Gov. Larry Hogan announced that he would establish The Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission to redraw the state’s congressional and state legislative boundaries. The application period for members of the public to apply to be on the commission is now open.
The commission will consist of 3 members appointed by the governor and 6 members of the public who are selected by the initial three after applying through the application process. The governor’s appointees are Judge Alexander Williams (democrat), Walter Olsen (Republican), and Dr. Kathleen Hetherington (Independent). Williams is a retired Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Olsen is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and Hetherington is president of Howard Community College. You can watch the announcement below.
The remaining commissioner spots must retain the equal balance between Democrats, Republicans and Independents. Commissioners may not be a candidate for or member of Congress or the state legislature, a political party employee or officer, a registered lobbyist, or staff member of the governor’s office, General Assembly or the U.S. Congress.
Nonpartisan Rules: The executive order creating the commission also prohibits the use of political data in the drawing of districts as well consideration of where an individual lives; to discourage drawing districts to protect incumbents or assist challengers in an upcoming election.
State Constitutional Requirements: The Maryland Constitution requires the governor to submit a state legislative map to the legislature during the first day of the legislative session in the second year following the census. That map is automatically enacted on the 45th day of session unless the legislature approves an alternative map. Since Maryland began decennial redistricting in the early 70’s the governor’s legislative map has been adopted via the automatic enactment feature of the constitution.
Although a timeline for the congressional map is not addressed in the state constitution, the governor traditionally submits a congressional map during the first day of the session as well. That map has no automatic enacting feature however, and must be voted up or down like any regular bill.
