Overview
- The House passed HB 488 on a 99–37 vote, sending Gov. Wes Moore’s recommended map to the State Senate after hours of debate.
- The plan would significantly reconfigure the 1st and 3rd districts, increasing the chance of unseating Rep. Andy Harris and potentially giving Democrats all eight U.S. House seats from Maryland.
- Senate President Bill Ferguson has long said the measure lacks support, warning of legal vulnerability after a 2021 map was struck down and noting the risk to a calendar with a Feb. 24 filing deadline and a June 23 primary.
- House Republicans’ amendments and procedural delays failed, as Democrats framed the effort as a response to national mid-decade redistricting pushes encouraged by President Donald Trump; Moore testified in support and praised the vote.
- The House also advanced a related constitutional amendment that would ask voters whether the map should remain in place for the two election cycles after 2026.