UMBC poll: Majority of likely Maryland voters oppose congressional redistricting amendment
A new poll from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County shows more than half of likely Maryland voters oppose a constitutional amendment that would give state lawmakers more flexibility to redraw the state's congressional map.
Question 3 on the November ballot comes as Democrats consider changing Maryland's congressional districts in response to Republican-led redistricting efforts in other states.
What Question 3 would change
On Maryland's Eastern Shore, Peter Ramaley said he does not want to see his community split apart by a new congressional map.
"The districts should be based on people with common interests, and there should be some geographic integrity with the districts," said Ramaley, who lives on Kent Island.
Maryland voters will decide on Question 3 in November. A "yes" vote would remove the state constitution's requirement that congressional districts be compact and contiguous, giving lawmakers more flexibility if they choose to redraw the map.
"I'm going to vote against it," Ramaley said.
UMBC poll finds majority opposition
UMBC's poll surveyed 776 likely Maryland voters from Sept. 22 through Sept. 27, 2026. It found 53% of likely voters plan to vote against the amendment, compared with 25% who plan to vote for it.
Another 19% said they were undecided.
"I know there's a lot of talk about it, but I haven't studied up on it," said Patty Moon, who also lives on Kent Island. "I'm going to vote, of course, but I have to study up on it first."
The poll also found 57% of likely voters said drawing congressional districts to favor one political party either should not be done or is the wrong thing to do.
"I'm a little tired of how this is happening all over the country," Moon said. "That people are redistricting just to favor a certain politician or certain party."
Moore backs Question 3
Gov. Wes Moore said he supports Question 3, while also calling for broader national redistricting reform.
"I do not like gerrymandering, but the only way we're going to get there is by voting yes on Question 3 and making sure that we control our destiny and not Donald Trump," Moore said.
Campaign challenges UMBC poll
Fight Back Maryland, the Democratic-led campaign supporting Question 3, is pushing back on the UMBC poll, arguing that the wording used in the survey could affect the results.
UMBC used a plain-language description of what a "yes" or "no" vote would do rather than the language voters will see on their ballots.
Why the polls show different results
Fight Back Maryland points to its own poll, which used the ballot language and found 40% support for Question 3, 35% opposition and 25% undecided.
The competing polls offer different snapshots of voter opinion, with the wording of the question being one key difference between the surveys.
