On Friday, the Senior Judge of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County signed an order prohibiting use of the congressional map that the Maryland legislature approved – over a gubernatorial veto – during a special session in December 2021. State officials were given five days to redraw the map. The legislature is currently in session until April 11. There is no word on whether the state will appeal. Read the order and opinion.
The ruling concerned consolidated cases against the map by several plaintiffs and is notable as it makes Maryland among the first few states to fall victim to state constitution-based extreme partisan gerrymandering claims behind North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Key to the decision was the court’s application of the state’s constitutional redistricting criteria to congressional districts despite that provision only referring to “legislative districts.” The constitutional language in question reads as follows:
Each legislative district shall consist of adjoining territory, be compact in form,
Article III. Sec. 4, MD. Const.
and of substantially equal population. Due regard shall be given to natural
boundaries and the boundaries of political subdivisions.
The court noted the ambiguity of the term at the outset declaring; “The term “legislative district” is the gravamen of analysis. There is no definition of the term “legislative district” in the Maryland Constitution or Declaration of Rights.” Explaining that the framers of the state constitution “knew full well” how to explicitly exclude congressional districts or in the alternative, specify “state legislative districts,” if it chose to do so. The fact that they did not, led the court to believe that Article III. Sec. 4 does apply to congressional districts.
The remaining opinion relied heavily on expert testimony that the 2021 map was an extreme partisan gerrymander as measured by compactness (or lack thereof), historical voting patterns, and movement of Democrats versus Republicans between districts. Characterizing this as “exerting extravagant or undue extension of power,” by the legislature, the court ultimately decided against the map to ensure that “each citizen of this State is afforded the opportunity to vote and hold the Legislature accountable.”
Find us on:
