BALTIMORE — The Maryland Court of Appeals has postponed the state’s primary from June 28 to July 19.
In an order issued Tuesday, the court also pushed the filing deadline for candidates from March 22 to April 15. That deadline had already been postponed once, amid legal challenges to redistricting plans.
The court is hearing a challenge to the redistricting plan adopted by the General Assembly, which drew new boundaries for Maryland’s House of Delegates and state Senate districts.
Maryland postponed a primary just two years ago. It was moved from April 28 to June 2, 2020, and shifted to mail-in ballots only to minimize health risks during the coronavirus outbreak.
Redistricting challenges pose their own complicated issues.
To supply voters the correct ballots, local election boards must know precisely which legislative, congressional or county district any given location is in. Redrawing boundary lines may require boards to scout new polling places and secure contracts for those buildings.
Ballots must be completed no later than 45 days before federal elections to comply with a U.S. law designed to safeguard the voting rights of military members and others overseas.
The state had been warning that it was approaching a point of no return.
State elections officials “are losing sleep right now thinking about how they’re going to deal with whatever emerges,” Assistant Attorney General Andrea Trento said at a Maryland Court of Appeals hearing on Feb. 17 about a challenge to the state legislative map.
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