Hogan Proposes Constitutional Amendment On Redistricting

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, making good on a campaign promise, is proposing legislation to move the state to a nonpartisan redistricting process.

The legislation is based on recommendations from Hogan's bipartisan panel on redistricting. The administration is suggesting that a nonpartisan apportionment commission create the districts to replace the process that's historically been led by the governor's office.

“An overwhelming majority of Marylanders favor an independent, nonpartisan panel for redistricting over the existing biased process,” the Republican governor said in a release. “For too long, fair elections and a healthy, strong, and competitive two-party system have been nearly impossible in our state. This is about recognizing a problem and choosing to do the right thing to solve it.”

Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-to-1 in Maryland. However, only one Republican, Rep. Andy Harris, is among Maryland's eight House members. The most recent redistricting put more Washington-area Democrats in the 6th congressional district then represented by the retiring Republican Roscoe Bartlett. Democrat John Delaney, in the following election, edged out Republican Dan Bongino by less than 2 percent of the vote.

One congressional district, that represented by John Sarbanes, starts in western Baltimore County, swings into Overlea and through the city, then into Halethorpe and Olney, back around Fort Meade and into Annapolis. Sarbanes keeps district offices in Annapolis and Towson. A 2012 study, as noted by Maryland Reporter, found it to be one of the least compact in the nation.

Hogan is proposing a state constitutional amendment to change redistricting procedures for when it next takes place after the 2020 U.S. Census. The goal, Hogan's office says, is to craft state and federal election districts based on population, compactness and natural boundaries. That amendment would be put forward to state voters.