Maryland Republicans File Lawsuits to Block Redistricting Amendment

Republican lawmakers and advocacy groups have launched two separate legal challenges to block a proposed constitutional amendment that would change how Maryland draws its eight congressional districts. The amendment seeks to clarify that requirements for districts to be compact and contiguous apply only to state legislative districts, not congressional ones.

Chris West and other Republican State Senators filed a lawsuit in Dorchester County, arguing that the ballot language is "totally misleading" and designed to disenfranchise voters to eliminate the state's sole Republican congressional seat. A separate suit filed by the Oversight Project and the Maryland Freedom Caucus in Anne Arundel County alleges the Maryland General Assembly violated state election law by missing certification and public disclosure deadlines established by Senate Bill 29.

Senate President Bill Ferguson defended the amendment as a necessary clarification of legal standards following a 2022 court ruling, maintaining that legislative leaders took all necessary measures to comply with the law. The Maryland State Board of Elections has requested that the Dorchester County case be moved to Annapolis to be heard alongside the first suit before the August 31 ballot certification deadline. Oral arguments for the first challenge are scheduled for August 25.