Maryland Judge Bars Congressional Redistricting Amendment From November Ballot, Stay Allows Immediate Appeal

An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge on Wednesday enjoined Ballot Question 3 — a constitutional amendment approved by the General Assembly this month that would alter the standard for drawing Maryland’s eight congressional districts — and ordered that it not be placed on the November 3, 2026 general‑election ballot. The court simultaneously stayed the injunction to permit an immediate appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court, leaving the measure technically on the ballot while the higher court considers the case.

Judge Robert J. Thompson concluded that lawmakers had violated a statute they themselves adopted when they set a July 1 deadline for the secretary of state to certify summaries of statewide ballot questions to the State Board of Elections. The court said the legislature’s special session in August and the timing of the ballot referral failed to comply with that deadline, a procedural error that plaintiffs argued rendered the placement of the question unlawful.

The judge also said the ballot language was misleading and that the proposed amendment likely violated Maryland’s single‑subject rule because it bundled a substantive change to redistricting standards with a separate clause that would give the state Supreme Court original jurisdiction over congressional‑map disputes. Those legal defects formed the core of the plaintiffs’ challenge, which was brought by conservative groups and Republican state lawmakers.

Supporters framed the amendment as restoring federal standards for congressional maps and allowing maps that cross the Chesapeake Bay — a change that could make the Republican‑held eastern Shore‑adjacent district represented by Rep. Andy Harris more vulnerable in 2028. Opponents countered that the legislature rushed the measure through in a special session to help one party’s congressional prospects and disobeyed the election‑law timetable it had enacted earlier in 2026.

Maryland officials immediately filed an appeal to the state’s highest court and defended the General Assembly’s authority to refer constitutional amendments. Governor Wes Moore’s office and legislative leaders said they disagree with the trial court’s interpretation and that voters should have the final say on the amendment. Plaintiffs hailed the ruling as vindication, while Democrats signaled a quick push to keep the measure alive on the ballot through expedited appellate review.

The ruling comes amid a wider, high‑stakes national fight over mid‑decade redistricting. Democrats had hoped to follow California’s path — and counter a wave of Republican mid‑cycle map changes in several states — by giving state lawmakers greater flexibility to redraw congressional lines. Virginia’s high court recently invalidated its own redistricting ballot measure on procedural grounds, and the Maryland decision echoes that pattern.

Practically, the case now turns to the Maryland Supreme Court. Election officials face a tight administrative calendar: the State Board of Elections must finalize thousands of distinct ballot versions for counties by an imminent statutory deadline at the end of this month. How quickly the Supreme Court moves, whether it will keep the question on the ballot while it reviews the lower‑court ruling, and whether any remedial steps are possible will determine whether voters see the amendment in November.