House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) might want to take a closer look at state constitutions before he goes barnstorming around the country trying to grab congressional seats away from Republicans ahead of this year's midterm elections.
He tried it in Virginia, where Democrats’ redistricting amendment was ultimately struck down by the state Supreme Court.
And now, Virginia’s neighbor to the north has handed Jeffries yet another legal headache.
A Maryland judge ruled on Wednesday that a Democrat-backed constitutional amendment cannot be included on the November ballot after finding that lawmakers got three things disastrously wrong: they missed a statutory deadline; used misleading ballot language; and, violated the state’s single-subject rule.
The judge, Robert J. Thompson of Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, ruled that the measure should no longer be put to voters in a November referendum. But he stayed the ruling, acknowledging that it would be appealed to the Maryland Supreme Court. The court may act quickly, given that the Maryland Board of Elections has said that ballots are slated to begin printing on Sept. 3.
Thompson ruled that Maryland Democrats "did not follow the very laws” they enacted. That is amazingly similar to the judicial findings in Virginia's attempted gerrymander. The rules are for everyone except Democrat lawmakers, apparently.
BREAKING: Anne Arundel County judge blocked Maryland’s redistricting amendment from the November ballot.
— Mikenzie Frost (@MikenzieFrost) August 26, 2026
Judge Thompson ruled lawmakers “did not follow the very laws” they enacted.
But he immediately stayed that order, allowing the state to appeal to Maryland’s Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/igFi1fsD7Z
State Senator Steve Hershey, the Republican minority leader, said, "Today’s ruling is an important victory for the rule of law and for every Maryland voter who expects government to follow the Constitution and the election laws it enacts."
Wednesday's ruling is the latest humiliation for Jeffries, who spent quite a bit of time over the last year encouraging Democrat-led state legislatures to gerrymander Republicans out of enough congressional seats to give him the Speaker's gavel. He's been on quite a losing streak.
🚨 JUST IN: A Maryland judge SHOT DOWN the Democrat attempt to ELIMINATE the state’s sole Republican Congressional district on the ballot this November
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 26, 2026
Jeffries PERSONALLY traveled to Maryland to lobby Democrat state lawmakers to do it.
Looks like it was for nothing 😆
Now on… pic.twitter.com/NGNE4PttJ6
🚨 JUST IN: A Maryland judge SHOT DOWN the Democrat attempt to ELIMINATE the state’s sole Republican Congressional district on the ballot this November
Jeffries PERSONALLY traveled to Maryland to lobby Democrat state lawmakers to do it.
Looks like it was for nothing 😆
Now on to the Maryland Supreme Court!
The Maryland ruling actually marks the third time this year that state courts have derailed Democrat redistricting efforts. As previously mentioned, Virginia judges struck down a crazily gerrymandered "lobster map" after state Democrats violated the state constitution by trying to ram through a redistricting referendum. Then in June, Colorado judges blocked Democrat redistricting measures after finding that the proposals, as written, violated that state constitution, too.
For Jeffries, the pattern is getting hard to ignore: Virginia, Colorado, and now Maryland. Democrats keep getting their hands slapped as they reach into the proverbial cookie jar, only to discover that state constitutions and election laws still apply to them, too.
Maryland Democrats have already appealed the decision. “We believe Maryland voters deserve the opportunity to make their voices heard, and we will continue fighting to ensure they can,” said Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for Gov. Wes Moore.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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