no stoppin’ us 🚊

The Baltimore Transit Equity Coalition (BTEC) is engaged in a petition campaign to adopt an amendment to the Baltimore City Charter that will allow for the creation of a Baltimore Regional Transportation Authority.

Similar to the US constitution, a City Charter lays out the form and structure of the government, and establishes protocols for its operation.

To amend the City Charter, a majority vote must approve the change by voting “Yes” on their ballot in the upcoming election. 

In order for the Board of Elections to include amendment questions on the ballot, the campaign is required to submit 10,000 signatures from registered city voters by August 1 preceding Election Day. This is to demonstrate that there is sufficient public interest in the question.  

In 2022, BTEC organized a ballot petition campaign which resulted in submitting approx. 15,000 petitions to the Baltimore City Board of Elections for ballot access. Only 10,000 petitions were required, and inspite of evidence in our favor, the Board of Elections rejected our application.

We are now conducting another petition campaign for ballot access and our goal this time is to secure 20,000 petitions!! Please stand with us as we advocate for the American citizens in the Baltimore region to gain access to better transportation. 

how you can help

a call to action

• Gather petitions from family, friends and neighbors
• Gather petitions from faith group, community association, sports team, etc. 
• Volunteer for a petition tabling event
• Help coordinate a BTEC presentation to a group
• Follow us on Facebook/Twitter and share our social media posts on your social pages

brta now Petition

This video explains how to fill out BTEC’s “BRTA NOW” ballot campaign petition. It is designed for folks who have either downloaded and printed the form from our website — or for folks that have received a copy of the form by mail or in person.

click Petition to download

instructions

Step 1: Click the petition on the left and print both pages front and back. The petition will not count as valid if the summary is not printed on the back.

Step 2: Print your name clearly on the top line, as it appears on your voter registration card.

Step 3: Sign beneath your printed name.

Step 4: Print the address where you are a registered voter, including your zip code, on line 3.

Step 5: Print your birthdate in the top right box. The board of election uses your date of birth to look you up in the voter file. BTEC does not retain or share any information collected on our petition forms.

Step 6: Put the date of signature (today’s date) in the box beneath your date of birth.

Step 7: Double check that all the boxes on the form are filled. Don’t enter any information in the “Circulatory Affidavit” section at the bottom of the form. Our petition administrators will take care of that section for you.

Step 8: Email us at BTEC.moretransitequity@gmail.com or call 267-746-8581 to coordinate returning your signed petition.

Step 9: Congratulate yourself for participating in the effort to create a Baltimore Regional Transportation Authority!

Full Charter Amendment

Section 1. Charter Amendment- Baltimore Regional Transportation Authority Mandate Fund

By Proposing to amend:

Article I- General Provisions 

Section 17

Baltimore City Charter

Click the image to read and download the full amendment.

petition handout

Print this sheet front and back, and use it as a handout when collecting petitions.

Click the image to read and print the flyer.

District Map

Use this sheet to identify the location of each council district as it relates to the sorting chart below which shows Baltimore City residents support for the BRTA (Baltimore Regional Transportation Authority).

Through our petition campaign, we can now document support for the BRTA in every district in Baltimore City.

Click the image to view the map.

baltimore City residents support for the brta

The chart below, sorted by City Council Districts, tallys the number of people in Baltimore City in 2022, who signed the petition to adopt the amendment to create a Baltimore Regional Transportation Authority (BRTA) into the City’s Charter.