Democrats suffer major blow as Maryland court strikes down redistricting amendment

A Maryland state court has struck down a proposed constitutional amendment designed to give Democrats the scope to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2028 elections.

The decision, delivered Wednesday by a judge in the state capital, deals a fresh blow to national Democratic efforts to offset a Republican redistricting drive backed by President Donald Trump ahead of this year's elections.

Although the judge determined that the measure cannot be included on the November ballot , he temporarily stayed the ruling to permit an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Democrats currently hold seven of Maryland’s eight seats in Congress. In August, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore summoned legislators to a special session to help capture the remaining seat.

The legislative proposal put to the ballot was intended to bypass a 2022 judicial ruling that struck down a previous Democratic redistricting map.

It seeks to establish that constitutional mandates requiring districts to be compact and respect "natural boundaries" apply only to state legislative boundaries, not federal congressional seats.

Such a change would enable Democratic state lawmakers to construct congressional districts spanning the Chesapeake Bay, altering a district to its east currently represented by Republican Rep. Andy Harris, who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Robert Thompson determined that legislators breached statutory deadlines they had themselves introduced.

Legislation enacted earlier this year and signed by Moore required the secretary of state to submit certified summaries of all statewide ballot measures to the Maryland State Board of Elections by July 1.

Lawyers from the state attorney general's office contended that the deadline was not applicable to the redistricting measure because lawmakers had drafted their own summary using constitutional powers.

The judge rejected this argument, ruling in favor of the conservative Oversight Project and Republican state legislators who filed the lawsuit.

Thompson further found that lawmakers employed "intentionally misleading" language in the question by suggesting it simply "clarifies" constitutional redistricting rules. He added that the measure violated a constitutional requirement for single-issue ballot items by incorporating a clause granting the state Supreme Court original jurisdiction over congressional redistricting litigation.

"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.

The state lodged a notice of appeal with the Maryland Supreme Court shortly after the verdict was delivered.