Overview
- The Democratic‑run General Assembly approved the constitutional amendment and Gov. Wes Moore signed the bill on Aug. 5, sending the question to voters for the Nov. 3 ballot.
- If ratified, the amendment would remove state constitutional requirements that congressional districts be compact and follow natural or jurisdictional boundaries, leaving future maps governed mainly by federal standards.
- Republican lawmakers and conservative groups have filed expedited lawsuits in Anne Arundel County and elsewhere arguing the legislature missed a July 1 certification and public‑notice deadline and improperly added 'notwithstanding any other provision of law' to bypass those rules.
- Supporters say the change is a defensive response to recent Republican mid‑decade redraws and shifts in federal voting‑rights law, while opponents call it a partisan effort to target Maryland’s lone GOP U.S. House seat and to avoid state legal limits on maps.
- Courts face a tight calendar because ballots must be printed in early September; regardless of litigation, the amendment would not alter 2026 districts but could enable the General Assembly to pursue new congressional lines for the 2028 cycle.