From left: Breanna Diaz and her wife, Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, at the Virginians for Marriage Equality campaign launch in Richmond, Va., on June 1, 2026. (Photo by Phuong Tran of the ACLU of Virginia)
Voters are facing a number of ballot questions this year in Virginia and Maryland.
Question 2 in Virginia would codify marriage rights for same-sex couples in the state Constitution. Question 3 in Maryland would grant state lawmakers more authority to redistrict congressional districts.
The Washington Blade a few weeks ago spoke with a gay Arlington couple — Ron Bookbinder and James Fisher, who have been together for 38 years and married in 2014. The two men said they are hopeful that Question 2 will pass because Virginia has become more progressive over time.
“We think this is a critical vote to remove this discriminatory language from the Constitution and to ensure that going forward, no matter what happens, the state of Virginia will ensure marriage equality,” Fisher told the Blade. “It is really difficult and upsetting to think that our current state Constitution would prohibit same-sex marriage, even though the federal government overrides that now. There’s no saying what may happen in the future.”
Equality Virginia is among the advocacy groups urging Virginians to vote for Question 2.
Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge, meanwhile, earlier this month urged Virginians to vote against Question 2 and Question 1 that would enshrine reproductive rights in the state Constitution. Former Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2025, also opposes them.
“[Question 2] would remove from our state Constitution the truth, as Jesus taught, that marriage is between one man and one woman,” said Burbidge in a video the diocese posted on its YouTube channel. “It would also enshrine gender ideology by falsely separating the reality of one’s sex and gender, obscuring the truth that we are created in the image and likeness of God.”
In Maryland, the Baltimore Banner reports 53 percent of voters oppose Question 3, while 11 percent remain undecided. Opposition is 73 percent among Republicans, 59 percent for independents and 42 percent for Democrats.
Anti-LGBTQ Congressman Andy Harris, a Republican who represents Maryland’s 1st Congressional District that includes the Eastern Shore, is running against Democrat Dan Schwartz.
The race drew national attention after Harris threatened to call the police on a journalist — Cat Murphy of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism who is a reporter for the student Capital News Service — after she recorded him during an informal press briefing.
“It has been a lot,” Murphy told CNN’s Jake Tapper the day after the exchange. “But I was focused on doing my job and asking my questions that I wanted answers to. And I think I did that.”
Democratic Gov. Wes Moore is running for a second term. He will once again face off against anti-LGBTQ Republican Dan Cox.
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
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