10/27/2026
BREAKING: President Barack Obama endorses Question 3 in Maryland.
Question 3 clarifies what has long been understood: the redistricting rules for congressional districts are governed by federal rules. That puts Maryland on a level playing field with other states in how we draw federal seats. It is one of the only chances we get this cycle to push back against the MAGA Trump effort in several other states to steal congressional seats, and the decision goes to voters, not politicians.
The Republican Party is against it, and on the day it was certified for the ballot they announced their campaign to defeat it. National MAGA money ran that same playbook in California and Virginia. It is here now.
Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director Karen Darkes put it clearly:
"You are going to hear a lot about Question 3 between now and November 3. Let me tell you plainly what it is and why we are asking you to vote for it.
Start with what happened. Over the past year, at Donald Trump's direction, Republican legislatures in Texas, Florida, Louisiana and Alabama tore up their congressional maps mid-decade and redrew them to manufacture seats. Not because populations shifted. Because they are afraid of what voters will do in 2026 and 2028. In every one of those states, voters were never asked.
Now what Question 3 does. It clarifies what has long been understood: the redistricting rules for congressional districts are governed by federal rules. That puts Maryland on a level playing field with other states in how we draw federal seats.
That is the whole of it. It is not a map. It does not draw a single district. It settles the rules Maryland plays by, and it does it the way a change this serious should be made, by putting the question to the people.
And that is the part worth sitting with. Republicans in other states made this call behind closed doors, on party-line votes. Maryland Democrats could have done the same. Instead our leaders put it on your ballot.
I know some of you would rather see a national standard that applies everywhere. So would I. Democrats in Congress have fought for one, and Republicans have blocked it every time. Until that changes, Maryland cannot be the only state expected to follow rules nobody else is following.
A no vote is not a neutral vote. Texas and Florida keep their new maps either way. The only thing a no vote changes is whether Maryland can respond.
When you get your ballot, keep going past the candidates. Question 3 is near the bottom, and your ballot will say FOR and AGAINST rather than yes and no. Mark FOR."
