Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said the state Senate intends to advance a constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade congressional redistricting, reversing his months-long opposition.
He cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in April that limited the use of race in drawing district lines and led to several states redrawing districts.
“Maryland must respond as the ground shifts under us,” Ferguson said in a statement provided to media outlets on Friday. “I’m in active conversations with my caucus about a special session and constitutional amendment to address the 2022 Maryland court redistricting decision and new U.S. Supreme Court VRA [Voting Rights Act] decision, with the aim of putting this before Maryland voters in November.”
Maryland’s congressional delegation currently includes seven Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, who is the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. Under a plan from a recently appointed redistricting commission, Harris’s district, largely on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, would be reconfigured to favor a Democrat. Any changes would likely affect the 2028 and 2030 elections, not midterms, but a faster timeline has not been ruled out.
In an interview with WYPR, the Baltimore NPR affiliate that first reported Ferguson’s shift, he said the Callais decision had “changed the legal landscape, and it’s changed the political landscape.”
“This is an escalation of significant proportions, and so we are having conversations amongst members of the Senate about what are the best options for Maryland moving forward,” Ferguson told the outlet.
Moore, who had publicly pressed Ferguson for months, told reporters on May 22 that the change in direction was welcome.
“I think his statement represents a very welcome shift, that he is moving, that he understands the urgency of this moment,” Moore said, in a transcript of his remarks provided by his office. “It’s an urgency that I have been saying for months, that we’ve got to move and take this seriously.”
Moore said any special session should also include the maps drawn by his Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission. Asked whether new districts could be in place for this November’s midterm election, he told reporters: “I think we need to be able to move aggressively on it.”
Ferguson said he intends to convene Senate Democrats following the June 23 primary elections. Ferguson’s office did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the head of Maryland’s congressional delegation, praised the change on X.
“I agree with Senate President Ferguson’s view that the circumstances have changed, and that makes Maryland’s redistricting effort more urgent than ever,” Hoyer wrote on May 22. “I am glad to hear he is prepared to advance a constitutional amendment regarding redistricting.”
In a separate post, Hoyer said the General Assembly should also pass the House-approved map alongside the amendment.
The General Assembly would need to convene a special session and pass the amendment by the end of July to put it on the November ballot. Voters would then have to ratify it.
Ferguson cited the May 9 Virginia Supreme Court decision overturning a Democratic-led redistricting referendum as a cautionary example.
“If we look at what happened with Virginia when they tried to go too fast and skip steps, it goes backwards,” he told WYPR.
Maryland Republicans criticized the potential session.
“It’s disappointing that the Senate President seems to be suggesting that a special session will occur to attempt a hypocritical change to our Constitution to make it easier for more hyper-partisan gerrymandering, given we are already one of the most gerrymandered states in America,” House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said in a statement released by the caucus.
House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy said that any session should instead address economic problems.
“If we really want to do something for Marylanders, we should hold a Special Session focused on affordability,” Pippy said in the statement.