Redistricting bill nears finish line in MD House

Tension ran high Friday afternoon as House Republicans unsuccessfully lobbed amendments to Maryland’s redrawn congressional map.

“To ask Maryland and Maryland alone to stand down while the president is running around to every other state, asking state leaders to find him votes in the U.S. House of Representatives, that’s preposterous,” House Majority Leader David Moon, D-Montgomery, said.

House Bill 488 would redraw the boundaries of Maryland’s eight congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm election. It would also put forth a ballot referendum to allow Maryland voters to determine if the new map should only remain in effect for the 2026 election, or if it would also apply in 2028 and 2030.

A new map would be drawn after the 2030 census. The House gave preliminary approval to House Bill 488, and is likely to pass it early next week.

The prospect of drawing a new map this year is controversial. 

Documents reviewed by The Daily Record show that 406 members of the public registered an unfavorable position ahead of the bill’s hearing Tuesday. In comparison, 126 people registered favorable positions.

The House chamber originally took up the bill on Thursday, where it dodged an attempt on behalf of House Minority Leader Jason Buckel, R-Allegany, to require that congressional districts adhere to what former Maryland Supreme Court Judge Lynn A. Battaglia set when the General Assembly‘s map was challenged in 2021.

Battaglia ruled that the 2021 map violated the Maryland Constitution, saying it was “a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering,” further saying that legislative districts should be “geographically contiguous” and “compact.” Under current Maryland law, that standard does not apply to congressional districts.

Buckel’s amendment was defeated on a vote of 39-98. Shortly after, Maryland Freedom Caucus Chair Del. Matt Morgan, R-St. Mary’s, had the bill laid over to Friday for the purposes of an amendment.

Morgan’s amendment would have struck the portion of the bill that would bring a ballot question before Maryland voters in November, because ballot questions are not able to be vetoed by the governor.

Both Morgan and bill sponsor C.T Wilson, D-Charles, sought out opinions from the attorney general. Wilson’s letter said rolling the two policies into one bill is constitutional. Morgan’s said “the matter is not free from doubt.”

“You have a bill that’s unconstitutional drawn and you have a bill that’s unconstitutional procedurally,” Morgan said.

Wilson rebuffed the notion, saying he knows the bill is constitutional.

“You guys are holding onto this thin thread,” said Wilson. “It will be cut soon as we take it to court.”

Morgan’s amendment was defeated on a vote of 37-94.

Del. Stuart Schmidt, R-Anne Arundel, brought forth an amendment to completely strike that map and altogether ban mid-cycle redistricting in Maryland.

Schmidt said he’s received letters from people in his district saying gerrymandering “is just plain wrong.”

“It’s wrong. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong that we’re here today, and Marylanders shouldn’t have to hear it,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to be fighting because someone else is fighting.”

In response, Wilson asked Schmidt if he voiced his opinion to his fellow Republicans in Texas.

“When Texas was going forward with mid-cycle redistricting … did you send an amicus brief or anything to let them know there were Republicans that are against this?” asked Wilson.

“I did not,” Schmidt responded.

“Have you reached out to any of your Republican colleagues in other states to let them know that this is not the right thing for us to do?” Wilson asked.

“I’m not sure what this has to do with anything, but I did not,” said Schmidt.

Wilson said that, at the end of the day, Maryland Democrats “are playing fair.”

“At the end of the day, we have to protect Maryland’s interest. We can’t have people up there scared of this administration — fearful that they’ve got to do the right thing to stay in this man’s favor,” said Wilson. “They need to do right for Maryland and the people in the middle.”

Schmidt’s amendment failed on a vote of 37-95.

Del. Mike Griffith, R-Cecil and Harford, offered an amendment to replace the new 2026 map with a map from the citizens redistricting commission under former Gov. Larry Hogan, “which we know without question is an absolutely fair map,” he said.

The map Griffith tried to implement Friday received an “A” from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project. Regardless, the amendment failed on a vote of 37-95.

Though the House is moving the bill forward, the battle between Gov. Wes Moore and Senate President Bill Ferguson, both Democrats, regarding if redistricting should even be pursued in Maryland continues to rage.

Moore testified in favor of House Bill 488 Tuesday, admonishing those who are not moving in favor of mid-cycle redistricting.

“I know that history is not going to remember the Trump-Vance Administration kindly,” Moore said. “But to all those who kowtow, or all those who are trying to move the goalposts, for all those who are looking for all the reasons why we should not respond, instead of using your energy to find ways to respond — History will remember you worse.”

Asked Friday morning if he believes he will be worse remembered for his stance against redistricting, Ferguson said he welcomes Moore’s opinion, but will continue to focus on what his constituents are asking of him.

“They are worried about the cost of living, they’re worried that our economy is not growing fast enough and they’re scared of a lawless Trump administration,” Ferguson said. “What we’re doing in the Senate every single day is focusing on those priorities that I hear directly from Marylanders on their doorsteps every single weekend.”