Redistricting

 image via The Daily Caller

“Amid the closest partisan margin in the House of Representatives in almost 20 years, state legislatures are redrawing their congressional districts in preparation for the 2022 midterm elections.

“States are constitutionally required to redraw their congressional districts following the release of the U.S. census, but the manner in which they do so is set at the state level. As a result, legislators move to ensure that their districts will be as safe for lawmakers of their own parties…

“During redistricting, the preferences of voters are often lost, elections scholar Walter Olson told the Daily Caller. Olson is the Republican co-chair of the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, a nine member board tasked by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan with drawing congressional districts for the state.

“In contrast, Maryland’s commission is designed to maximize voter input, Olson explained, including holding public meetings where residents can explain what they want for their districts…

“Maryland voters also oppose splitting counties, and would prefer more compact congressional districts, he added.

“Gov. Hogan has made a continual theme, since he campaigned for governor the first time, to fix Maryland’s terrible record of gerrymandering, which is one of the worst in the country,” Olson explained. “The majority of Marylanders, Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike, favor the idea of an independent commission, not consisting of politicians, not driven by politicians’ interests, to draw the lines, so as to reduce the conflict of interest of letting the insiders do it for their own benefit.”

“Following the 2010 census and subsequent redistricting, Maryland and North Carolina tied as the most gerrymandered states, a Washington Post analysis found. Maryland’s Third District… was the second-most gerrymandered district in the country. It is only contiguous when the Chesapeake Bay is included as part of its boundaries.

“Maryland also redrew a formerly Republican district in the western part of the state to become safe for a Democrat in 2010. The state’s House delegation moved from six Democrats and two Republicans to seven Democrats and one Republican as a result of the choice.

The commission only acts in an advisory role to Hogan. Unlike the 16 states where commissions have absolute authority to set district boundaries, the maps drawn by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission may not be approved by the state legislature.

However, Olson said that political considerations are not part of the commission’s work.

“That’s not what we’re being charged to do. We’re being charged to draw fair and impartial maps, and let others take it from there.”