Question 3
Electoral Districts — General Assembly and Congressional Representatives
Maryland · decided by every Maryland voter · 2026-11-03
Early voting, registration and the rest of the ballot: Wicomico County, Worcester County
What it is
The question with a direct Wicomico connection, and the only one on this ballot with organised campaigns on both sides.
It would change how the Maryland Constitution treats congressional districts, in three ways: the districting requirements written into the state constitution would apply only to state legislative districts; the General Assembly could give the Supreme Court of Maryland the power to review a congressional map directly; and the constitution would state that it does not itself set the criteria for congressional district boundaries.
It does not draw a new congressional map. It changes the state rules under which one could be drawn and challenged.
The ballot wording was rewritten by order of the Maryland Supreme Court on September 3, 2026. Older summaries of this question may describe different language.
One consequence is worth knowing before you vote. Every other question on this ballot — Maryland's Questions 1 and 2, and Wicomico's A through D — prints a plain-language sentence under each option saying what a yes and a no actually do. Question 3 does not. Under the rewritten language the ballot offers only "For the Constitutional Amendment" and "Against the Constitutional Amendment", with nothing explaining either.
So on the one question with organised campaigns on both sides, the ballot paper gives a voter the least help. That is what the "What your vote does" section below is for, and it is our reading of the amendment rather than the state's.
What your vote does
A vote FOR
The three changes above are added to the Maryland Constitution: state districting criteria apply only to state legislative districts, the legislature may grant the state Supreme Court original jurisdiction over congressional map challenges, and the constitution disclaims setting congressional district criteria itself.
A vote AGAINST
The amendment is not added, and the current framework stands — under which the Maryland Constitution does not expressly set congressional district standards, a 2022 circuit court ruling held that state legislative standards nevertheless apply to congressional districting, and the state Supreme Court has no original jurisdiction to review a congressional map.
The words on the ballot
Question 3 Constitutional Amendment (Ch. 881 of the 2026 Legislative Session) Electoral Districts – General Assembly and Congressional Representatives
Pursuant to the Supreme Court Order dated September 3, 2026, in Maryland State Board of Elections, et al. v. Lindsay Wheatley, et al. and Maryland State Board of Elections, et al. v. Michael L. Howell, et al., the language of Constitutional Amendment Question 3 now reads:
FOR the purpose of clarifying that certain requirements apply only to districts for the election of members of the Senate of Maryland and the House of Delegates; authorizing the General Assembly to grant original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court of Maryland to review the congressional districting plan of the State; and providing that nothing in the Maryland Constitution provides applicable criteria for the boundaries of a congressional districting plan.
(Amending Article III of the Maryland Constitution)
- For the Constitutional Amendment
- Against the Constitutional Amendment
What it costs
The Department of Legislative Services says the amendment is not anticipated to materially affect state operations or finances. No effect on local government, and none on small businesses.
It also notes that federal requirements apply to congressional districts whichever way the vote goes: the federal constitution's population rules and the federal Voting Rights Act are unaffected by a change to the Maryland Constitution.
Background
Wicomico County submitted unfavourable testimony on HB 2100, the bill that became this question, alongside Cecil County government, Carroll County officials, the Maryland Republican Party, the Maryland Forward Party and others.
That is a statement about testimony on the legislation, not a formal county position on the ballot question itself — the two are not the same thing, and we have not found the county taking a position on the question as it now appears.
Testifying in favour were the Speaker of the House, the NAACP and its Howard County branch, the Woman's Democratic Club of Montgomery County and the Maryland Civic Education Coalition. Progressive Maryland and Indivisible Howard County registered as favourable with amendments.
Who is arguing what
In favour
A statewide campaign organised in support of the question.
Against
A coalition campaigning against the question.
CivicBury does not argue for or against a ballot question. These are other people's arguments, with their names on them.
Sources
Official record
- Proposed constitutional amendment text (Maryland State Board of Elections)
- State ballot question summaries — Department of Legislative Services (note: enclosure pages carry superseded question numbering)
- 2026 ballot questions — Maryland State Board of Elections (final wording)
Official cost estimate
News reporting
- Maryland Supreme Court orders ballot language revised (Maryland Matters, September 3, 2026)
- Poll finds opposition to the redistricting question (Maryland Matters, September 22, 2026)