Washington Post: Maryland appeals partisan gerrymandering decision to Supreme Court

Maryland’s attorney general on Thursday appealed to the Supreme Court a ruling that threw out the state’s congressional voting map and ordered officials to redraw lines before the 2020 election.

Brian Frosh (D) is asking the high court to quickly review the unanimous decision last week that found that Democratic mapmakers violated the First Amendment rights of Republican voters.

The long-running lawsuit has been before the Supreme Court twice, most recently in June when the justices avoided answering when extreme partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional in cases from Maryland and Wisconsin. …

Advocates for redistricting reform in Maryland see Frosh’s appeal as chance for the Supreme Court to spell out clear rules that would apply to every state in the country. A national standard would undercut the argument from Maryland Democrats that choosing nonpartisan redistricting here is tantamount to unilateral political disarmament, since Republican-dominated states could still send lopsided delegations to Congress.

“To not hear this case would be a bad outcome because we would end up with a ruling that only applies to Maryland,” said Damon Effingham, executive director of Common Cause Maryland. “It would still be incredibly difficult to get the reforms that we’re hoping for.”