Maryland Lawmakers To Take Up New Congressional Map
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland lawmakers who produced the first congressional map drawn by Democrats to be struck down this redistricting cycle will vote on a new map this week, a spokesman for a legislative leader said Monday.
Democrats went back to the drawing board over the weekend after Judge Lynne Battaglia on Friday said the map lawmakers approved in December is a "product of extreme partisan gerrymandering."
Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1 in Maryland, yet Democrats hold a 7-1 advantage over Republicans in the state's U.S. House delegation. Opponents of the map approved in December said it made the district held by the lone Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, vulnerable.
Other courts have overturned maps found to be GOP gerrymanders in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, infuriating Republicans and leading conservatives to push for the U.S. Supreme Court to limit the power of state courts to intervene against maps drawn by state legislatures.
David Schuhlein, a spokesman for Senate President Bill Ferguson, said the new map would be submitted in legislation to the General Assembly later Monday and should be ready for Hogan's signature by midweek.
The initial map was approved by a panel mostly of state lawmakers, including four Democrats and two Republicans, and approved by the General Assembly. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed it, but the Democrats who control the legislature overrode his veto. GOP lawmakers then filed a lawsuit.
(© Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
