Map opposed by Hogan leaps first hurdle in the Senate
Full vote expected soon
ANNAPOLIS – The legislative redistricting map condemned by Gov. Larry Hogan (R) overcame its first hurdle in the General Assembly Tuesday following an 11-4 vote by the Senate Standing Committee on Reapportionment and Redistricting.
In a joint hearing, senators and delegates heard the parameters and qualifications of two competing maps, the Senate-sponsored Legislative Districting Plan of 2022 and the governor-supported
Maryland Citizens’ Legislative Districting Plan of 2022.
The Senate standing committee voted along party lines, with 11 Democrats in favor of the Senate-sponsored map and four Republicans against. A vote on the Senate floor was expected later this week.
Similar to the special session in December dedicated to congressional redistricting, where the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission’s proposal was left in committee, no vote was taken on the map supported by Hogan.
The Democrat-favored map, compiled by the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission, was drawn using 2020 census data, taking demographic and population shifts into account. Unlike the other plan, which drew Maryland lines entirely from scratch, the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission map was based on existing districts.
Karl Aro, the commission’s chair and retired executive director of the Department of Legislative Services, dismissed claims of partisan gerrymandering, saying that when people don’t like a redistricting proposal, “The first word that comes out of their mouth is ‘gerrymandering.’”
Gerrymandering occurs when electoral districts are drawn to favor one political party over the other.
“I don’t believe this plan is gerrymandered. I don’t think the plan we started with was gerrymandered,” Aro said.
Last January, Hogan established the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission by executive order. The nine-person commission — composed equally of Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated voters — was tasked with drawing congressional and legislative district lines in a transparent, “fair and impartial manner,” according to Hogan’s website. Their legislative map was given an “A” rating in partisan fairness by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, whereas the other map was not submitted in time for a grade.
The Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission’s congressional map, however, which was approved by House Democrats in December and is now the subject of two lawsuits, was given an “F” in the same category. That map was determined to offer a “significant Democratic advantage,” according to the project’s website.
Though the governor is constitutionally barred from vetoing the General Assembly’s legislative maps, the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission districting lines would become law if legislators don’t ratify an alternative in the first half of its 90-day session.
However, Democrats currently hold a 99-42 majority in the House of Delegates and a 32-15 advantage in the Senate. With that supermajority, the party’s more or less in control of the redistricting process.
Hogan neither appeared in Tuesday’s virtual meeting nor offered comment afterward.
Del. Eric Luedtke (D-Montgomery), who served on the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission, said the issue was “front and center” in their map-drawing process. Noting that it was more a problem in the state’s less populated
counties, Luedtke said the population distribution in the split-counties would give multi-member districts “the strong potential” of electing residential officials.
“We drew the map as much as possible to make sure that every county would have an opportunity to elect a legislator of their choosing to the General Assembly,” Luedtke said.
An interactive map detailing the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission map does not display county lines.
“I don’t like both of them,” Sen. Addie Eckardt (R-Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot, Wicomico) said, explaining that she’s a proponent of single-member districts, which she claimed give citizens “of any minority a greater opportunity to run for office.”
“I think the message to citizens would be that if you’re on the border, make sure you know where your district is,” Eckardt said.
Local election officials, without endorsing either map, voiced concerns about time constraints with preparing for the upcoming midterm elections. With new districts, in the next few months, local election boards would have to establish new polling locations, distribute proper equipment, and inform the affected public of their redistricting.
David Garreis, president of the Maryland Association of Election Officials, told lawmakers that with looming deadlines, including the Feb. 22 deadline for candidates to file to run, time was of the essence.
“After this, there is a lot of work that needs to be done,” he said.
Following Garreis’ testimony, Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore County) warned the senators and delegates present that if there are problems with establishing procedure in time for the election, the public may blame them.
“This is going to cause serious logistical problems, no matter which bill is passed,” West said. “I’m fearful that the primary election this year is going to be fraught with problems because I don’t think the local election boards are going to be able to deal with all these split precincts … in time to be set for the June election.”