Maryland Judge Blocks Congressional Redistricting Question From November Ballot; State Appeals
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The Facts
- Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Robert Thompson ruled Wednesday that ballot Question 3 cannot appear on Maryland's Nov. 3 general election ballot.
- Thompson stayed his order pending an appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court, which will have the final say.
- Thompson wrote that the process the General Assembly used to propose Question 3 was deficient.
- The proposed amendment would exempt Maryland's congressional districts from the geographic requirements that apply to state legislative districts.
- The Democratic-controlled legislature approved the measure during a two-day special session in early August, and Gov. Wes Moore signed it.
- Republican lawmakers, including members of the Maryland Freedom Caucus, sued to keep the question off the ballot.
- Democrats hold seven of Maryland's eight congressional seats; the remaining seat is held by Republican Rep. Andy Harris.
- If the ruling stands, it would block any Maryland congressional redistricting before the 2028 election.
Context
What specific defects did the judge identify?
Thompson found the General Assembly's process for proposing Question 3 was deficient and that the amendment improperly combined separate issues, violating the single-subject rule Eagle-Tribune,Baltimore Sun. He also described parts of the ballot wording as "intentionally misleading, and this should disqualify the ballot question as currently written" Hill, and cited a missed statutory deadline for ballot questions set by an earlier law, Senate Bill 29 Redstate,Daily Signal.
What happens next?
The state filed a notice of appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court shortly after the ruling, and Thompson's stay keeps his order on hold while that appeal proceeds HuffPost,Curated - BLOX Digi…. The court may act quickly because the Maryland Board of Elections has said ballots are slated to begin printing soon NYT.
Why did Maryland Democrats pursue a constitutional amendment at all?
Gov. Wes Moore called an August special session with the goal of making it easier for Democrats to win the state's one Republican-held seat HuffPost,Washington Examiner. The amendment was designed to get around a 2022 court ruling and state geographic requirements on district shape FOX 5 DC,POLITICO, as part of a broader national contest over mid-decade map redrawing that includes a Republican push backed by President Donald Trump Los Angeles Times,POLITICO.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Neither framing disputes that the judge found the General Assembly's process for proposing Question 3 deficient, nor that the Maryland Supreme Court now holds the final word.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about voters being denied a say on their own congressional map, or about a procedural defect that must bind the party drawing the lines.
- Why they won’t converge
- The divide is about values, not facts: both sides accept the judge found the process deficient, but they disagree over whether procedural regularity is itself the legitimacy test or a technicality that should not override an elected majority's referral to voters.
How left and right read it
Voters, not procedural technicalities, should decide whether Maryland's congressional districts stay bound by geographic rules written for state legislative seats. Yet a circuit judge has kept Question 3 off the November ballot on the ground that the legislature's process for proposing it was deficient, and if that stands, no congressional map can change before 2028 — the third time this year state judges have blocked Democratic attempts at gerrymandering. The Maryland Supreme Court should let the elected legislature's amendment reach the people.
“The ruling marks the third time this year that state judges have blocked Democratic attempts at gerrymandering.” — The New York Times
How congressional lines get drawn is exactly where procedural discipline matters most, because the party writing the rules is the party that stands to gain from them. So when a judge finds the General Assembly's process for proposing Question 3 deficient — a measure moved through a two-day special session, in a state where Democrats already hold seven of eight seats — that defect alone should keep it off the ballot.
“Moore signed a measure this month passed by the Democrat-led Maryland General Assembly to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot and eventually redraw the congressional districts to oust the state's only Republican congressman, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD).” — Washington Examiner
The receipts — all 46 sources
Independent coverage (46)
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