FILE - Maryland lawmakers in the House of Delegates work on Monday, March 18, 2024, in Annapolis, Md. Maryland lawmakers are convening for the last day of their legislative session. With a midnight Monday, April 8 deadline, lawmakers mostly will be putting finishing touches on priority legislation, such as a measure to help employees at the Port of Baltimore affected by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File)
The Maryland Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Democrats’ much-debated redistricting amendment to appear on ballots in November.
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Voters will decide whether to change the state constitution to allow lawmakers to draw legislative and congressional districts without facing stringent compactness standards in the future — marking a win for state Democrats who passed the amendment last month.
Thursday’s ruling reversed an earlier county circuit-court decision that concluded the ballot measure was flawed because it poses multiple redistricting questions to voters.
The proposition will need to be redrafted before being presented to voters, the state Supreme Court said, including adding a clarification that the state constitution does not provide “applicable criteria for the boundaries of a congressional districting plan.”
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Lawmakers must also say the constitution’s standards only apply to Maryland General Assembly districts, not congressional ones.
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A “yes” vote would give the state Supreme Court the sole authority to hear these cases first before the traditional lower-court appeals process.
Maryland joined a wave of Democratic states that launched redistricting efforts in reaction to President Donald Trump’s push for Republicans to flip additional House seats ahead of this year’s midterms. The state’s new map, which would favor Democrats in all eight House districts, would not go into effect until at least 2028.
Nicole Beus Harris, the chair of the Maryland Republican Party, said she was disappointed by the court’s decision to allow “a reworded gerrymandering amendment” on the ballot, she wrote on X.
“Nevertheless, we are confident we can defeat this amendment at the ballot box in November,” she said.
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