Maryland lawmakers took a first step toward redrawing their congressional map during a special session on Tuesday, passing a constitutional amendment that could open the door for Democrats to pick up the only Republican seat in the state’s nine-member congressional delegation ahead of 2028.
Democrats in the Maryland General Assembly pushed through a constitutional amendment in both chambers that is aimed at shielding a possible redistricting effort from potential litigation. If approved by voters in November, the constitutional amendment would set a different standard for how the state draws its congressional districts compared with its assembly districts.
“We have seen how the federal government has told Republican states that they should do mid-decade redistricting but told Democratic states to sit on our hands,” Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said at a Monday press conference ahead of the legislative special session. “We have seen how the Voting Rights Act has fallen, which we predicted would happen at the start of this year. So we are back now to be able to ensure that our elections should be in the hands of the people of Maryland. They should have the final say.”