Former Gov. Larry Hogan says Maryland's Question 3 "moves us backwards"

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has weighed in on one of the state's major ballot measures, Question 3. 

Hogan, a Republican, is urging voters to reject Question 3, which he says "moves us backwards."

Question 3, which appears on the ballot in the 2026 midterm elections, paves the way for Maryland lawmakers to redraw the state's congressional maps. 

A vote in favor of Question 3 would eliminate a Maryland state constitution requirement that mandates that congressional districts must be compact and connected. A vote against the measure would keep the existing constraints in place.  

In a post on X, Hogan said the constitutional change "would give partisan mapmakers more freedom to divide our communities, combine distant areas, and manipulate district boundaries to produce the election results they want." 

"In short, it lets politicians pick their voters, rather than citizens picking their representatives," Hogan added. 

Hogan "long been opposed to gerrymandering"

"I've long been opposed to gerrymandering, wherever it was happening and whoever was doing it. Thankfully, this time, the people of Maryland have the chance to make their voices heard. Politicians should not be rewarded with the power to erase the constitutional requirements they violated. And we shouldn't take Maryland back to the days when our congressional maps were held up as some of the worst, most gerrymandered in America," he said in the post. "If politicians won't do the right thing, Maryland voters should do it for them. Vote against Question 3."

If Question 3 is approved, it could end up eliminating the only Republican congressional seat on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The measure has been backed by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who has said the law is necessary to fight back against the Trump administration's efforts to redraw other congressional districts across the country in favor of Republicans.   

Opponents of the redistricting measure argue that removing the constraints could lead a dominant party in Maryland's General Assembly to create unfairly-drawn congressional maps to gain political advantage. Critics argued that such a practice could discriminate against non-majority voters in areas across the state. 

Earlier this week, former President Barack Obama released a new political ad in which he directly urges Maryland residents to vote yes on Question 3.

Obama ad: "I'm counting on you to vote yes"

In the video ad, Obama is dressed casually and appears to be sitting inside a home setting. He speaks directly to voters. 

"In this election, I'm counting on you to vote yes on Question 3. And here's why," he says in the ad. "You may have heard that Republicans in Washington got some states to redraw their congressional maps in the middle of an election year. They did it to try and hold onto power in Congress. You can help stop this Republican power grab by voting yes on Question 3. It lets Maryland draw its own fair maps."

Moore's re-election campaign is initially paying $500,000 for the ad to air in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore television markets, our media partner, the Baltimore Banner, reported.