{"id":13207,"date":"2016-01-27T23:46:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T23:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/articles\/maryland-redistricting-bill-seeks-reversal-of-states-cynical-history-of-gerrymandering\/"},"modified":"2016-01-27T23:46:00","modified_gmt":"2016-01-27T23:46:00","slug":"maryland-redistricting-bill-seeks-reversal-of-states-cynical-history-of-gerrymandering","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/tl\/articles\/maryland-redistricting-bill-seeks-reversal-of-states-cynical-history-of-gerrymandering\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland Redistricting Bill Seeks Reversal of State&rsquo;s Cynical History of Gerrymandering"},"template":"","class_list":["post-13207","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-blog-post"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has introduced legislation that would end the process of elected leaders drawing General Assembly districts and congressional districts for political and partisan advantage.","featured_image":null,"article_type":1103,"authors":["{\"site_id\":\"1\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":8602}"],"related_issues":[103,169,2066],"related_work":false,"location":null},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<p>Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has introduced legislation that would end the process of elected leaders drawing General Assembly districts and congressional districts for political and partisan advantage. The proposed reform mirrors the recommendations of the Maryland Redistricting Reform Commission, a group of 11 Maryland residents from different political backgrounds who Hogan tasked with recommending policies to end gerrymandering in the state. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/wonk\/wp\/2014\/05\/15\/americas-most-gerrymandered-congressional-districts\/\">Washington Post has stated<\/a> that Maryland&rsquo;s congressional map is tied with North Carolina for the worst gerrymander in America.<\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\">This proposal:<\/p><ul><\/ul><ul><li><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\"><span><\/span><\/span>Creates a nine-person citizen commission made up of Maryland residents to draw congressional and General Assembly districts. The governor and General Assembly would maintain the ability to reject up to two maps but will no longer control the drafting process.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Ensures partisan balance on the commission by including three Democrats, three Republicans, and three people who are not affiliated with either major party. Commissioners are selected randomly from pools of applicants that have been screened for political bias and skills.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Requires members to name one of the three members who are not Democrats or Republicans to chair the commission and requires a supermajority of six commissioners to approve a plan.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\"><\/span>Forbids the following individuals from the commission:<\/li><\/ul><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Members of Congress or the General Assembly, or those who recently ran for those offices<\/p><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Congressional or General Assembly staff<\/p><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Registered lobbyists<\/p><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Anyone who has changed party voter registration in the previous five years<\/p><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Immediate family of any excluded person<\/p><ul><li><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\"><\/span>Details objective criteria commission must use to that put fair representation above political gamesmanship.<\/li><\/ul><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Equal population as required by U.S. Constitution and federal law<\/p><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Compliance with Voting Rights Act and other federal law<\/p><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Pay due regard to county and municipal boundaries<\/p><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Contiguity: adjoining territory conveniently connected for purposes of travel and communication<\/p><p class=\"MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle\" style=\"margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'Courier New';\"><span>o<span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';\">&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/span><\/span>Compactness<\/p><ul><li><span style=\"font-family: Symbol;\"><\/span>Declares the intent of the General Assembly that district lines not be drawn for partisan advantage, or to favor or disfavor an incumbent.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Requires public hearings and ensures robust citizen input.<\/li><\/ul><ul><li>Forbids population variance of more than 2 percent.<\/li><\/ul><ul><\/ul><p class=\"MsoNormal\">This bill takes ideas from reforms found in several other states. It resembles California&rsquo;s successful Citizens Redistricting Commission, which drew districts for the first time following the 2010 census. The California commission consists of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four people unaffiliated with either major party. The Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission has drawn districts for two census cycles and consists of two Democrats, two Republicans, and one independent chair. Both states have strong screening processes to ensure that commissioners do not have a personal or partisan stake in the outcome.<\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\">Maryland&rsquo;s proposal allows the legislature to veto maps without amendment but with suggested changes, which is similar to the Iowa model. However, the Iowa legislature maintains the power to draw districts if it vetoes three maps. Hogan&rsquo;s proposal empowers Maryland state courts to draw districts if the legislature or governor reject two versions of maps, which discourages Maryland&rsquo;s political establishment from intentionally derailing the process.<\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\">Read the bill <a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/legacy\/issues\/voting-and-elections\/tame-the-gerrymander\/md-redistricting-bill.pdf\">dito<\/a>.<\/p>"}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Maryland Redistricting Bill Seeks Reversal of State&rsquo;s Cynical History of Gerrymandering - Common Cause<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/tl\/mga-artikulo-2\/maryland-redistricting-bill-seeks-reversal-of-states-cynical-history-of-gerrymandering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maryland Redistricting Bill Seeks Reversal of State&rsquo;s Cynical History of Gerrymandering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/tl\/mga-artikulo-2\/maryland-redistricting-bill-seeks-reversal-of-states-cynical-history-of-gerrymandering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CommonCause\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/CC-Share-Graphic-Main9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CommonCause\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/articles\/maryland-redistricting-bill-seeks-reversal-of-states-cynical-history-of-gerrymandering\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/articles\/maryland-redistricting-bill-seeks-reversal-of-states-cynical-history-of-gerrymandering\/\",\"name\":\"Maryland Redistricting Bill Seeks Reversal of State&rsquo;s Cynical History of Gerrymandering - 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