Washington Post: Maryland’s lone Republican congressman could be ousted under one proposed map offered by legislative commission

11.10.2021 / By Ovetta Wiggins and Erin Cox
Washington Post: Maryland’s lone Republican congressman could be ousted under one proposed map offered by legislative commission

Joanne Antoine, the executive director of Common Cause Maryland, a nonpartisan group that advocates for fairer maps, said Common Cause had been anxiously awaiting the release of the commission’s proposed maps. She said she was pleased to see that the commission released a variety of proposals. “We’re happy. … We thought it might be just one map,” she said. “Giving the public and advocates different options to weigh in on is helpful.” She said advocacy groups will offer feedback in the remaining three public hearings that the commission has scheduled over the next week, including a statewide virtual hearing Monday evening.

Maryland’s redistricting commission drafted a new map with the potential to oust the state’s lone Republican member of Congress, one of four proposed redistricting plans that shuffle some voters ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

The four options released late Tuesday by the Maryland Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission redraw the state’s eight sprawling and tentacled congressional districts, which favor Democrats and have been labeled among the nation’s most gerrymandered.

Karl S. Aro, the chairman of the seven-member commission comprising top legislative leaders, said the proposed maps are a “starting point” and the result of testimony during the commission’s nine public hearings. …

Joanne Antoine, the executive director of Common Cause Maryland, a nonpartisan group that advocates for fairer maps, said Common Cause had been anxiously awaiting the release of the commission’s proposed maps. She said she was pleased to see that the commission released a variety of proposals.

“We’re happy. … We thought it might be just one map,” she said. “Giving the public and advocates different options to weigh in on is helpful.”

She said advocacy groups will offer feedback in the remaining three public hearings that the commission has scheduled over the next week, including a statewide virtual hearing Monday evening.

See More: Gerrymandering/RedistrictingGerrymandering & Representation