Maryland Legislature Opens 3-Day Session on Redistricting Amendment and Veto Overrides
Updated
Updated · Maryland Matters · Aug 3
Maryland Legislature Opens 3-Day Session on Redistricting Amendment and Veto Overrides
3 articles · Updated · Maryland Matters · Aug 3
Summary
Maryland lawmakers reconvene Monday through Aug. 5 to weigh a constitutional amendment on congressional redistricting standards, along with overrides of several 2026 vetoes and a fix to avoid putting one labor-arbitration question on the ballot twice.
A noon joint hearing in Annapolis will launch the redistricting push, with only 50 witnesses allowed and testimony capped at 2 minutes before expected House and Senate floor action.
The amendment needs 85 House votes and 29 Senate votes; Democrats hold 102 seats in the House and 34 in the Senate, making attendance the main uncertainty in the midsummer special session.
The proposal would not redraw maps now. It would ask voters in November to clarify that compactness and related standards apply to legislative districts, not congressional ones, after a 2022 court ruling upended Maryland's map.
That fight is tied to a broader interstate battle for U.S. House seats after a recent Supreme Court ruling, while the short session is expected to cost about $39,528, or roughly $19,764 a day.