UPDATE: Maryland redistricting amendment passes despite pushback from Eastern Shore voters

MARYLAND – Maryland voters have decided to pass Question 3, amending the state’s constitution and paving the way for mid-decade redistricting.

The Associated Press (AP) called the race on Maryland Ballot Question 3 at 9:33 p.m. on election night, with the vote in favor of the measure coming in at almost 60 percent. The measure adopts a state congressional amendment that would allow the state legislature to redraw congressional district lines, which could impact Republican hold on Maryland’s Congressional District 1, held by Rep. Andy Harris (R), who won his bid for re-election on Tuesday as well.

Question 3 read as follows:

FOR the purpose of clarifying that certain requirements apply only to districts for the election of members of the Senate of Maryland and the House of Delegates; authorizing the General Assembly to grant original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court of Maryland to review the congressional districting plan of the State; and providing that nothing in the Maryland Constitution provides applicable criteria for the boundaries of a congressional districting plan.

And, as of Wednesday afternoon with all but 11 election precincts reporting, the vote totals for Question 3 are as follows:

Image Courtesy of Maryland Board of Elections

Opponents of the measure have sounded concerns about the disproportionate impacts mid-decade redistricting could have on the Eastern Shore — and it seems all counties on the Shore heeded their anxieties. Cecil, Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Dorchester, Worcester, Wicomico, and Somerset counties all had majorities voting against the measure. Allegany, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Garrett, Harford, Saint Mary’s, and Washington counties also had majorities voting against the measure.

Only Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Charles, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s county had majorities voting in favor of the measure.

Gov. Wes Moore, who the AP has also called as the winner of Maryland’s gubernatorial race, has been adamant in his support of the measure, spending $4 million on ads supporting the ballot question. In a message released by his campaign on Tuesday night, Moore celebrated the passing of Question 3.

“For more than a year, I’ve been clear: if other states were going to redraw their congressional maps in the middle of the decade, Maryland should be part of that conversation,” said Governor Moore, in part. “My position has not changed… And I will keep fighting to make sure our state has the representation it deserves in Congress…”

This article was originally published on Nov. 3 at 9:55 p.m., and has since been updated with quotes and vote totals.