The Maryland Supreme Court building. File Photo by Bennett Leckrone.
An Anne Arundel Circuit Court judge will not stay her order that struck down a Baltimore City ballot question, pending an appeal of her order to the state’s highest court.
The Maryland State Board of Elections sought the stay last week after appealing Judge Cathleen Vitale’s order invalidating Question F, which was included on already-printed city ballots. Attorneys for the state elections board also filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Maryland.
Vitale on Monday, citing the appeal and a similar motion before the state Supreme court, decided not to act on the motion to stay her ruling.
That ruling last Monday sided with a group of city voters led by Anthony J. Ambridge, a former Baltimore City Council member, who wanted to block Question F, which would allow the redevelopment of Harborplace.
Developers and the city want to redevelop the existing retail pavilions in the Inner Harbor. Built by The Rouse Company, the pavilions opened in 1980 and signaled a renaissance for the downtown area. But in recent years, the pavilions have lost their luster and tenants.
City officials and MCB Real Estate want to replace the current buildings with mixed-use retail and residential, which would be authorized by Question F. But the plan has drawn criticism as a developer giveaway that will limit public access to the waterfront.
Ambridge and others filed suit on Sept. 5 in Anne Arundel County seeking to have the question stricken from the ballot. The group challenged both the legality of the question and the wording on the ballot.
Vitale agreed, and said the city could keep the ballots it had already printed, but could not certify the results of any vote on Question F.
State Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis said that Vitale’s ruling could confuse Baltimore City voters when they get ballots with Question F on them. Staying the order would create a situation where voters could still cast a vote on the issue pending the appeal.
“Because Baltimore City voters now have the ability to cast ballots, we don’t want to have them not cast a vote on Question F while it’s being determined at the Supreme Court,” said DeMarinis in an interview Friday. “Once a voter has cast their ballot and put it in the drop box, there are no redos. It’s been cast and will be counted.”
There has been no decision by the state Supreme Court on the board’s request to stay Vitale’s ruling pending an appeal. But the court has issued a schedule for the pending appeal with briefs from the Maryland State Board of Elections due Friday.
Briefs from attorneys representing Ambridge and others are due on Oct. 4. Additional responses are due on Friday Oct. 7.
Oral arguments on the case will be heard on Monday, Oct. 7.