Maryland lawmakers advance redistricting amendment—not a new 2026 map

Maryland lawmakers began advancing a proposed constitutional amendment on August 3 that could create a path to revisit the state’s congressional districts after the 2026 election. The action does not itself replace the map Maryland candidates and voters will use this year.

The General Assembly’s special session runs from August 3 through August 5 and is limited to congressional redistricting. House Bill 488 still must clear additional legislative steps before Maryland voters could decide whether to approve it.

What changed this week

House Bill 488 would amend the Maryland Constitution and establish a framework for congressional redistricting after the 2026 statewide general election. The current special-session action is separate from the bill’s earlier regular-session history: the House passed the measure 99-37 on February 2, 2026, and the Senate referred it to the Rules Committee.

Lawmakers are now considering the measure during the special session scheduled for August 3-5. Legislative leaders have limited the session to legislation concerning redistricting standards, according to regional reporting from WTOP.

What House Bill 488 would do

The proposed amendment would clarify that requirements involving adjoining territory, compactness, substantially equal population, natural boundaries and political-subdivision boundaries apply to districts used to elect members of the Maryland Senate and House of Delegates.

It would also authorize the General Assembly to grant original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court of Maryland to review the state’s congressional districting. That would create a state-court review framework for future congressional maps, if the amendment takes effect.

The bill contains temporary constitutional language for congressional elections held after the 2026 general election and before a congressional plan adopted after the 2030 census becomes effective. Its proposed ballot language says a 2026 congressional plan could be used for the 2028 and 2030 elections and until a post-2030-census plan takes effect.

That language could make a future map relevant beginning with the 2028 election, but the result is not guaranteed. It depends on legislative approval, voter approval and any later map-drawing process.

What it would not do

House Bill 488 does not itself redraw Maryland’s congressional districts through the August special-session action or change the map for the 2026 election. Maryland’s congressional candidates and voters will use the existing map unless a separate legal development changes it.

The proposal also is not final. A constitutional amendment requires support from three-fifths of all members elected to both the House of Delegates and the Senate. If lawmakers complete that step, the amendment would be submitted to voters at the November 3, 2026, general election.

Why the issue is contested

Democratic supporters, including Gov. Wes Moore, have framed the effort around voting rights and fair representation. In a July 7 statement, Moore said Maryland needed tools to protect voters while broader redistricting rules remain unsettled. That statement predates the August special-session action.

Republican lawmakers have criticized the narrow session and questioned whether the effort is intended to give Democrats more flexibility in drawing congressional boundaries. Those are partisan arguments, not established findings about a future map.

The debate follows a 2022 ruling that struck down a congressional map after interpreting constitutional language on compactness, contiguity and geographic boundaries as applying to congressional districts. WTOP reported that lawmakers are seeking to clarify that those standards govern state legislative districts instead, while creating a separate mechanism for congressional review.

What to watch next

The immediate checkpoints are final votes during the August 3-5 special session and whether the amendment is placed on the November 3 ballot. If lawmakers approve it and voters ratify it, the General Assembly could later consider a congressional map for elections after 2026.

Any future map could still face legal challenges involving partisan gerrymandering, voting rights or the scope of state-court review. Until those steps occur, the practical effect for Maryland’s 2026 congressional election is unchanged: the existing map remains in use.

Sources

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