Bkmk
Fantastic.
Save Andy Harris!
Could be big, probably won’t amount to much because of how inept the Maryland republican party is.
Maryland, outside of the B-W collar counties, is basically as red as south carolina as far as the population goes, but you’d never know that from their carefully carved house districts and just as lopsided statehouse representation.
Maryland’s house representation is currently 7-1 D-R, but should be more like 6-2 with a competitive D district... and could be as much as a 4-4 split in a year like 2022 could shape up to be. The would-be R voters don’t get touched or engaged though, in large part because of the absurdly drawn district lines.
Still, if the north and west of the state didn’t have those little boundary fingers dipping down to DC, there is at least a one seat pickup there. If the south of the state kept to the bay coastline and not poke into the densely populared DC collar areas, another possible pickup. North and northeast of Baltimore even has promise for a Larry Hogan type moderate and that’s even before you would figure in the future state where conservative leaning voters wouldn’t keep resettling North of the Mason Dixon line to escape the Maryland government.
Separation of powers
I think that computer technology could be used to draw districts which are both as geographically compact as possible, and equal in population, at the same time. But apparently this never happens.
Good. This was an outrageous scam.
Can the courts Constitutionally consider plans from other entities than the state legislature?