[1] The state's 1864 constitution was written in a convention[2] during the Civil War, while the Unionists temporarily controlled Maryland.
It was submitted to the adult white male citizens of the state for ratification on September 18 and was approved by a vote of 47,152 to 23,036.
Among other things, the Maryland Constitution guarantees trial by jury, due process, freedom of the press, and of religion.
By 1867 this principle was already in decline as a result of abuse (in such conflicts as the Mormons in Nauvoo, Illinois and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850), and today very much the minority position.
Article 36 includes the wording: nor shall any person, otherwise competent, be deemed incompetent as a witness, or juror, on account of his religious belief; provided, he believes in the existence of God, and that under His dispensation such person will be held morally accountable for his acts, and be rewarded or punished therefor either in this world or in the world to come.A unanimous 1961 decision by US Supreme court in the case of Torcaso v. Watkins found that an attempt to enforce this provision violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
The Maryland Constitution states that "the Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers of Government ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other; and no person exercising the functions of one of said Departments shall assume or discharge the duties of any other."
Article VIII requires the legislature to establish a set of Free Public Schools, and to support them "by taxation or other means."
Amendments must then be ratified by a simple majority of the people voting on the question in a referendum held simultaneously with the next general election.
It would have effectively disfranchised most African Americans and many poor whites (including recent European immigrants), as had been accomplished by other states through various means, beginning with Mississippi's new constitution of 1890.
In 1972, an amendment that created the current legislative district system of the Maryland General Assembly was approved.
[7] The second amendment proposed to authorize the state to issue up to five video lottery licenses for the primary purpose of raising revenue for education of children in public schools.
[10] The third amendment proposed to change the point at which an elected official charged with certain crimes is suspended or removed from office.
[10] In 2024, Maryland residents overwhelmingly approved a constitutional provision recognising abortion access within the state.