tristatealert.com · Anthony Panasiewicz · September 8, 2026
Attention Marylanders – redistricting will, in fact, be on your November ballot – Tri-State Alert
# Attention Marylanders – redistricting will, in fact, be on your November ballot
Tue, September 8, 2026 by Anthony Panasiewicz
Election Ballot voting
CHAMBERSBURG – The Maryland State Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the redistricting issue will head to the ballot box this November.
The voters will get to decide on Question Three.
The court actually rewrote the question that was posed by the General Assembly.
One of the Justices said he was skeptical that election law allows the court to draft ballot language.
Attorney Clint Barkdoll said, “This is so unusual because remember the week before when those lower court decisions struck down this ballot issue, they found that the process itself was illegally done, much like what happened in Virginia. Some deadlines were missed, and at the time, I said, well, that’s pretty clear-cut to me. I mean, if they’ve missed procedural matters, much like happened in Virginia, the Supreme Court should just say this isn’t happening. The General Assembly could come back and try to redo it next year.”
The Maryland Supreme Court’s order is only eight pages.
Barkdoll said that’s “a very brief order and opinion. They don’t really get into that timing procedural issue at all. They focus instead on the drafting of the question. They did not feel the question was properly drafted. The Supreme Court now has redrafted it in a manner that they deem acceptable. It will go on the November ballot, and if the pattern holds, like we’ve seen in these states all over the country, this will pass, which effectively means in 2028 Maryland will eliminate its one congressional seat that’s represented by a Republican. Every time this comes up, I have to reiterate, I think this whole process is just terrible, but yet it’s still happening all over the country.”
Michele Jansen of News Talk 103.7FM added, “It’s hard to believe that if that wasn’t a Democrat majority court, that they would have ruled this way. I’m very bothered by this because at least I was heartened by when it was struck down because rules were not followed. They act like the wording was the only question, and will it be challenged? Because they violated those rules, potentially. I don’t know why it wouldn’t be. I would challenge it if I lived in Maryland. And then number two, did you read the wording of the first one and the second one? They are equally confusing. The second one doesn’t clarify anything at all except to maybe somebody with a degree like yours, Clint.”
Barkdoll said, “This has been a long time problem in Pennsylvania. We’ve had this problem; these very confusing referendum constitutional amendment questions that no one can figure out. That’s now what this looks like. It could still get challenged, but based on just demographic voter registration makeup, this likely will easily pass in November, and again, it might still be subject to more challenges, but now that the Supreme Court has decided it, it’s probably going to stand.”