Bouchat Calls Question 3 an “Arrogant” Attack on Citizen Sovereignty, and Says His Own Party Is Part of the Problem

The retiring Carroll County Republican says only taking redistricting away from politicians will fix Maryland’s maps.

By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews

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Del. Christopher Eric Bouchat, R-Carroll and Frederick, is not a delegate who stays quiet about redistricting. With the Nov. 3 ballot weeks away, he has now put his view of Question 3 in writing, and it is not flattering to either party.

In an email dated Oct. 6 and forwarded to MDBayNews on Oct. 7, Bouchat replied to The Duckpin, a Maryland Substack written by Brian Griffiths. The newsletter’s Oct. 5 post, “Vote No on Question 3,” urged a no vote on the constitutional amendment. Bouchat did not repeat that slogan. He signed the note “Delegate MD 5th” and went after the amendment on his own terms. He called Question 3 “nothing more than an arrogant way” to finalize the end of citizen sovereignty.

What Question 3 does

Question 3 does not draw a new map. It changes the rules a future map would have to follow. Under the wording the Supreme Court of Maryland ordered on the ballot, the amendment would:

• Clarify that certain requirements apply only to districts for the Senate and House of Delegates.
• Authorize the General Assembly to give the Supreme Court of Maryland original jurisdiction to review the state’s congressional districting plan.
• Provide that nothing in the Maryland Constitution supplies “applicable criteria for the boundaries of a congressional districting plan.”

The bill is designed to override Judge Lynne Battaglia’s 2022 ruling, which threw out the state’s congressional map as an extreme partisan gerrymander under the Maryland Constitution and Declaration of Rights. The House passed it 96-38, clearing the 85 votes needed, after all 20 Republican floor amendments were rejected.

Senate President Bill Ferguson told Fox45 on Sept. 9 that lawmakers did “rush in some ways” to make the ballot. He also said of Question 3, “This is not a map.”

The court fight

Two circuit court judges, Robert J. Thompson in Anne Arundel County and S. James Sarbanes in Dorchester County, ruled against the question in late August. On Sept. 3, the Supreme Court of Maryland reversed in a 5-2 per curiam order. It rejected the missed-deadline and single-subject arguments, agreed the original ballot summary was misleading, and ordered new language.

Justices Steven Gould and Glenn Harrell dissented. They wrote that the rewritten question “remains misleading” because it does not tell voters the amendment would remove Declaration of Rights protections, citing Articles 7, 24 and 40.

What Bouchat actually said

The email has three threads.

The remedy. Bouchat says the only cure for gerrymandering is to take redistricting out of the hands of politicians entirely. He wants citizens elected by county after every census to meet in a state convention and draw both state and congressional districts. That tracks LR3744, the bill he had drafted before the August special session. It called for a 188-member convention, with at least three members per county, and barred politicians, party officials and lobbyists from serving. MDBayNews reported on Aug. 4 that it got no hearing and appears never to have been formally filed.

The political reality. He points to a single Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, “targeted for removal,” and a General Assembly that is, in his words, 27 percent Republican and “useless.” The lone Republican in the delegation is Rep. Andy Harris.

His own caucus. Bouchat, who says he is leaving the House because of the “hopelessness” of being a Republican there, accuses colleagues of repeating the same failed tactic. He describes session after session of floor amendments as soldiers running “blindly” at a fortified position. He also says the pension contributions withheld from his salary were forced on him, since as a single-term member he does not qualify, and that he plans to recover them for his own retirement portfolio after his term ends.

The email closes with a postscript noting that Allan Kittleman has left the Republican Party, and calls the late Bob Kittleman, Allan’s father, an early mentor. Bouchat says it “says volume” about where party leadership has taken Republicans.

The context

Bouchat is not seeking reelection and has said he intends to run for governor in 2030. His record on this issue goes back to 2012, when he challenged Maryland’s legislative redistricting plan. The U.S. Supreme Court denied his petition in Bouchat v. Maryland on April 15, 2013. In March, Maryland Matters reported that he had been leaving the House after the morning quorum call each day since Feb. 27. He told the outlet Republican votes are “completely worthless” in Annapolis. On March 25, Sen. Justin Ready and Dels. April Rose and Chris Tomlinson, the other Republicans from District 5, called on him to resign.

A fair reader can weigh the messenger. The questions about the amendment itself, including the plain text, the court’s finding on the ballot language and the dissent’s concern about lost rights, do not depend on him.

The polls

• UMBC poll, released Oct. 7: Of 776 likely voters surveyed Sept. 22-27, 53% said they would vote no, 25% yes and 19% were undecided. The margin of error is 3.5 points. By party, 74% of Republicans, 59% of unaffiliated voters and 42% of Democrats said no.
• Fight Back Maryland, which backs the amendment: A Hart Research poll of 600 likely voters, Sept. 8-10, found 40% for, 35% against, and 25% not sure.
• Protect Maryland Votes, which opposes it: Released a poll Sept. 22 showing 41% against, 28% for and 31% undecided. The group did not name the pollster or release the methodology.

What to Watch

• Early voting runs Oct. 22 through Oct. 29. Election Day is Nov. 3.
• A new map. Ferguson would not commit to pursuing one, saying lawmakers will assess the landscape after the election. WYPR has reported that legislators have floated putting a Democratic-favoring map in place for the 2028 election.

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Sources: This story is based on an email from Del. Christopher Eric Bouchat to The Duckpin dated Oct. 6, 2026, forwarded to MDBayNews on Oct. 7, which included The Duckpin’s Oct. 5, 2026 post “Vote No on Question 3” by Brian Griffiths and the Supreme Court of Maryland’s Sept. 3, 2026 ballot language. Court details come from the Sept. 3 order in Maryland State Board of Elections v. Wheatley and v. Howell (Nos. 21 and 22) as reported in MDBayNews on Sept. 3 and Sept. 4, 2026. Ferguson’s remarks are from Fox45, Sept. 9, 2026. House action, LR3744 and the lack of a hearing are from MDBayNews, Aug. 1 and Aug. 4, 2026. Bouchat’s March 2026 attendance, his comments about Republican votes and his 2030 governor plans are from Maryland Matters, March 20, 2026, and the call for his resignation is from Maryland Matters, March 25, 2026. His 2013 petition is U.S. Supreme Court docket No. 12-8321. Judge Battaglia’s 2022 ruling is from Maryland Matters, March 25, 2022. UMBC poll figures are from Maryland Matters, Fox 5 DC and WMAR-2, Oct. 7, 2026. The Fight Back Maryland poll is from The Baltimore Banner, and the Protect Maryland Votes poll is from Fox45, Sept. 22, 2026. Early voting dates are from the State Board of Elections. The 2028 map talk is from WYPR (Sarah Petrowich), Sept. 8, 2026.

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