A Maryland judge on Wednesday blocked a proposed constitutional amendment that Democrats backed to redraw the state’s congressional districts, ruling that the legislature did not follow its own deadlines for ballot measures.
Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Robert Thompson found that the amendment, which sought to loosen requirements for district compactness and natural boundaries for congressional races, could not be included on the November ballot. The ruling paused the effect of the decision to allow for an appeal to the state Supreme Court.
The amendment aimed to circumvent a 2022 court decision that struck down a previous Democratic redistricting plan. It proposed to clarify that constitutional requirements for compact districts and the consideration of "natural boundaries" apply only to state legislative districts, not congressional ones. This change would have allowed Democratic lawmakers to draw districts that could cross the Chesapeake Bay, potentially impacting the district held by Republican Rep. Andy Harris.
Thompson ruled that lawmakers violated a July 1 deadline for the secretary of state to certify summaries of statewide ballot questions, a law passed earlier this year and signed by Gov. Wes Moore. The judge disagreed with the state attorney general’s argument that the deadline did not apply because lawmakers drafted their own ballot summary.
The judge also stated that the ballot question used "intentionally misleading" language by claiming to merely "clarify" redistricting standards. Furthermore, he found that the amendment violated a single-issue requirement in the constitution by including a provision granting the state Supreme Court original jurisdiction in lawsuits over congressional redistricting.
Maryland House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, a Democrat, expressed confidence in the legislature's authority and the potential for voters to have the final say after the appeal. Marshall Yates, Strategic Counsel for the Oversight Project, which sued along with Republican lawmakers, called the ruling a "major step" in their opposition to the redistricting effort.
Maryland is the latest state to become a focal point in a national redistricting dispute. Earlier this year, the Virginia Supreme Court invalidated a redistricting ballot measure due to procedural issues. Democrats have pursued mid-decade redistricting in states like California, hoping to gain congressional seats, while Republicans have sought similar changes in several other states, including Texas and Florida, to bolster their House majority.