Hearing on Maryland GOP redistricting lawsuit to start Aug. 25, lawyers say

Tinashe Chingarande, The Baltimore Sun on Aug 11, 2026

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BALTIMORE — Maryland Republicans sued the state Friday to block a constitutional amendment that would change the rules for congressional redistricting. A hearing is scheduled to begin Aug. 25, six days before election officials say they must legally finalize the November ballot, the Republicans’ legal team told The Baltimore Sun Tuesday.

In a lawsuit filed last week in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, the plaintiffs argue Democratic lawmakers denied voters a required opportunity for public comment by exempting the proposed amendment from a new law, Senate Bill 29, mandating the secretary of state to certify ballot-question language by July 1, followed by a 15-day public-comment period.

The plaintiffs are the Maryland Freedom Caucus, Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey and Minority Whip Justin Ready, along with Mike Howell, president of the conservative organization The Oversight Project. They allege Maryland Democratic lawmakers violated state election law and voters’ due-process rights in advancing the proposed amendment. The defendants are Gov. Wes Moore, the Maryland State Board of Elections, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and Secretary of State Susan Lee.

The outcome will determine whether Maryland voters will consider a constitutional amendment that could clear the way for lawmakers to draw a new congressional map before the 2028 elections.

Approving the November ballot item would strip state constitutional requirements, such as compact, contiguous districts that respect county lines, from congressional maps. Maryland is the latest state where lawmakers are considering changes to congressional maps as both parties look for ways to gain an advantage ahead of the 2028 elections. Republicans and Democrats in several states, including California, Texas and Ohio, have pursued or debated redistricting efforts outside the traditional mid-cycle, turning congressional maps into another front in the national fight for control of the U.S. House.

The plaintiffs also allege the General Assembly missed a separate deadline requiring the Department of Legislative Services to review the proposal after its approval by the secretary of state and before its submission to election officials by the first Monday in August. They’re asking the court to temporarily prohibit the state elections board from printing the proposed amendment on ballots while the case is pending. Whether the court will do so is unclear, Marshall Yates, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, told The Sun. Yates said the plaintiffs want the case resolved quickly because of the approaching ballot deadline.

Jared DeMarinis, Maryland’s elections administrator, said the litigation must be resolved quickly enough for election officials to prepare the November ballots.

“We’re moving forward with our preparations for the 2026 gubernatorial general election,” DeMarinis said. “Right now everything is within a normal budgetary process, so I wouldn’t foresee any additional costs. The courts are aware of the election calendar, and they will take that into consideration in any sort of adjudication of this matter.”

Robbie Leonard, an elections lawyer at Leonard & McCliggott Law Group in Towson, predicted the court will rule against the plaintiffs because the General Assembly passed the legislation with majority support.

Leonard added that Republicans face a difficult burden in persuading the court to temporarily block the amendment. He said that legally the plaintiffs must show, among other things, that voters would suffer irreparable harm without an injunction and that granting one would serve the public interest.

“They’re throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what will stick,” he said of the plaintiffs’ arguments.

The attorney general’s office declined to discuss how it would respond to the lawsuits. Moore’s office also didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Yates said the deadlines were mandatory and the legislature lacked authority to disregard them.

“You cannot just wave a magic wand and say that those deadlines don’t apply to specific circumstances,” he said. “Those deadlines are binding, even if [Democrats] want to pretend like they [aren’t]. We believe those deadlines are binding for constitutional protection for due process notice to Maryland voters.”

A separate group of Republican state lawmakers also sued the State Board of Elections, also asking a court to review the proposed amendment and block it from appearing on the November ballot. The plaintiffs are Maryland resident Lindsay Wheatley, Republican State Sens. Mary Beth Carozza, John Mautz, Chris West and Republican Del. Chris Adams. The defendants are Maryland Secretary of State Susan Lee, Maryland elections board members Jared DeMarinis, Jim Shalleck, Victoria Jackson-Stanley, Diane Butler, Eric Bryant and the county elections boards in Dorchester, Wicomico, Talbot and Baltimore Counties.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in the Dorchester County Circuit Court.

There’s been no hearing announced for the separate lawsuit.

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