ANNAPOLIS, MD (AP) – Maryland voters will decide in November whether to clear the way for a new congressional map that would favor Democrats in all eight of the state’s U.S. House districts for the 2028 elections. Both chambers of the Democrat-controlled state legislature approved putting an amendment on the ballot to allow the change. Sending it to voters required three-fifths approval of both legislative chambers, which met in a special session to consider the change. It cleared the Maryland House 96-38 and the Senate 32-13. Democrat Maryland Gov. Wes Moore praised lawmakers for putting the measure before voters. In a state where Democrats occupy seven of the eight House seats, Republicans are calling the effort a blatant power grab and a move that violates a new state law intended to give voters more time to consider proposed amendments. A number of Republicans said constituents were not behind it and one Democrat lawmaker worried that the change could cost rural parts of the state federal resources if they’re put in the same districts with suburban areas. Currently, the only district on the rural Eastern Shore is the only one represented by a Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, the chair of the House Freedom Caucus.
