elfreth (119th Congress) |
| 4th | 87% | 13% | Glenn Ivey |
| 5th | 77% | 23% | Steny Hoyer |
| 6th | 68% | 32% | David Trone (118th Congress) |
| 6th | 68% | 32% | April McClain Delaney (119th Congress) |
| 7th | 84% | 16% | Kweisi Mfume |
| 8th | 83% | 17% | Jamie Raskin |