Republicans Sue Over Maryland’s New Congressional Map
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, Dec. 21, a group of Maryland Republican voters sued over the state’s new congressional map that was enacted following the release of 2020 census data. The lawsuit, filed by the far-right organization Judicial Watch, argues that the new map is a partisan gerrymander that favors Democrats in violation of the Maryland Constitution. Judicial Watch is tied to numerous lawsuits pushing unfounded allegations of voter fraud, including an ongoing lawsuit in Colorado seeking to purge voters. This is the first lawsuit filed against Maryland’s new congressional map.
The plaintiffs argue that the map passed by the Legislature purposefully favors Democrats in the state at the expense of Republicans, including the state’s sole GOP representative, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.). The complaint focuses on the fact that the Maryland Legislature enacted the new map over Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) veto and after ignoring the proposed map put forth by the bipartisan Maryland Redistricting Reform Commission. The lawsuit argues that the new districts are not compact, don’t consist of “adjoining territory,” pair dissimilar communities together, unnecessarily split counties and disregard political boundaries to achieve a partisan lean. While the plaintiffs assert that the new map results in eight safe Democratic seats, other sources, such as FiveThirtyEight, predict the map will be split into seven safe Democratic seats and one highly competitive seat (currently held by Harris). The plaintiffs argue that the map suggested by the commission — which would hand Democrats six seats and Republicans two — should be considered as a replacement for the current map.