Maryland voters will weigh in on an amendment to the state constitution this fall that would allow for congressional redistricting before the 2028 elections. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore held a signing ceremony for the proposed amendment Wednesday, a day after the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature approved it in a special session. Moore’s signature was not required as the legislation passed by a three-fifth majority in both chambers, where Democrats hold supermajorities. If approved in November, the amendment would clear the way for state legislators to redraw the state’s congressional map, potentially eliminating a safely red seat on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, currently held by Republican Andy Harris. In defending the move, Moore cited the elimination of Black-majority districts under new maps adopted by GOP-led Southern states following the spring Supreme Court ruling that weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. "These folks are moving with rapid efficiency," he said at a news conference flanked by Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, state House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk and state Senate President Bill Ferguson. "It is not lost on me that I'm the only Black governor in this country, and I'm seeing how we're watching a silencing of voices to eliminate our communities' power and Black leadership." Moore said he continued to believe "strongly" in the need for a national redistricting overhaul. "But until that happens, inaction cannot be an option," he said. "Until that happens, we cannot be caught flat-footed while we're watching the president of the United States engage in political redlining and gutting decades of progress that generations before us fought for." This month’s special session followed months of division among Maryland Democrats over whether to redraw the state’s congressional map, under which the party holds seven of eight seats. The Maryland House approved a new map in early February that would have favored Democrats in all eight districts. But the effort stalled in the state Senate, where Ferguson opposed the measure over concerns it could face legal challenges from Republicans. But he changed his stance following the Supreme Court’s ruling, which triggered a string of redistricting efforts, not all of them successful, in states across the South. “The world has changed, and in order to get to peace, you have to enter from a position of strength,” Ferguson said at Wednesday’s signing ceremony. “Fundamentally, that is what this constitutional amendment is about.” “This has not been an easy issue,” he added. “There is a deeper question around the state of democracy.” Republicans emerged from this cycle’s redistricting battles with a decisive advantage over Democrats and are eyeing gains in eight states with new congressional maps. Democrats, in contrast, are expected to benefit from new lines in just two states. If Maryland voters approve the redistricting amendment in November, the state could be among a handful of Democrat-controlled states that could redraw their maps ahead of the 2028 elections, but further GOP-led redistricting is also likely.
