A state judge Wednesday tossed the state constitutional amendment passed just a few weeks ago, saying the legislature violated its own laws. He was also puzzled by the language voters would see to approve the change in redistricting standards. The Maryland Supreme Court will eventually rule on the matter.
Here’s the language the legislature passed Question 3 on the Maryland General Election ballot, asking Maryland voters to decide “for” or “against” a constitutional amendment to set congressional redistricting standards.
“The proposed Constitutional Amendment clarifies that certain standards in the Maryland Constitution apply only to districts used to elect members of the General Assembly; authorizes the General Assembly to grant original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court of Maryland to review the congressional districting plan of the State; and requires the criteria for boundaries of congressional districts to be determined by applicable federal laws.”
However, two legal challenges have been filed regarding Question 3: Howell v. Maryland State Board of Elections in the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court and Wheatley v. Maryland State Board of Elections in the Dorchester County Circuit Court. Depending on how the courts rule, they could order the ballot language revised for clarity or, if they find legal deficiencies, require that Question 3 be removed from the 2026 ballot.
During Tuesday’s hearing on the Howell case, Jeffrey B. Clark Sr., Howell’s attorney, went toe-to-toe with Assistant Attorney General Daniel M. Kobrin over ballot language.
Clark said that “voters were deprived of the ability to even look at the question.” He added, “I don’t think anything like a ‘college try.’”
Assistant AG Kobrin assured the court that the referendum language was posted on the General Assembly website on July 29 and that voters have the opportunity to educate themselves about the measure before heading to the polls.
Readability index
According to Grammarly’s readability analysis, the Flesch Reading Ease score for Question 3 above is 32. This score indicates that it is likely to be understood only by readers with at least some college education.
This readability score is identical to that of the 2012 Question 5, which read as follows:
“Are you for or are you against the following passage: Establishes the boundaries for the State’s eight United States congressional districts based on recent Census figures, as required by the United States Constitution?”
In the 2012 Question, among 23 counties and Baltimore City, Carroll (53%) and Garrett (53%) counties were the only two that voted NO, meaning voters wanted to reject the state’s newly drawn congressional redistricting map and have it thrown out.
Oddly, voters in 15 counties, which Republican Mitt Romney “won” in each, voted YES, meaning they wanted to approve the Democratic-majority General Assembly’s map rather than reject it: Allegany (51% YES to approve the Democratic-drawn congressional map), Anne Arundel (55%), Calvert (63%), Caroline (59%), Cecil (65%), Dorchester (63%), Frederick (56%), Harford (59%), Kent (57%), Queen Anne’s (55%), St. Mary’s (65%), Talbot (57%), Washington (51%), Wicomico (66%), and Worcester (67%).
It is worth questioning whether most of the 64% of “Yes” voters understood the 23-word sentence. According to a 2012 post-election survey by the Maryland State Board of Elections, more than 40% of respondents found the ballot summary for Question 5 difficult or very difficult to understand. Additionally, a Public Policy Polling survey from the same year found that most voters did not recall seeing or reading endorsements from newspaper editorial boards. This raises the possibility that many “Yes” voters may not have known that the editorial boards of The Baltimore Sun, the Annapolis Capital, the Carroll County Times, The Gazette, The Washington Post, the Washington Examiner, and Washington Jewish Week urged voters to vote “NO.”
Plain language
In May, Gov. Wes Moore signed SB0029, titled “Election Law – Petitions and Ballot Questions – Contents, Plain Language Requirement, and Procedures,” into law, effective July 1, 2026.
The bill mandates that, when preparing guidelines and instructions to ensure compliance with the plain-language requirement for ballot question summaries, the State Board of Elections must (1) consider generally accepted guidelines for compliance with the federal Plain Writing Act of 2010 and (2) prohibit the use of passive voice, legal jargon, and double negatives.
According to Ballotpedia, Maryland became the 24th state to adopt plain-language laws for ballot measures.
These plaintiffs would argue that the Democrat-led General Assembly missed key statutory deadlines for submitting ballot questions and that the ballot language for Question 3 is legally insufficient.
The Flesch Reading Ease score for Question 3 is 32, twenty-eight points below the 60–89 Standard range. The Standard range is at a 6th- to 9th-grade level and suits general web readers. The recently enacted plain-language law requires clearer ballot question language.
Judge Robert Thompson’s Wednesday ruling in the Howell’s case blocked a proposed constitutional amendment from appearing on the November ballot. He targeted the ballot text, which stated that the amendment “clarifies” constitutional standards for redistricting. He wrote that “the word ‘clarifies’ is intentionally misleading, and this should disqualify the ballot question as currently written.”
But the judge stayed his order in order to allow an appeal to the Maryland Supreme Court.
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