Democrats wanted a new map on the ballot. That was the plan. A judge stopped it on Wednesday. An Anne Arundel County judge ruled the measure cannot appear on the November 2026 general election ballot, per the Washington Times.
Lawmakers had passed Senate Bill 29 earlier. Gov. Wes Moore signed it in May. It changed the rules for ballot questions. The new rules set a July 1 deadline. The House passed House Bill 2100 on Aug. 3. According to the Daily Signal, this legislation sought to put a mid-decade redistricting measure before voters.
The goal was clear. The new congressional map targets the lone Republican seat held by Rep. Andy Harris. The state tried to rush this through a special session. The court found the process was deficient.
Circuit Court Judge Robert Thompson issued the order. He said the legislature ran afoul of state legal procedures. Per the Daily Signal, the court determined that the General Assembly's process for proposing ballot Question 3 was flawed.
Judge Thompson noted the rush caused other issues. He stated that the rushed special session caused the General Assembly to adopt deficient presumptions and wording for the question itself. As reported by the Daily Signal, the court must prevent the board of elections from placing ballot Question 3 on the November 3, 2026, general election ballot.
The judge pointed out the state ignored its own laws. Thompson noted that the Maryland General Assembly, operating under the state Constitution, passed laws defining the methods for proposing ballot referenda. When referring a ballot question to citizens at a general election, the legislature must adhere to the methods outlined in those laws.
Because the legislature did not follow the very laws it enacted, the court finds the enactment of HB2100 to be legally deficient, the judge ruled, per the Washington Times. The state will likely appeal the case, according to the Daily Signal. According to the Washington Times, Gov. Wes Moore announced that the State Board of Elections appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
The plaintiffs challenging the state include the Oversight Project and the Maryland Freedom Caucus. Republican state Sens. Steve Hershey and Justin Ready also joined the case known as Howell v. Maryland. Rep. Andy Harris claimed that Democratic state leaders tripped over their own rules while attempting to eliminate his seat.
Harris claimed the language was deceptive. He told the Washington Times that Governor Moore and Annapolis Democrats broke their April law by using deceptive language in a rushed special session to alter the Constitution and enable a partisan gerrymander against the 1st District. The court observed that the proposed ballot text was misleading by implying constitutional district rules apply to state offices but exclude federal offices.
The court found the wording itself was flawed. Judge Thompson said the attempt to redraw Maryland's congressional map ran afoul of the state's legal procedures. The plaintiffs argued the legislature violated the means and methods it set for itself. The court ruled the enactment of HB2100 is legally deficient because the legislature did not follow the very laws it enacted.
The state board must now stop the process. The appeal will move to the state's highest court. The plaintiffs in the case include Rep. Andy Harris and state Sens. Steve Hershey and Justin Ready. They argued the rush to pass the measure in a hastily called special session made the wording of the question itself deficient. The judge found the court has no choice but to enjoin the board of elections. The ruling stops the plan to remove a congressional seat. The state will likely appeal the case. The court finds the process used by the General Assembly to propose ballot Question 3 was deficient.