Voters already decided on term limits

Kevin Richardson/Staff

Baltimore City Hall serves as the hub for Baltimore’s local government, where city officials conduct meetings, approve policies, and engage with the public.

By Jovani Patterson

PUBLISHED: May 16, 2026 at 12:45 PM EDT

Question K, which introduced term limits to Baltimore City government, was the very last question on the ballot in Baltimore’s 2022 election, yet it received significantly more voter participation than many questions and races that appeared before it. In other words, voters didn’t accidentally stumble into supporting term limits. They intentionally stayed engaged all the way to the bottom of the ballot and voted for it in overwhelming numbers.

That’s what makes Councilman Ryan Dorsey’s push to repeal term limits so troubling.

By suggesting there was insufficient “public discourse” and implying voters didn’t fully understand what they were approving, he is effectively dismissing the judgment of tens of thousands of Baltimore residents who made a deliberate choice at the ballot box.

Baltimore voters passed Question K, the city’s term limits measure, with more than 98,000 votes and over 71% support. Yet now, less than four years later, some members of the City Council want residents to reverse that decision because they personally disagree with it.

Think about the arrogance behind that.

If this logic applies to Question K, couldn’t the same argument be made about any election, including the elections that put current council members into office? Did voters fully understand every candidate they voted for? Did every voter attend forums, study policy positions or participate in lengthy public debates?

Of course not. That’s not how democracy works.

Voters make decisions based on the information available to them and what they believe is best for their city. Sometimes politicians win those debates. Sometimes they lose.

But apparently, when Baltimore voters supported term limits, their decision suddenly became something certain elected officials feel entitled to “correct.”

That mindset is exactly why term limits exist in the first place.

Read the complete story at The Baltimore Sun

Jovani Patterson is chairman of People for Elected Accountability and Civic Engagement, and former member of the Baltimore City Republican Central Committee.

Voters already decided on term limits

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