Maryland’s House of Delegates could vote this week on a bill that would add a ballot question this fall asking voters if new congressional district maps should be used in 2028 and 2030.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore testified in support of House Bill 488 Tuesday during a House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee hearing Tuesday in Annapolis.
“It is imperative that Maryland do its part to ensure that Congress is able to function as a meaningful check on executive overreach,” Moore said in a news release detailing his testimony.
Moore was referring to the fact that he had appointed a Maryland Redistricting Advisory Commission in November 2025 in response to the Trump administration’s move to convince Republican lawmakers in several states, including Texas, North Carolina and Missouri, to redraw their districting lines in mid-decade and position Republicans to gain seats in the critical midterm elections this November.
Traditionally, Congressional districts are redrawn every 10 years after the U.S. Census conducts its head count of the country, looks at population trends and determines which states have gained residents and which states have lost population.
Maryland previously redrew its maps in 2022, following the 2020 Census.
Maryland has a Democratic advantage
Maryland has eight Congressional districts with a seven-to-one Democratic advantage. The new proposed maps, put together by Moore’s advisory commission, significantly changes the 1st District lines, now held by Republican Andy Harris, possibly flipping it to the Democrats.
The 1st District would be redrawn to expand it across the Chesapeake Bay into parts of Democratic strongholds in Anne Arundel and Howard counties. The new map would also shift multiple other districts that would still favor Democrats.
Gov. Moore testified that the Maryland Redistricting Advisory Commission voted last week to recommend the new district maps, and that the state is possibly taking this step reluctantly.
“Because, make no mistake, what the president of the United States is doing right now is political redlining. And it’s not lost to me that I’m the only Black governor in this country and only the third elected Black governor in the history of this nation,” he said.
“And Donald Trump and JD Vance and their allies in the states that he suggested, are doing everything in their power to silence the voices and trying to eliminate Black leadership — elected leadership — all over this country. So no, I will not sit quietly,” the governor said in a statement.
According to the Legal Information Institute, redlining is defined as “a discriminatory practice that consists of the systematic denial of services, such as mortgages, insurance loans, and other financial services, to residents of certain areas, based on their race or ethnicity.”
Trump’s redistricting actions ‘unfair’
Moore told lawmakers during his brief testimony that the Trump administration’s move to redraw district lines was unfair and he would have preferred the existing Congressional maps stay in place for another five or six years.
“If there were a national conversation happening right now about fair maps, across this country, then Maryland would be part of the conversation,” he said.
Maryland Republicans are uniformly against Moore’s proposal. A vote in the House of Delegates could come this week. The measure must also pass the state Senate and then be approved by voters in November.
So far, Republicans gained nine more potential congressional seats nationally, and Democrats gained six, according to The Associated Press.
Members of the redistricting commission include U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, who serves as Chair, Senate President Bill Ferguson, Speaker of the House, Cumberland Mayor Raymond Morriss and former Attorney General Brian Frosh.
“At a moment when other states are moving aggressively to redraw maps, and when fundamental voting rights protections face renewed threats, Maryland has a responsibility to lead with urgency,” Sen. Alsobrooks in a statement last week after the commission voted to recommend a new map.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
