Finding ‘extreme’ gerrymandering in Maryland’s new congressional map, judge orders do-over

A Maryland judge on Friday rejected a General Assembly-approved map of the state’s congressional districts that had been challenged by Republicans, calling it “a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering.”

Two GOP groups contended the map was unfairly drawn to favor Democrats and doesn’t abide by Maryland constitutional guidelines.

In her decision, Lynne A. Battaglia, a retired state appeals court judge assigned to the Anne Arundel Circuit Court case, sided with the Republican challengers who had argued the map was drawn with “partisanship as a predominant interest.” Battaglia agreed with testimony stating Republican voters and candidates “are substantially adversely impacted by the 2021 plan.”

Battaglia gave state legislators until March 30 to develop a new congressional plan that abides by the state constitution.

State Attorney General Brian Frosh, who defended the map, has the right to appeal. Raquel Combs, a spokeswoman for Frosh, said no decision has been made about whether an appeal will be filed.

Gov. Larry Hogan, an outspoken critic of partisan gerrymandering who backed an unsuccessful legal challenge to Maryland’s previous congressional maps, called Friday’s ruling an “historic milestone.”

Hogan has pitched letting an independent commission draw Maryland’s maps instead, something the Democrat-controlled General Assembly has rejected. Last year, Hogan appointed a panel of Republicans, Democrats and independents to draw an alternate set of proposed electoral maps, which the governor submitted to the legislature.

In response to Battaglia’s ruling on Friday, Hogan again urged state lawmakers to adopt the map drawn by his commission.

“For nearly eight years, we have been fighting to end the gerrymandering monopoly that has for too long been a shameful legacy of our state,” the Republican governor said in a statement. “This ruling is a monumental victory for every Marylander who cares about protecting our democracy, bringing fairness to our elections and putting the people back in charge. It puts in plain view the partisan, secretive and rigged process that led to the legislature’s illegal and unconstitutional maps.”

In two lawsuits considered by the judge together, Republicans argued that partisan gerrymandering of the congressional districts by Democratic state lawmakers violated provisions in the state constitution.

One suit was filed Fair Maps Maryland, an anti-gerrymandering advocacy group tied to Hogan. The other was brought by the national conservative activist group Judicial Watch on behalf of 10 Republican voters in the state, including two Republican congressional candidates, state Del. Neil Parrott and Jeff Werner.

A 1972 amendment to the section of the constitution on the state legislature decrees that its legislative districts “shall consist of adjoining territory, be compact in form and of substantially equal population” and that lawmakers must consider natural boundaries and the borders of political subdivisions like counties and cities.

Lawyers for Frosh defended the map, arguing the Maryland Constitution doesn’t specifically apply the same rules for congressional districts.

But the Republican plaintiffs argued that the constitution’s allusion to “legislative districts” was meant to be generic and to cover congressional districts as well as state legislative maps.

Fair Maps Maryland, one of the plaintiffs, heralded the decision as a “win for democracy.”

“Judge Battaglia’s ruling confirms what we have all known for years — Maryland is ground zero for gerrymandering, our districts and political reality reek of it, and there is abundant proof that it is occurring,” the group said in a statement.

According to legal experts, the Maryland case could be appealed and ultimately be decided by the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.

Democratic leaders have said the map creates more compact districts and makes six of the eight districts at least somewhat more competitive. The maps must be redrawn every 10 years to account for population shifts determined by the national census.

Currently, the state’s lone Republican congressman, U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, represents the 1st Congressional District that includes the Eastern Shore and a portion of Baltimore County.

Courts around the country have been dealing this year with complaints of alleged “gerrymandering.” Gerrymandering commonly involves stacking large numbers of the opposite party’s voters into a limited number of districts, leaving that party with too few voters to compete elsewhere.

Baltimore Sun reporter Bryn Stole contributed to this report.