Voters in the US state of Maryland will decide in November whether to clear the way for a new congressional map that would favour Democrats in all eight of the state's US House districts for the 2028 elections.
Both chambers of the Democratic-dominated state legislature on Tuesday approved putting an amendment on the ballot to allow the change. Sending it to voters required three-fifths approval of both legislative chambers, which met in a special session to consider the change.
It cleared the House 96-38 and the Senate 32-13.
Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, praised lawmakers for putting the measure before voters, and joined them in saying it was necessary to combat President Donald Trump’s push for a mid-decade redistricting that favours Republicans.
"I continue to believe that our country needs national redistricting reform. But until that happens, inaction is not an option," Moore said in a statement.
In a state where Democrats now occupy seven of the eight House seats, Republicans are calling the effort a blatant power grab — and a move that violates a new state law intended to give voters more time to consider proposed amendments.
In debate in the House on Tuesday, Republican Delegate Kevin Hornberger told his colleagues: "Just because we can go ultra-partisan doesn't mean we should go ultra-partisan."
'Natural boundaries'
If the amendment is ultimately approved, it would likely be part of a rapid reconfiguration of congressional district lines that began last year when Trump urged Republican-controlled states to adjust their maps to help the party in the 2026 midterm elections.
Normally, redistricting happens just once a decade after new Census data is released.
Eight states — Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas — have redrawn maps to help Republicans, who could pick up as many as 16 seats due to the redistricting. New maps in California and Utah could give Democrats an advantage in six races.
Maryland moved more slowly — and with an approach that will not change districts for this year's elections — because Democratic state Senate President Bill Ferguson blocked an earlier initiative aimed at putting new maps in place for this year.
Republican House Minority Leader Jason Buckel condemned the amendment, calling it a troubling moment for the state legislature.
“When history judges the actions of the General Assembly in years to come, what has happened in Annapolis this week will be seen as a sad chapter in the institution’s history,” he said in a statement.
