Maryland voters approve redistricting Question 3: What to know

Changes are coming to how Maryland draws its congressional districts after voters approved adding a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution in the 2026 midterm elections.The measure passed 59.5% to 40.5% on Tuesday.Question 3 on the ballot was backed by prominent Democrats in the state, including Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD). The measure would lift some restrictions on how Maryland legislators draw up congressional districts, allowing more extensive partisan gerrymandering. With its passage, the state could redraw congressional districts in time for the 2028 election. Fight Back Maryland was the Democratic-led group that pushed for the passage of the ballot initiative, which adds an amendment to the Maryland Constitution. The state’s constitution currently requires congressional maps to be drawn with regard to “natural boundaries and … political subdivisions.” The amendment removes the requirement that congressional districts be compact and contiguous by untying federal redistricting from the state constitution.Protect Maryland Votes is the group opposing the passage of Question 3.Democrats in the state, by and large, embraced the effort, painting it as necessary to counter redistricting in red states.“I do not like gerrymandering, but the only way we’re going to get there is by voting yes on Question 3 and making sure that we control our destiny and not Donald Trump,” Moore said.However, Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, has emerged as a key obstacle to Moore’s push to pass a new congressional map that could hand Democrats an 8-0 advantage in Maryland’s congressional delegation, pushing out eight-term Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD). Harris is the only Republican among Maryland’s eight House members.“I think that the majority of Marylanders do not agree with hyper-partisan gerrymandering, and I think they’re going to reject the amendment,” Harris told WBAL-TV 11.“This is not about your so-called concerns about federal issues,” Cox said during a gubernatorial debate with Moore earlier this month. “In fact, if it’s wrong for them, I’m saying, I agree, it’s wrong for Maryland, it’s wrong for you, sir.”