A Maryland circuit court judge just blocked Democrats from ramming through a hastily crafted constitutional amendment designed to wipe out the state’s lone Republican-held congressional district, ruling the legislature brazenly ignored its own laws to get the measure on the November ballot.
Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Robert J. Thompson issued an injunction Wednesday barring the Maryland State Board of Elections from placing the amendment question before voters on Nov. 3. The ruling lays bare a scheme that saw Democratic lawmakers convene a special session more than a month after they themselves had set a deadline for ballot questions.
“Because the legislature did not follow the very laws it enacted, the court finds the enactment of HB2100 to be legally deficient,” Thompson wrote in his pointed opinion.
The Board of Elections immediately appealed to the Maryland Supreme Court.
“Even if the legislature’s reading of the constitution is correct and they are exempted from following the laws they impose on all other Marylanders, the court finds the ballot question itself to be deficient,” the judge wrote.
The proposed amendment would grant the Maryland Supreme Court original jurisdiction to review the state’s redistricting plan and declares the state constitution says nothing about congressional redistricting. But Thompson found the ballot language misleading, particularly its claim to be “clarifying” existing law.
The proposed question reads in part that the amendment “clarifies that certain standards in the Maryland Constitution apply only to districts used to elect members of the General Assembly” and “requires the criteria for boundaries of congressional districts to be determined by applicable federal law.”
Thompson wasn’t buying it.
“There is nothing in the record to suggest that was ever the common understanding,” the judge wrote, noting that previous court rulings the Board of Elections relied upon made no distinction between state and federal congressional districts.
This marks the second time this year Democrats have tried and failed to eliminate Republican-held congressional seats through redistricting maneuvers. A similar scheme in Virginia collapsed earlier in 2026.
Maryland’s Old Line State has just one Republican congressional district remaining. Democrats apparently decided that was one too many and tried to use a quick constitutional change to finish the job. A judge saw through it.
The case now heads to the Maryland Supreme Court, where the Board of Elections hopes to overturn Thompson’s ruling before November ballots are finalized.
