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Maryland voters will decide in November whether to change the state Constitution’s rules for congressional redistricting after the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a revised ballot question can go before voters.
The divided court overturned lower-court rulings that had blocked the measure, but agreed that the General Assembly’s original ballot language was misleading. Rather than remove the question from the ballot, the justices rewrote it themselves.
The revised Question 3 asks voters to amend the Maryland Constitution to clarify that certain redistricting requirements apply only to districts for the state Senate and House of Delegates. It also would authorize the General Assembly to give the Supreme Court of Maryland original jurisdiction over challenges to congressional maps.
Most significantly, the revised language says that nothing in the Maryland Constitution establishes criteria for the boundaries of congressional districts.
That change could have significant consequences for how Maryland’s congressional map is challenged and redrawn in the future.
The dispute stems from a 2022 ruling by retired Judge Lynne Battaglia, who found that Maryland’s constitutional requirements for compact and contiguous districts applied to congressional districts. The ruling was considered unusual because those requirements had traditionally been understood to apply only to state legislative districts.
Democratic lawmakers responded by pushing a constitutional amendment through a two-day special session in August. Because it would amend the state Constitution, the proposal must be approved directly by voters.
Republicans challenged the measure in court, arguing that lawmakers missed statutory deadlines, improperly combined multiple subjects into one ballot question and failed to give voters an accurate explanation of what the amendment would do.
Two lower courts agreed and temporarily blocked the question from appearing on the November ballot.
The Supreme Court of Maryland agreed with one key part of the lower-court reasoning: Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader wrote for the majority that the original wording was misleading, particularly its reference to “applicable federal laws.”
But the majority concluded that the appropriate remedy was to rewrite the question rather than remove it from the ballot.
Justice Steven B. Gould, joined by Senior Justice Glenn T. Harrell, sharply disagreed. Gould questioned whether the court had the authority to draft ballot language for the Legislature and argued that the revised question remained misleading.
Gould warned that voters may not understand that the amendment could eliminate constitutional standards that currently provide protections against congressional maps designed to disadvantage groups based on political expression, association or other protected interests.
The ruling also carries major political implications.
Republicans argue the amendment is designed to clear the way for Democrats to redraw Maryland’s congressional districts between the normal decennial redistricting cycles. Democrats have increasingly discussed mid-decade redistricting as Republican-controlled states pursue similar efforts elsewhere.
Maryland Democrats hold supermajorities in the General Assembly, and Gov. Wes Moore has supported efforts to revisit the state’s congressional map.
The potential target is particularly clear: Rep. Andy Harris, R-Maryland, is currently the state’s only Republican member of Congress. Republicans argue that changing the constitutional standards could make it easier for Democrats to redraw the map in a way that eliminates or significantly weakens his district.
Moore called Thursday’s ruling “a massive victory,” saying the decision ensures Maryland voters—not politicians—will have the final say.
Republican lawmakers and groups opposing the amendment accused Democrats of intentionally using vague language to conceal its potential effects.
The State Board of Elections said the court’s decision keeps the election calendar on track. Mail ballots are scheduled to begin going out Sept. 19.
The Supreme Court’s Thursday order resolved the immediate question of whether voters will see Question 3 on the ballot, but the justices said fuller opinions explaining their reasoning will follow.
For now, Maryland voters—not the courts—will decide whether the state’s constitutional rules governing congressional redistricting should change.
