Democrats, unions, advocates push for support on Question 3 on redistricting

Democratic lawmakers, labor union officials and nonprofit leaders rallied in Baltimore on Friday to drum up support for ballot Question 3, the proposed constitutional amendment that would remove state standards for drawing congressional districts.

The event came the same week that supporters and opponents of the measure released competing polls that showed mixed support for it. Backers at Friday’s event said it is time to step up and start fighting for Question 3.

“We cannot stand on stage, wring our hands and express polite outrage at what [Republican President] Donald Trump is doing to this country, while refusing to use every single tool that we have to stop him,” said Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Howard and Anne Arundel. “Marylanders didn’t send us to Annapolis to sit on our hands, and our constituents expect us to act.”

Lam joined several state and local elected officials and representatives of a coalition of labor unions, nonprofit organizations and advocates from around the state at War Memorial Plaza in Baltimore to rally support for Question 3.

The rally came one day after Fight Back Maryland, a group working to pass Question 3, released a poll that said when voters were read the question as it appears on the ballot, 40% supported it, 35% said they opposed it and 25% were undecided.

But many told the pollsters that they just didn’t understand the question as written. When same voters were provided with a “positive messaging statement” about the question and then had it read to them, undecideds dropped to 11% and support rose to 53%, according to the poll.

That poll came just two days after Protect Maryland Votes, a group that opposes the change, released their own poll showing much less support for Question 3. According to the earlier poll, 41% of voters opposed the measure, 28% supported it and 31% were undecided.

Both polls surveyed 600 likely Maryland voters over several days in mid-September, and both had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

If approved by voters in November, Question 3 would amend the Maryland Constitution to change the rules applying to the drawing of congressional districts and make it easier for the party in control to draw a map that favors it. Currently, seven of Maryland’s eight congressional districts are held by Democrats, with eight-term Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st) representing the Eastern Shore-centered First District.

The changes would not take effect until the 2027 legislative session, and would not affect congressional races until 2028 at the earliest.

Speakers Friday said the ballot question was a response to Trump’s push to get Republican-led states to redistrict to gain advantage in the upcoming midterm election, when the party in power typically loses seats in Congress. They also said it was a response to Trump himself, who they said has flooded U.S. streets with immigration agents — leading to the deaths of protesters and immigrants who were stopped — laid off thousands of federal workers and pushed gerrymandered congressional districts to decrease Black representation on Capitol Hill.

“For the first time since 1965, we are going backwards,” said former state Del. Vanessa Atterbeary, the Democratic nominee for Howard County executive.

“President Trump and his MAGA Supreme Court justices have repealed the protections outlined to us in the Voting Rights Act,” she said. “They have effectively eliminated any guarantee of due process or privacy rights, and it’s time for us to fight back.”

Part of that fight occurred in August, when the legislature convened for a two-day special session and passed the constitutional amendment that would become Question 3. The bill was struck down in separate court challenges by circuit court judges in Anne Arundel and Dorchester counties, only to be upheld on appeal by the Supreme Court of Maryland.

The state’s highest court noted that the original question passed by the legislature was “misleading and therefore violates due process requirements.” Instead of striking the question, however, the court’s majority opted to rewrite the question and let it go to voters. That version is what voters will see on the ballot.

Even with the state Supreme Court State rewriting the question, Senate Minority Leader Stephen Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) said in a text message Friday it remains confusing to voters.

“Gov. Moore and Democrats are now working overtime to turn Question 3 into a rallying cry in an election that has generated little enthusiasm or urgency among voters,” Hershey said. “It is apparent they need this question on the ballot as much to energize their base and drive turnout as they do to change congressional redistricting. Marylanders should be asking why changing our Constitution has become part of a political strategy.”

Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County), who spoke at Friday’s news conference, acknowledged afterward that a friend had been confused by the question. After they talked about it, Hettleman said her friend, who doesn’t support Trump, understood the issue and supports Question 3.

“You’ve got to take seriously your right to vote and understand what you’re voting for,” Hettleman said. “That’s why part of what our jobs is to educate people about what is on the ballot, and hopefully they listen to friends and they listen to media that’s providing accurate information, and they go in as knowledgeable voters, and they’ll support it.”

For voters who want to cast a ballot in person, early voting begins Oct. 22 through Oct. 29. Election Day is Nov. 3.