What is the Maryland special session about?

According to FOX 5 DC, Maryland lawmakers are meeting in a special session in Annapolis to consider a constitutional amendment for the November ballot that would change the rules of congressional redistricting, with the ultimate say left to Maryland voters, as reported by AVALW News.

What effect could the redistricting have?

According to FOX 5 DC, if voters approve the change it would allow state lawmakers to redraw congressional districts in a way that would favor Democrats and potentially alter the seat of the only Republican in Maryland's congressional delegation, as reported by AVALW News.

Maryland lawmakers head to special session over congressional redistricting

Maryland lawmakers are returning to Annapolis for a special session to consider adding a constitutional amendment to the November ballot, according to FOX 5 DC. If voters approve it, the change would allow state lawmakers to redraw congressional districts, which would favor Democrats and potentially alter the seat of the only Republican in Maryland's congressional delegation, with Governor Wes Moore in favor. State Senate President Bill Ferguson said the session is about a constitutional amendment to address the rules of redistricting, not a map itself, and that it addresses a 2022 court opinion by Judge Battaglia that radically changed how congressional districts are formulated in the state. Ferguson acknowledged he and the governor had not been seeing eye to eye on the issue, while Republicans have accused Democrats of changing the rules late in the game.

Maryland lawmakers are returning to Annapolis for a special session to consider adding a constitutional amendment to the November ballot, according to a report by FOX 5 DC. The session is set to get underway at the Statehouse.

If voters approve the measure, it would allow state lawmakers to redraw congressional districts, according to the report. That change would favor Democrats and potentially alter the seat of the only Republican in Maryland's congressional delegation, and Governor Wes Moore is in favor of it.

Maryland Democratic State Senate President Bill Ferguson said the special session is about a constitutional amendment to address the rules of redistricting, and that it will be up to Maryland voters to have the ultimate say, according to FOX 5 DC. He stressed that what is coming up is an amendment that will go to voters, not a map itself, so it is not changing lines on a map.

Ferguson said the amendment addresses a 2022 case decided by Judge Battaglia, a former Maryland Supreme Court justice who was sitting as a district court, according to the report. He said that opinion radically changed how congressional districts are formulated in Maryland, applying to congressional mapmaking, not just state maps, for the first time in the state's history.

The Senate president acknowledged that he and Governor Wes Moore had not been seeing eye to eye on the redistricting and that it might have gotten choppy at times, according to FOX 5 DC. He said that at the end of the day they both represent Marylanders and that personal feelings had to get out of the way.

Ferguson recalled that in 2021, when lawmakers passed a map, it was the Maryland court that threw it out, according to the report. He said the Senate caucus was united and knew what it takes to act strategically and thoughtfully rather than for headlines.

The report noted that redistricting has become a national argument, with Republicans in states they control defending their own maps and Democrats accusing them of playing dirty, and the reverse playing out in Democratic-controlled states. Republicans in Maryland say they are angry and accuse Democrats of changing the rules late in the game, according to FOX 5 DC.

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