Maryland court rules Democratic-backed redistricting amendment cannot go
on November ballot
[August 27, 2026]
By DAVID A. LIEB
A Maryland court has ruled against a proposed constitutional amendment
that could have paved the way for Democrats to redraw the state's
congressional districts ahead of the 2028 elections.
The ruling Wednesday by a judge in the state's capital city marks
another setback in Democrats' national attempts to counter a Republican
redistricting movement pushed by President Donald Trump ahead of this
year's elections. The judge ruled that the amendment cannot appear on
the November ballot, but he paused the effect of that ruling to allow
for an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Democrats already control seven of Maryland's eight congressional seats.
Democratic Gov. Wes Moore called lawmakers into a special session in
August with a goal of making it easier to claim that final seat.
An amendment referred to the ballot by lawmakers seeks to sidestep a
court ruling that struck down a previous Democratic redistricting plan
in 2022. It would declare that a constitutional requirement for
districts to be compact and take into account “natural boundaries”
applies only to state legislative districts, not congressional ones.
That would allow Democratic state lawmakers to draw congressional
districts that cross the Chesapeake Bay, reshaping a district east of
the bay that is held by Republican Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the
conservative House Freedom Caucus.
Judge says legislature did not follow the laws it enacted
Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Robert Thompson ruled that
lawmakers violated their own deadlines for ballot measures. Earlier this
year, lawmakers passed a law signed by Moore that set a July 1 deadline
for the secretary of state to certify summaries of all statewide ballot
questions to the Maryland State Board of Elections.
The state attorney general's office argued that deadline didn't apply to
the redistricting amendment because lawmakers wrote their own ballot
summary for it, using their constitutional authority. The judge
disagreed, instead siding with arguments by the conservative Oversight
Project and Republican state lawmakers who sued.
Thompson also ruled that lawmakers used “intentionally misleading”
wording in the ballot question by stating that it merely “clarifies” the
constitution's redistricting standards. And Thompson said the amendment
violates a single-issue requirement in the constitution by also
including a provision that would give the state Supreme Court original
jurisdiction in lawsuits over congressional redistricting.
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“The court has no choice but to enjoin the board of elections from
including ballot Question 3 on the general election ballot for
November 3, 2026,” Thompson wrote.
Redistricting dispute heads to the Maryland Supreme Court
Shortly after the ruling, the state filed a notice of appeal to the
Maryland Supreme Court.
Maryland House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, a Democrat, expressed
hope of eventually prevailing.
“We remain confident in the authority of the General Assembly and
believe Maryland voters should have the final say,” she said in a
statement.
Redistricting opponents acknowledged the fight was not over.
But “today's decision is a major step in our battle against
Maryland’s lawless attempt at redistricting. Complete and total
vindication!” Oversight Project Strategic Counsel Marshall Yates
said in a statement.
Maryland is the latest state to join a national redistricting
fight
Earlier this year, the Virginia Supreme Court also invalidated a
redistricting ballot measure because of procedural violations by
state lawmakers. In that case, voters had already approved an
amendment in April authorizing mid-decade redistricting when the
court ruled that lawmakers last year had waited too long to take an
initial step necessary to qualify it for the ballot.
Virginia and Maryland both were seeking to follow the path of
California, where voters approved a Democratic-backed amendment
authorizing mid-decade redistricting. Democrats hope to gain as many
as five congressional seats from California's redrawn districts,
plus an additional seat from new districts in Utah.
But Republicans hope to win as many as 16 additional seats from new
U.S. House districts enacted in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana,
Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas.
Redistricting typically happens near the beginning of each decade,
after new census data is released. But a mid-decade redistricting
battle broke out after Trump urged Republican-led states to redraw
congressional districts in hopes that it might help Republicans hold
onto a slim House majority in this year’s midterm elections.
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