Maryland Republicans threaten lawsuit to block vote on Democrats’ redistricting plan

After Maryland Democrats approved a proposed constitutional amendment Tuesday to change the rules for congressional redistricting, Republicans are threatening to sue to prevent voters from weighing in on the issue.

The GOP intends to “get this into the court as soon as we possibly can to try to put any type of delay that we can,” Maryland Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R) told reporters Tuesday.

Currently, Republicans hold only one seat in the Maryland congressional delegation. The redistricting proposal aims to flip that seat to Democrats. 

Maryland is the latest blue state to respond to the redistricting war President Donald Trump started last year when he demanded Republican-led states redraw their congressional maps mid-decade in a bid to net the GOP more seats during the 2026 midterm elections. 

In April, after the Supreme Court issued a ruling torching provisions of the Voting Rights Act that protected minority voters, the GOP quickly launched an even more brazen string of gerrymanders across the South. 

Maryland Democrats tried to pass a new congressional map earlier this year to counteract Trump’s gerrymanders, but the effort died in the state Senate over concerns a court could strike down the map and order one that would leave Democrats worse off than when they started.

Then, months later, Democratic leaders in the General Assembly announced a special session to introduce a constitutional amendment to clarify the rules for congressional redistricting. 

The amendment does not itself create new congressional districts, but it’s the first step Democrats need to draw a new congressional map before the 2028 election. Maryland voters must approve the change before it can take effect. 

“I continue to believe that our country needs national redistricting reform,” Gov. Wes Moore (D) said in a statement. “But until that happens, inaction is not an option. Maryland will not be caught flat-footed while Republicans engage in political redlining that guts decades of progress that the generations before us fought for. By passing this constitutional amendment, the General Assembly has ensured that Maryland remains committed to being part of that conversation—and that the final decision will rest where it belongs: with the people of Maryland.”

But Republicans slammed the constitutional amendment and accused Democrats of a “power grab” by scheduling a special session to pass the measure. 

“This was never about ‘clarifying rules,’” the far-right Maryland Freedom Caucus said in a statement. “It was a deliberate power grab to silence the only Republican voice in Maryland’s congressional delegation and lock in one-party control.” 

Democrats currently hold seven of Maryland’s eight U.S. House seats, while U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) represents the Eastern Shore-based 1st Congressional District. Even if voters approve the constitutional amendment in November, Democratic leaders said during the floor debate of the special session that it’s not guaranteed the Assembly will draw a new map before the next presidential election. 

“This legislation does not draw congressional districts,” House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D) said. “It does not change a single line on a map. And it does not affect the upcoming 2026 election. It simply clarifies Maryland law and gives voters the opportunity to decide whether our constitution should provide the same legal framework available to other states as they confront the realities of congressional redistricting.”