By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews
ANNAPOLIS — Maryland’s General Assembly will return to Annapolis Aug. 3-5 for a special session to consider a constitutional amendment on congressional redistricting standards, according to a joint announcement Tuesday from Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk. But the scheduled dates appear to run past the state’s own statutory deadline for certifying ballot questions for the November election — a conflict that has gone unaddressed in the official announcements and unreported elsewhere so far.
The scheduled dates appear to run past the state’s own statutory deadline for certifying ballot questions for the November election.
What Was Announced
Ferguson and Peña-Melnyk’s joint statement, released July 7, says the General Assembly will convene Monday, Aug. 3, and conclude no later than Wednesday, Aug. 5, to consider legislation proposing a constitutional amendment regarding congressional redistricting standards. If approved by a three-fifths vote of both chambers, the release says, the amendment would clarify the state constitution in light of the 2022 congressional map court decision and would go before Maryland voters on the November 2026 General Election ballot.
Ferguson: “After recent court decisions weakened the federal Voting Rights Act and created new uncertainty around congressional redistricting, Maryland needs a clear legal path forward. This special session will allow the General Assembly to do its part while ensuring that Maryland voters make the final decision.”
Peña-Melnyk: “Consensus on this issue has been clear in the House. Maryland needs a durable, transparent constitutional framework for congressional redistricting that reflects the evolving legal landscape. This special session gives the General Assembly the opportunity to respond thoughtfully to recent court decisions while ensuring that Maryland voters have the final say on any proposed constitutional changes.”
The release states that details on legislative language, committee hearings, and the session schedule will be released before the session convenes.
Gov. Wes Moore issued a separate statement the same day welcoming the session, framed almost entirely around the U.S. Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act ruling rather than the congressional map fight itself:
Moore: “For months, I have said that inaction is not an option and we cannot sit on the sidelines while voting rights, fair representation, and the foundations of our democracy come under attack across the country. … Until we have national redistricting reform, Maryland will not be caught flat-footed.”
Notably, Moore’s statement does not mention new congressional maps, the state’s current 7-1 Democratic delegation, or U.S. Rep. Andy Harris — a departure from his more explicit “8-0 map” advocacy earlier this year. Ferguson has repeatedly said he will not consider a new congressional map during a special session, limiting the agenda to the constitutional amendment itself. Neither Moore’s statement nor the Ferguson/Peña-Melnyk release explains how those two positions square, or whether a map fight is still coming in 2027.
The Republican Response
Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey and Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready released a countering statement the same day, arguing the session’s “sole purpose… would be to rewrite the state constitution and eliminate the guardrails that currently govern how congressional districts are drawn, clearing the way to eliminate Maryland’s only Republican voice in Congress.”
Hershey: “Governor Moore is dragging lawmakers back to Annapolis in the middle of summer to rewrite the state constitution and silence the last dissenting voice in Maryland’s congressional delegation. This has nothing to do with Maryland’s future and everything to do with his own.”
Ready: “When you don’t like the rules, you change them. That’s the Maryland Democratic playbook. … This special session is designed to erase that voice and hand national Democrats another seat in the U.S. House. It has nothing to do with governing Maryland and everything to do with Governor Moore’s national ambitions.”
Senate Republicans’ release also points to their own November 2025 Fair Districts for Maryland Act — a bipartisan redistricting commission proposal — as evidence they offered an alternative that Democratic leadership declined to advance, and says the caucus will introduce affordability-focused legislation (energy costs, vehicle fees) during the session as a contrast.
The Ballot-Deadline Question
Here is the discrepancy that neither side’s statement addresses.
Under Maryland Election Law § 7-102(a)(3), a constitutional amendment “qualifies upon its passage by the General Assembly.” Once qualified, it becomes a statewide ballot question, and under § 7-103(c)(1), the Secretary of State must prepare and certify to the State Board of Elections — not later than the 95th day before the general election — the ballot question information for “all statewide ballot questions.” That provision applies to legislatively referred constitutional amendments; there is no separate, later deadline carved out for them.
Ninety-five days before the Nov. 3, 2026 General Election is July 31, 2026.
That July 31 figure is independently corroborated by two outlets that covered the lead-up to this announcement: Democracy Docket reported in June that Maryland lawmakers must act by July 31 to put the measure on the November ballot, and the Maryland Association of Counties’ Conduit Street similarly reported that lawmakers must act by July 31 to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot.
The special session as announced doesn’t begin until Aug. 3 — three days after that deadline.
The special session as announced doesn’t begin until Aug. 3 — three days after that deadline — and isn’t scheduled to conclude until Aug. 5. If the amendment doesn’t pass the General Assembly until the session convenes, it cannot “qualify” under § 7-102(a)(3) in time for the Secretary of State to certify it under § 7-103(c)(1) by the statutory deadline.
It’s worth noting that some earlier reporting — including Maryland Matters and a legislative-affairs summary from Manis Canning & Associates — cited an “Aug. 4” deadline rather than July 31. That figure does not match the plain language of § 7-103(c)(1) or the July 31 date independently reported by Democracy Docket and Conduit Street, and this reporter was unable to identify its statutory basis.
Given the compressed timeline, this is a question Maryland’s legislative leadership and the State Board of Elections should be expected to answer on the record before the session convenes.
None of this means the amendment cannot reach the November ballot. The General Assembly has the power to alter statutory deadlines by statute, and it’s possible the special session’s legislative package addresses this directly — but neither the joint Ferguson/Peña-Melnyk release nor Moore’s statement mentions any such fix, and no bill text had been made public as of this writing. Given the compressed timeline, this is a question Maryland’s legislative leadership and the State Board of Elections should be expected to answer on the record before the session convenes.
What’s Still Unknown
- Whether the special session legislation will include language curing the apparent conflict with the July 31 certification deadline.
- Whether a congressional map will be taken up in the 2027 session, regardless of the amendment’s outcome, and what map — if any — would be used as a starting point.
- The final legislative text of the constitutional amendment itself, which had not been released publicly as of this writing.
This story will be updated as new information becomes available.
Sources: Office of the Governor (Wes Moore) statement, July 7, 2026; joint statement of Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, July 7, 2026; Maryland Senate Republican Caucus press release, July 7, 2026; Maryland Election Law §§ 7-102, 7-103; Democracy Docket, June 2026; Maryland Association of Counties’ Conduit Street, June 2026.
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