Maryland voters will decide if congressional gerrymandering is allowed

BALTIMORE, Md. — This election season, Maryland voters will decide on Question 3, a constitutional amendment that would put congressional district maps under different rules than those governing state district maps.

The measure opens the door for whoever is in power in Annapolis to redraw the map to benefit their party, without interference from the state's Supreme Court.

Republicans are launching a campaign urging voters to vote no. Their pitch is that the change could eliminate Republican representation in Maryland's federal delegation. Currently, Rep. Andy Harris is the lone Republican in that delegation.

"Question 3 is a point of no return. It eliminates the rules that protect our voting rights here on the Eastern Shore," said state Sen. Johnny Mautz, a Republican representing Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot and Wicomico counties.

Mautz said the amendment puts Maryland voters' protections at risk.

"The voting rights, the protecting voting rights, they're protecting the rights of the citizens, right? And Question 3 is a big, big move to take away some of those protections for our voting rights. If you think about it that way, I don't know how you could come to the conclusion this is a good policy move for the state of Maryland," Mautz said.

Democrats are framing the measure as a fight back against President Donald Trump, saying Trump pushed red states to redraw their congressional maps and Maryland is simply joining in.

"Question 3 is Maryland's ability to fight back against Donald Trump, as Donald Trump has gone across the nation and demanded red states redraw their congressional maps," said Joe Francaviglia of Fight Back MD.

Francaviglia said a yes vote on Question 3 is a statement against Trump's broader agenda.

"What I would say is, as we look across the country and we see what Donald Trump's doing in communities across America and here in Maryland, whether it's putting masked ICE agents on our streets, whether it's firing tens of thousands of our neighbors through the DOGE cuts. Whether it's starting wars that we did not ask for, this is our ability to express our displeasure and say, we are not OK with what Donald Trump is doing. So if you vote for Question 3, you are saying, I do not support Donald Trump," Francaviglia said.

Mail-in ballots are already out. Early voting starts on October 22, and the election is November 3.

Email the WMAR-2 Newsroom if you have info, photos or videos to share.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.