Potomac voters will see a rewritten redistricting question on their November ballots after the Maryland Supreme Court ruled Thursday, Sept. 3, that the proposed constitutional amendment can go forward.

The 5-2 unsigned order overturned injunctions from two lower courts that had blocked Question 3, which asks voters whether Maryland's constitutional standards for drawing compact, contiguous districts should apply only to state legislative maps, not congressional ones. The ruling came just 16 days before mail-in ballots begin shipping on Saturday, Sept. 19, according to State Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis, as reported by Bethesda Magazine.

What the court found

The majority, led by Chief Justice Matthew Fader, agreed with the lower courts on one point: the ballot language written by the General Assembly was misleading. The justices singled out a clause stating that congressional boundary criteria would be "determined by applicable federal laws," according to the court's order.

Rather than strike the question entirely, the court ordered the original text replaced with the purpose paragraph from House Bill 2100, the legislation that created Question 3. The new language tells voters the amendment would clarify that certain redistricting requirements apply only to state Senate and House of Delegates districts, authorize the General Assembly to grant the Supreme Court jurisdiction over congressional map challenges, and establish that nothing in the Maryland Constitution provides criteria for congressional district boundaries.

The court also rejected two other grounds the lower courts had used to block the question: that the General Assembly missed statutory deadlines and that Question 3 violated the state constitution's single-subject requirement.

Justice Steven B. Gould dissented, joined by Senior Justice Glenn T. Harrell. Gould wrote that the General Assembly drafted the question and should bear the consequences of writing a misleading one. Full opinions from both sides will be filed later.

Why it matters for Potomac

The amendment does not redraw any congressional districts. It would change the constitutional rules under which future maps are drawn.

The measure targets a 2022 ruling by Judge Lynne Battaglia that struck down a congressional map by applying the state constitution's compactness and contiguity standards to congressional districts. That interpretation had been considered novel; those standards were previously understood to cover only state legislative districts.

Republicans opposed the amendment in the legislature and in court. They argue it clears the way for Democrats to engage in midcycle redistricting that could make all eight of Maryland's congressional seats tilt Democratic. Rep. Andy Harris, who represents the Eastern Shore's 1st District, is the state's lone Republican in Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey, one of the plaintiffs, said the court's decision to rewrite the language proved his side's core argument. "If the ballot question had to be rewritten, then it was clearly inadequate as originally written," Hershey said. He added that he believes the revised language still fails to explain the amendment's full effect.

Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee Chair Brian Feldman (D-Potomac) appeared at a press conference ahead of the Aug. 3–5 special session where HB 2100 passed along party lines.

Senate President Bill Ferguson framed the effort as defensive at that Aug. 3 press conference. "Since Donald Trump pressured Texas into this redistricting race, what we know is that our goal in Maryland has been to protect our current seven-to-one congressional map," Ferguson said at the time, as reported by Bethesda Magazine.

What happens next

DeMarinis said the State Board of Elections (SBE) will meet all mail-in ballot delivery deadlines. The court ordered both circuit courts to enter new orders consistent with the ruling no later than Friday, Sept. 4.

The Maryland Freedom Caucus, which was among the plaintiffs, said it was examining "next steps" but did not elaborate. Voters will decide Question 3 on Tuesday, Nov. 3.