Maryland’s Question 3
November 3, 2026
By Peter Favret
In early September, the Maryland Supreme Court held that a consequential redistricting ballot question could go to voters in November’s election, over the objection of two dissenting judges. The question, if voters were to approve it, would enshrine an amendment into Maryland’s constitution clarifying that redistricting standards which are currently in the constitution apply only to state elections, not any congressional districting plan. The question would also grant original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court of Maryland to review districting plans.
Currently, the Maryland constitution requires that congressional districts be “compact and connected,” a requirement that has invalidated partisan Congressional maps in Maryland before. If the question were to pass, the “compact and connected” requirement would not apply to congressional maps, presumably allowing Maryland Democrats to redraw Congressional districts to favor Democratic representatives even more than current maps.
Maryland’s Governor, Wes Moore, believes the ballot question is necessary to fight back against the Trump administration’s efforts to gerrymander Congressional maps in favor of Republicans across the country. Even former President Barack Obama has weighed in by appearing in ads encouraging voters to vote yes on the question. Despite strong backing from key Democratic figures, the measure is not as popular as one might think in a consistently Democratic state like Maryland.
Despite Trump’s extremely unfavorable polling numbers, one poll found only 28% of voters in Maryland approved of the ballot measure. Polls are not the only place where the ballot question has received opposition. A judge in Anne Arundel County ruled on August 26, 2026, that the original question could not appear on the November ballot. The specific reasons given for the rejection were that the ballot question was “misleading” and the legislature’s failure to “follow the very laws it enacted” in writing the question.
The Supreme Court of Maryland weighed in about a week later, as the Chief Justice wrote for the majority that “[a]n available remedy in this case . . . is to substitute the purpose paragraph … for the text of the question.” The majority refused to block the question, instead rewriting the question and allowing it on the ballot. Two dissenting Justices noted their skepticism regarding the power of the court to draft or replace language. Additionally, the two dissenting Justices believed the question continued to be misleading.
Although public polling regarding the ballot provision seems to suggest that voters will not allow the provision to pass, the question remains and the constitutional amendment is a real possibility, as is the partisan districting that will inevitably follow. The passage of the provision would not immediately redraw districts, but it would open the door to partisan redistricting that could end Republican control of District 1, currently represented by Republican Andy Harris–Maryland’s only GOP member of Congress.
Public support and opposition for the ballot question is unquestionably partisan. Democratic Governor Wes Moore believes the measure’s presence on the ballot is a “massive victory.” Republicans, on the other hand, believe the Maryland Supreme Court ruling to be “baffling,” with some voters pointing out that the question doesn’t mention potential gerrymandering. Despite strong partisan currents, the ballot’s relative unpopularity, at least according to polls, leaves open the question of whether the average voter in Maryland wants to push back the President’s efforts to redraw districts by engaging in similar behavior.