 Under the Maryland Constitution of 1776 , the Governor was chosen for one @-@ year terms by both houses of the General Assembly . An 1838 constitutional amendment allowed voters to elect the Governor to three @-@ year terms from one of three rotating gubernatorial districts : eastern , southern , and western . At each election , only voters from a single gubernatorial election district selected the Governor . The Maryland Constitution of 1851 lengthened the Governor 's term of office from three to four years , which brought elections for Governor in line with elections for Federal offices that occur only in even years . Finally , the Constitution of 1864 eliminated the rotating gubernatorial election districts and , since the election of 1868 , the Governor has been elected by all the voters of the state . 
