--- title: What a Yes or No Vote on Maryland's Question 3 Means, and How the Redistricting Fight Got Here canonical: https://marylandfeed.com/maryland-question-3-redistricting-amendment-explained/ published: '2026-10-30T07:00:01-04:00' updated: '2026-10-30T07:00:01-04:00' author: MarylandFeed Staff section: Elections places: - Anne Arundel County - Prince George's County tags: - Redistricting - Elections - General Assembly - Maryland Judiciary source: Department of Legislative Services, source_url: https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/2026_Ballot_Question_SBE_Letter.pdf publisher: MarylandFeed attribution: Copyright MarylandFeed. Quote with credit to MarylandFeed and a link to the canonical URL above. --- # What a Yes or No Vote on Maryland's Question 3 Means, and How the Redistricting Fight Got Here Question 3 on Maryland's ballot asks voters to change how the state constitution treats the map for the state's eight U.S. House seats. It does not draw a new map. It would add language saying nothing in the Maryland Constitution sets criteria for where congressional district lines go, and it would let the General Assembly send legal challenges to those maps straight to the Supreme Court of Maryland. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and mail-in ballots must be postmarked or placed in a drop box by 8 p.m. that day, according to the [State Board of Elections](https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/index.html). Early voting ran Oct. 22 through Oct. 29. ## The words on the ballot This is the full text voters see, from the State Board of Elections' [ballot questions page](https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/ballot_questions.html): > FOR the purpose of clarifying that certain requirements apply only to districts for the election of members of the Senate of Maryland and the House of Delegates; authorizing the General Assembly to grant original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court of Maryland to review the congressional districting plan of the State; and providing that nothing in the Maryland Constitution provides applicable criteria for the boundaries of a congressional districting plan. The choices are "For the Constitutional Amendment" and "Against the Constitutional Amendment." The question's wording is not the ballot language lawmakers wrote for it. On Sept. 3, a divided Supreme Court of Maryland [ruled](https://www.mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/coa/2026/21a26pc.pdf) that the General Assembly's version was misleading where it said the amendment "requires the criteria for boundaries of congressional districts to be determined by applicable federal laws." The court kept the question on the ballot and replaced that text with the bill's own purpose paragraph, above. Moderately MOCO [covered that ruling](https://moderatelymoco.com/question-3-maryland-supreme-court-november-ballot-language-rewritten/) the day it came down. ![The constitutional text Question 3 would add (in bold capitals).](https://marylandfeed.com/media/2026/10/63ea8793-shot-q3-amendment-text-1052.jpg) The constitutional text Question 3 would add (in bold capitals). Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, [Proposed Constitutional Amendment Text](https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/SBE_Proposed_Constitutional_Amendment_Text.pdf), page 3. ## What each part means The state's Department of Legislative Services wrote the official summary of the amendment for the State Board of Elections. Here is each clause in plain words, based on that summary and the amendment's text. **"Certain requirements apply only to" state legislative districts.** Article III, Section 4 of the Maryland Constitution says each legislative district must be made of adjoining territory, be compact and have substantially equal population, with "due regard" for natural boundaries and county and city lines. The amendment adds words saying those rules cover districts for the state Senate and House of Delegates. In a 2022 ruling, the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County held that the same standards apply to congressional districts too, the summary says. **"Original jurisdiction" for the Supreme Court of Maryland.** Today, a state court challenge to the congressional map must start in a circuit court, according to the summary. The amendment would let the General Assembly pass a law sending those cases directly to the state's highest court. The Supreme Court of Maryland already hears challenges to the state legislative map that way, the bill's [fiscal and policy note](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/fnotes/bil_0000/hb2100.pdf) says. **"Nothing in the Maryland Constitution provides applicable criteria."** Under this clause, no part of the state constitution, including the Declaration of Rights, would set rules for where congressional district lines go. Congressional maps must still comply with the U.S. Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, the fiscal note says. The law that put the question on the ballot, [Chapter 881](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_881_hb2100t.pdf), says in its preamble that congressional districting "remains subject to the U.S. Constitution, federal law, and any Maryland statute expressly governing congressional districts." The two Supreme Court of Maryland justices who dissented from the Sept. 3 order argued that the rewritten wording is still misleading. Justice Gould, joined by Senior Justice Glenn T. Harrell, wrote that voters "would not understand that the criteria being removed include the guarantees of the Declaration of Rights," naming Articles 7, 24 and 40. The majority held that substituting the purpose paragraph was an available remedy. ![The official summary of Question 3.](https://marylandfeed.com/media/2026/10/02d2e2bd-shot-q3-dls-summary-1032.jpg) The official summary of Question 3. Source: Department of Legislative Services, [ballot question summaries for the State Board of Elections](https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/2026_Ballot_Question_SBE_Letter.pdf), page 6. ## What a yes or no vote does **A vote for** adds the new wording to Article III. If a majority of the votes cast on the question are in favor, the governor proclaims the amendment adopted and it becomes part of the constitution, under [Article XIV](https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/14art14.html). The amendment itself draws no map. Any new congressional map, or any law sending map challenges to the Supreme Court of Maryland, would still have to be passed by the General Assembly. The current map, Chapter 16 of 2022, stays in place unless lawmakers replace it. Chapter 881's preamble says the amendment "is not intended to provide new grounds to challenge" that 2022 plan. **A vote against** leaves the constitution's wording as it is now. Challenges to a congressional map in state court would still start in a circuit court, per the summary. The amendment would not affect this year's congressional races, [Capital News Service reported](https://cnsmaryland.org/2026/10/22/maryland-democrats-urge-voters-to-support-congressional-redistricting-question/), and CNS reported that experts say it would open the door to a redrawn map that could flip the state's one Republican-held seat. No new congressional map could be drawn before 2027, and one would not take effect until the 2028 elections, [Maryland Matters reported](https://marylandmatters.org/2026/10/27/most-democrats-at-question-3-rally-harbeson-heads-out-more-in-political-notes/). ## The numbers In 2024, Maryland voters elected seven Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Andy Harris in the 1st District, to the U.S. House. Across all eight districts, Republican candidates received 1,017,654 of the 2,935,328 votes cast, or 34.7%, according to the State Board of Elections' [official 2024 results](https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/archive/2024/General_Results/gen_results_2024_3_1_P.html). In the board's [September 2026 voter registration report](https://elections.maryland.gov/pdf/vrar/2026/MSR-2026_09.pdf), the most recent monthly report posted as of Oct. 29, 1,014,219 of Maryland's 4,333,854 active registered voters were Republicans, or 23.4%. Democrats were 2,228,877, or 51.4%, and unaffiliated voters were 1,010,090, or 23.3%. ## How Maryland got here **2011.** The General Assembly redrew the congressional map, with then-Gov. Martin O'Malley, a Democrat, leading the process. O'Malley later testified that his aim was to change the delegation to seven Democrats and one Republican by flipping one district, according to the U.S. Supreme Court's [2019 opinion](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/18-422_9ol1.pdf) in the case that followed. The map moved roughly 360,000 voters out of the 6th District and 350,000 in, and a Democrat won the seat in 2012, the opinion says. **2019.** Maryland voters who sued in federal court in 2013 claimed the 6th District map discriminated against Republicans (Benisek v. Lamone), and a federal district court ruled for them. On June 27, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated that ruling in Rucho v. Common Cause, decided together with the Maryland case, 5-4. The majority concluded that "partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts" (slip opinion, page 30). The majority added that "provisions in state statutes and state constitutions can provide standards and guidance for state courts to apply" (slip opinion, page 31). **2021 and 2022.** After the 2020 census, the General Assembly passed a new congressional map in a December 2021 special session. Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed it on Dec. 9, 2021, and lawmakers overrode the veto the same day, the [General Assembly's record](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0001?ys=2021S1) shows. Republican voters sued in state court, in cases led by plaintiffs Kathryn Szeliga and Neil Parrott. On March 25, 2022, Senior Judge Lynne A. Battaglia of the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court [struck down the map](https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/MD-Order-Permanent-Injunction.pdf) as "a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering," relying on Article III, Section 4 and Articles 7, 24 and 40 of the Declaration of Rights. Lawmakers then passed the current map, [Senate Bill 1012](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb1012?ys=2022RS), which Hogan signed April 4, 2022, as Chapter 16. **2026.** In the regular session, the House voted 99-37 on Feb. 2 for [House Bill 488](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0488?ys=2026RS), which the later bill's fiscal note lists as having similar provisions. The bill's record ends with a referral to the Senate Rules Committee on Feb. 4. In a special session in August, the Speaker's [House Bill 2100](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb2100?ys=2026RS) passed the House 96-38 and the Senate 32-13 on Aug. 4. A constitutional amendment needs three-fifths of each chamber. Gov. Wes Moore signed it Aug. 5. Moore tied the bill to redistricting in other states. "Maryland will not be caught flat-footed while Republicans engage in political redlining that guts decades of progress that the generations before us fought for," he said in his [Aug. 5 statement](https://governor.maryland.gov/news/press-releases/governor-moore-signs-legislation-put-redistricting-constitutional-amendment-november-ballot), adding, "I continue to believe that our country needs national redistricting reform." ## What each side says **For.** The Maryland Democratic Party's [website](https://mddems.org/elections/2026-voter-guide/) carries the line "Want to STOP TRUMP? Vote Yes on Question 3!" "Voting YES on Question 3 is Maryland's best opportunity to push back against Trump's attempt to rig more MAGA seats in Congress," Carter Elliott, a senior communications adviser for Moore, said in a press release, as reported by [Capital News Service](https://cnsmaryland.org/2026/10/22/maryland-democrats-urge-voters-to-support-congressional-redistricting-question/). After an Oct. 26 rally in Bowie, Rep. Steny Hoyer said passage is needed to allow a redistricting process that could make it easier for Democrats to secure all eight of Maryland's House seats, [Maryland Matters reported](https://marylandmatters.org/2026/10/27/most-democrats-at-question-3-rally-harbeson-heads-out-more-in-political-notes/). At the rally, Rep. Glenn Ivey said, "We're trying to fight back, and we have to fight back here in Maryland by redrawing our lines too. And that's what Question 3 is all about," the outlet reported. One campaign ad features former President Barack Obama, paid for by Moore's re-election campaign with an initial $500,000 buy, [CBS Baltimore reported](https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/barack-obama-appears-ad-yes-question-3/), citing [The Baltimore Banner](https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/state-government/barack-obama-maryland-redistricting-question-3-T2ZTERD7JBE25ID7QJIQH2Z2OQ/). **Against.** The Maryland Republican Party is running a "Save Our Voice" campaign for a no vote. "An 8-0 map isn't representation, it's erasure, disenfranchisement, and suppression," party chairwoman Nicole Beus Harris said in the party's [Aug. 17 release](https://mdgop.org/2026/08/17/mdgop-launches-save-our-voice-campaign-to-defeat-democrats-gerrymandering-amendment/). The Maryland Forward Party opposed the bill in [written testimony](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/cmte_testimony/2026/gvc/1VnTTkrrv5ZKLyp_HL8dbm5-bSJKSq_7g.pdf) on Aug. 3, saying: "Partisan gerrymandering, regardless of the party who benefits, and the circumstances used to justify it, is undemocratic and wrong," and "HB2100/SB2100 enables partisan gerrymandering and will only enable this dysfunction." It called for "a non-partisan, independent redistricting commission by the 2030 census." Dan Schwartz, the Democrat running against Harris in the 1st District, according to the State Board of Elections' [candidate list](https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/general_candidates/2026_GG_statewide_candidatelist.html), told [Fox45](https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/democrat-challenging-andy-harris-breaks-with-his-party-to-oppose-marylands-question-3) he opposes Question 3. "I really do believe that as a Democratic Party, if we want to represent the great people of this district, we have to show up and fight for our votes instead of picking and choosing our votes," he said. A Maryland Democratic Party handout that says "FIGHT BACK! YES ON 3" carries the line "Authorized by Dan Schwartz for Congress," [The Baltimore Sun reported](https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/10/28/schwartz-maryland-question-three-palm-card/) Oct. 28; his campaign manager, Ron Deb, told the Sun: "Dan has been consistent with his stance and opposition to it." **No position.** Common Cause Maryland "takes no formal position," it said in [testimony](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/cmte_testimony/2026/gvc/1IHPjAWJu-QKRFArkK5urKKmoEIOyPDZT.pdf) on the bill, adding that it remains "opposed to partisan gerrymandering" and that Maryland "should consider counterbalancing measures like that laid out in this legislation." **Platform.** The Libertarian Party of Maryland's [platform](https://www.lpmaryland.org/) says: "Voters should pick their politicians; politicians shouldn't pick their voters. End gerrymandering." Source: [Department of Legislative Services,](https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2026/2026_Ballot_Question_SBE_Letter.pdf)