Paid for by Fair Maps Maryland
Maryland congressional mapmaking in 2022 was the most unusual in recent memory, and the effects of a successful court challenge to lawmakers’ original map could echo through future rounds of redistricting.
read moreANNAPOLIS, MD (April 13, 2022)—Fair Maps Maryland today released the following statement from spokesman Doug Mayer in response to the Maryland Court of Appeals ruling:
read moreANNAPOLIS, Md. — The recent report from Special Master Alan Wilner in the redistricting case received challenges from Fair Maps Maryland. They highlight claims of partisan gerrymandering and prove once again that the legislative map is unconstitutional.
read moreThe Republican governor, who has long pushed for redistricting reform, described the new map as a “huge improvement” over the one approved over his veto in December by the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats.
read moreHOGAN SIGNS LATEST CONGRESSIONAL MAP ITERATION: Gov. Larry Hogan, ending a monthslong legal and legislative tussle with Democrats, signed a map of Maryland’s congressional districts on Monday that the General Assembly redrew after a judge rejected the first version as extremely partisan. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
read moreANNAPOLIS, MD (April 4, 2022)—Fair Maps Maryland today released the following statement from spokesman Doug Mayer in response to Special Master Alan Wilner’s report in the Maryland Court of Appeals legislative redistricting case: “Ultimately, Judge Wilner's report represents the opinion of one person and we strongly disagree with his conclusions. Both this map and the Congressional map were produced by the same toxic, closed-door process and it defies common sense that one is substantially different than the other. A simple eye test proves this fact."
read moreBALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan approved a new congressional map Monday with more compact districts, after a judge struck down a previous map 10 days ago for being a “product of extreme partisan gerrymandering.”
read moreTen days after a judge tossed out Maryland’s congressional plan for “extreme partisan gerrymandering,” legislative leaders dropped their appeal and Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) signed a redrawn map into law Monday.
read moreFair Maps Maryland today released the following statement in response to Judge Lynne A. Battaglia ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court case Szeliga vs. Lamone:
read moreAttorneys for challengers to Maryland’s new congressional districts asked a judge to find the new map unconstitutional on the final day of a trial Friday.
read moreANNAPOLIS, MD (March 17, 2022)—Fair Maps Maryland, the nonpartisan organization dedicated to the abolition of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland, today announced the support of a bipartisan group of former governors, represented by the States United Democracy Center, in the ongoing court cases surrounding the state’s highly-partisan and illegally-gerrymandered redistricting maps.
read moreFair Maps Maryland, the nonpartisan organization dedicated to the abolition of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland, today announced the support of a bipartisan group of former governors, represented by the States United Democracy Center, in the ongoing court cases surrounding the state’s highly-partisan and illegally-gerrymandered redistricting maps.
read moreFifteen weeks before the primary election, a judge is to open a trial Tuesday in which Republicans seek to scrap a Democratic-approved map of Maryland’s congressional district boundary lines.
read moreMaryland’s new congressional districts are more compact than their immediate predecessors but are still significantly less compact than historic districts in the state, an analyst testified in a trial challenging the redistricting plan Tuesday.
read moreMaryland Republicans seeking to throw out the state’s congressional map before the state’s rescheduled primary elections in July will argue in a trial this week that Democrats in the General Assembly drew an illegally gerrymandered map to maximize partisan gain.
read moreIn stunning and revealing court documents, Fair Maps Maryland has learned that the Maryland General Assembly and Attorney General Brian Frosh are aggressively implementing “legislative privilege” to avoid legal disclosure and depositions of legislative leaders in both the legislative and congressional redistricting court cases. In both a scheduling order and a defendants’ notice of testimony, Attorney General Frosh's deputies outline how they will do everything in their capacity to prevent legislators from being directly questioned or having the documents that were used to create the unconstitutional maps made public.
read moreThree Republican state delegates filed a lawsuit in February challenging the new legislative district map, arguing that it violates the Maryland Constitution. One of the most gerrymandered regions, they say, is Anne Arundel County.
read moreFair Maps Maryland today released the following statement from spokesman Doug Mayer in response to an order from Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Lynne A. Battaglia that will allow claims of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland to move forward:
read moreThe Republicans behind the lawsuits say so be it. Doug Mayer is with Fair Maps Maryland. He says of the maps, “This is voter suppression. Lawmakers shouldn’t be drawing their own districts and picking their own voters and this is what’s happening here.”
read moreDoug Mayer, from Fair Maps Maryland – the group funding the lawsuit – said the hearing went well for the plaintiffs. “That could be the biggest news coming out of today is that the judge was openly discussing the primary date,” Mayer said. “I think you have good reason to believe that we are going to go to trial.”
read moreFair Maps Maryland, the nonpartisan organization dedicated to the abolition of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland, today announced the decision by the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County to deny a Motion to Intervene filed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) last month. If granted by the court, the motion to intervene would have made the DCCC a legal defendant in the case and allow their highly paid and partisan lawyers to argue in favor of gerrymandering.
read more"Rejecting a partisan political organization’s brazen attempt to defend partisan maps drawn by politicians is the ultimate no-brainer," said Doug Mayer, a spokesman for Fair Maps Maryland, which is associated with Hogan. "The last thing Marylanders wanted was political operatives from Washington, D.C., interfering with their state elections."
read more“The leadership of the Maryland General Assembly might not take the dangers of gerrymandering seriously, but the Court of Appeals does—and that spells trouble for the entrenched Annapolis powerbrokers. Today’s announcement is a clear sign that our legal challenges will be heard in the coming weeks and that free and fair elections could soon be a reality in Maryland."
read moreFair Maps Maryland, the nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to the abolition of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland, today announced a new petition filed in the Maryland Court of Appeals challenging the constitutionality and legality of the state’s new legislative redistricting map, which was passed by the General Assembly last month.
read moreFair Maps Maryland, the nonpartisan organization dedicated to the abolition of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland, today released the official opposition to the motion filed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to insert itself into the ongoing partisan gerrymandering case filed in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County in December 2021.
read moreFair Maps Maryland to File Lawsuit Against Unconstitutional Legislative Map
read moreDemocratic lawyer Marc Elias, who has been filing and threatening lawsuits around the country accusing Republican-led legislatures of drawing grotesquely gerrymandered political maps, is facing charges of hypocrisy after he filed a legal motion last week in Maryland that would allow him to defend similarly gerrymandered maps approved by Democrats in that state.
read moreA group that aims to elect Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives wants to help defend Maryland’s new congressional map in a lawsuit.
read moreA Maryland group aligned with Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is crying “hypocrisy” after Democrats in Washington moved to defend their new congressional map, allegedly gerrymandered to minimize GOP viability.
read moreWashington, D.C. Based Political Campaign Committee Dedicated To Electing Congressional Democrats Files “Motion to Intervene” To Protect Legislature’s Gerrymandered Congressional Map
read more“What do you expect when a bunch of politicians go behind closed doors and pick their own voters and draw their own districts?” said Doug Mayer, a Hogan adviser and spokesman for Fair Maps Maryland. “This map is just as bad as the congressional map, if not worse, and if they pass this into law, we’ll see them in court.”
read moreANNAPOLIS, MD (January 12, 2022)—Fair Maps Maryland, an nonpartisan grassroots organization, today released the following statement calling on the General Assembly to end Maryland’s shameful history of voter suppression and to pass the fair and legal map drafted by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission:
read more"This is a constitutional responsibility that every governor has done. I just happen to be the first governor to every have done it since 1790," he said.
read more“These fair maps call for districts that are geographically compact, that do not take into account how citizens are registered to vote, how they voted in the past, or what political party—if any—they happen to belong to,” Hogan said.
read more“Maryland’s gerrymander is an ugly one, and the vast majority of your citizens oppose it,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “I hope the Maryland Legislature will listen to their constituents and pass fair maps, and serve as public servants instead of party servants.”
read moreA second legal challenge has been lodged against the new map for Maryland’s eight congressional districts. The advocacy group Fair Maps Maryland, which is aligned with Gov. Larry Hogan, filed a lawsuit Thursday arguing the map is “filled with grotesque examples of extreme partisan gerrymandering” and violates the Maryland Constitution.
read moreANNAPOLIS, MD (December 23, 2021)—Fair Maps Maryland, a nonpartisan grassroots organization, today announced that a group of Marylanders have filed suit in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to prevent the use, application, administration, or enforcement of unconstitutional and gerrymandered Congressional maps in Maryland. The lawsuit is being brought by a diverse group of plaintiffs made up of Marylanders from all eight Congressional districts. The claims of partisan gerrymandering are very similar to ones that have been made in other states and have found success, including in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
read moreFair Maps Maryland, a nonpartisan organization founded to eliminate partisan gerrymandering, filed suit Thursday to stop the implementation of the Maryland General Assembly’s proposed 2022 Congressional map.
read moreConservative groups and voters in Maryland have filed two lawsuits in the last two days challenging the state’s new congressional maps, which they say are unconstitutional and based on extreme partisan gerrymandering.
read moreA group of Republican Maryland legislators and voters is suing the state over the allegedly partisan congressional redistricting plan Democrats in the state legislature passed following the 2020 Census.
read moreThe Maryland Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission released a proposed legislative redistricting plan Monday evening that would further erode the political power of Baltimore City, shore up vulnerable Democrats, and create a few opportunities for Democrats to go on offense — even though they already hold supermajorities in both the House of Delegates and Senate.
read moreBaltimore City would have two fewer state lawmakers in Annapolis under a proposed new map for electing state senators and delegates. A General Assembly redistricting committee posted the map online without comment on Monday night, setting a marker for discussions over how communities are represented in the state legislature.
read moreThe Senate on Wednesday evening voted 32-15 to recommend the adoption of a congressional redistricting map that was developed by a bipartisan legislative commission and is supported by Democratic lawmakers.
read moreFair Maps Maryland, a nonpartisan grassroots organization, is taking aggressive action against gerrymandering. This evening they released the following statement condemning the Congressional redistricting map passed by the Maryland General Assembly.
read moreFair Maps Maryland, a nonpartisan grassroots organization, this evening released the following statement condemning the Congressional redistricting map passed by the Maryland General Assembly, and announced its plan to take aggressive legal action against this purposeful violation of Marylanders’ civil rights:
read moreAn organization with ties to Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. announced Wednesday that it will seek to overturn the congressional redistricting plan approved by the Democratic supermajority in the General Assembly.
read moreThe Maryland General Assembly approved a new congressional map on Wednesday, sending new Democratic-backed district boundaries for the state’s eight U.S. House districts to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
read moreAt start of special session, legislature fails to produce substantive records or insight into map creation
read moreLawmakers are set to convene a special session on Monday to tackle congressional redistricting, but anti-gerrymandering activists say the window for members of the public to register to testify on the issue is too narrow.
read moreMarylanders have the opportunity to testify during a General Assembly special session next week, but one group says the process of submitting comment is not very inviting.
read moreGerry’s Partisan Pizza, a traveling food truck that aims to raise awareness about redistricting, visited Annapolis on Friday.
read moreGovernor Larry Hogan joined Ellie Collinson, President of RepresentUS and Jim Brochin of Fair Maps Maryland for a supreme visit to the Gerry’s Partisan Pizza food truck in Downtown Annapolis.
read moreA federal judge once described Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District as “reminiscent of a broken-winged pterodactyl, lying prostrate across the center of the state.” On Friday, an anti-gerrymandering group gave out free slices of pizza in the shape of the district in Annapolis in a bid to raise awareness about redistricting.
read moreGovernor Larry Hogan today joined Ellie Collinson, President of RepresentUS and Jim Brochin of Fair Maps Maryland for a supreme visit to the Gerry’s Partisan Pizza food truck in Downtown Annapolis.
read moreFair Maps Maryland, a group formed by a pair of former lawmakers to support maps proposed by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, submitted a sweeping public records request aimed at the General Assembly’s Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission on Thursday, according to a press release from the group.
read moreANNAPOLIS, MD (October 21, 2021)—Fair Maps Maryland, the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the abolition of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland, today announced that it has submitted an official Public Information Act request to obtain documents and records related to the 2021 Legislative Redistricting Advisory Committee.
read moreMaryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s redistricting commission has proposed a new set of maps for electing state and federal lawmakers going forward.
read moreMarylanders urged members of the General Assembly’s Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission at a Tuesday hearing to make draft maps available for public comment before the panel’s last public hearing in November, arguing that the public should have a chance to weigh in before the General Assembly takes them up for a vote.
read moreAnne Arundel County residents urged members of the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission to keep their county whole in congressional maps during a Thursday evening public hearing.
read moreAmid 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.
read moreRecently, we have seen the initial proposals of the congressional and legislative redistricting maps being worked on by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission.
read moreI would like to commend former state Sen. Jim Brochin and former Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman for re-entering Maryland’s political arena in support of such a critically important issue as redistricting (”New advocacy group takes aim at Maryland gerrymandering ahead of redistricting battle,” July 1). Both gentlemen have already dedicated far more to serving the people of this state than most and have more than earned their right to a peaceful retirement far from the miserable cesspool of politics.
read moreMarylanders can now submit their own proposals for redistricting to the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, state officials announced Thursday. The Maryland Department of Planning’s new submission portal allows users to map their proposals for congressional and state legislative districts, and includes instructions on how to draw districts.
read moreFollowing the results of the 2020 Census, Maryland will redraw its congressional and legislative districts for the coming decade. Fair Maps Maryland, a bipartisan effort, encourages all voters to be informed about the issue and learn the facts.
read moreThis year marks the first time in many decades that Maryland has had a Republican governor when legislative districts are redrawn, setting the stage for an unusual and contentious process as two separate commissions are set to propose new district maps. Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) created the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission earlier this year to draw legislative and congressional maps that he will propose as a bill to the General Assembly.
read more“If you believe the game is rigged, you'll be discouraged from playing.” Those words from business owner Dan Medinger summarized the consensus of residents from Anne Arundel and Howard counties, as well as Baltimore City, who testified during the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission public listening tour on July 7.
read moreThe headlines are full of worries about mounting voter suppression in many states, such as Texas, Georgia, and Wisconsin. But Maryland has long had its own form of voter suppression that goes largely unnoticed.
read moreThe top Democratic leaders in the Maryland General Assembly unveiled a new seven-member commission to study redistricting as politicians gear up for the upcoming once-a-decade redrawing of the state’s election maps.
read moreMembers of the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission heard a familiar appeal from residents of Baltimore City and Anne Arundel and Howard counties at a virtual hearing Wednesday evening: Don’t split neighborhoods and communities in proposed maps.
read moreA seven-member bipartisan legislative panel responsible for redrawing new congressional and legislative maps for Maryland has been named and will begin holding public hearings next month, Maryland presiding officers announced on Thursday.
read moreA new advocacy group with strong ties to Gov. Larry Hogan has been launched to end gerrymandering in Maryland and support a nonpartisan redistricting process for the state.
read moreRepublican Gov. Larry Hogan’s uphill effort to reduce political influence over how Maryland redraws congressional and state legislative districts may get a boost from a new advocacy group led in part by a bipartisan pair of former elected officials.
read moreA bipartisan pair of former lawmakers that lost narrow elections in 2018 have formed a nonprofit group to pressure the General Assembly to accept new legislative and congressional district maps being drafted by a commission created by Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.
read moreA bipartisan pair of former lawmakers that lost narrow elections in 2018 have formed a nonprofit group to pressure the General Assembly to accept new legislative and congressional district maps being drafted by a commission created by Republican Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.
read moreANNAPOLIS, MD (June 30, 2021)—Fair Maps Maryland, a new, independent, nonpartisan organization advocating for a fair redistricting process, launched today with a 60-second digital ad highlighting Maryland as one of the most gerrymandered states in the country.
read moreEastern Shore residents urged the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission to adopt single-member legislative districts at a virtual hearing Wednesday evening, with some charging that the state’s current hybrid model is unfair for voters.
read moreWASHINGTON — Maryland Democrats drew the state's convoluted congressional districts with an eye toward ousting a longtime Republican incumbent and replacing him with a Democrat, former Gov. Martin O'Malley has acknowledged as part of a high-profile legal challenge to the maps winding its way through federal court.
read moreA new approach in the way the Census aggregates its data could make it more difficult to do extreme gerrymandering, says Moon Duchin.
read moreThe Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission is set to begin regional-based public hearings in June, commissioners decided at their Wednesday night meeting.
read moreThe Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, which is drawing up proposed congressional and legislative maps for the state’s next round of redistricting, appointed an adviser at their Wednesday night meeting to help with outreach to Maryland’s Hispanic community.
read moreDear Senators, Now, the “For the People Act of 2021” is in your hands. The Senate Rules and Administration Committee has set a May 11 markup of this bill to expand voting rights, enhance campaign finance reform, create new ethics rules for federal officeholders, mandate independent redistricting, and more.
read moreMembers of the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission convened a virtual introductory meeting Wednesday night — but the data they’ll need to draw their proposed maps is still months away.
read moreThe Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission will hold its first meeting next Wednesday at 7 p.m.
read moreGov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.’s redistricting commission — tasked with making recommendations on congressional and legislative maps that he will submit to the General Assembly — finalized its membership Thursday.
read moreAnnapolis, MD – The co-chairs of the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) today announced the remaining six members. In January, Governor Hogan issued an executive order establishing the nine-member Commission, which is charged with drawing fair and representative legislative and congressional maps for the 2022 elections that are compact and respect natural and subdivision boundaries to the extent practicable, and without accounting for political parties.
read moreMaryland is under “extreme” risk for gerrymandering when lawmakers draw up new election districts, according to a new report from an anti-corruption watchdog group.
read moreIn what is likely a ceremonial gesture, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) introduced a bill this week in the General Assembly that would redraw the lines between Maryland’s 6th and 8th congressional districts.
read moreWinston Churchill once said that “history is written by the victors.” Newer versions found in Brian Sanderson’s fantasy novels and a movie about French novelist Colette says it better: history is written by the one with the pen.
read moreWhen the House of Delegates voted earlier this month to advance House Bill 655, Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) celebrated the moment, writing on social media that “for too long across this country, undemocratic local laws have denied voters of color their full enfranchisement.”
read moreIn January 2021 Gov. Larry Hogan created the Maryland Citizen Redistricting Commission to prepare plans for the necessary redistricting of Maryland’s state legislative and congressional districts as a consequence of the 2020 Census.
read moreWhile the eyes of the world were focused on the impeachment efforts against President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Gov. Larry Hogan of neighboring Maryland did something extremely important in beginning the long process of unwinding our current political polarization.
read moreThe congressional map Maryland has used since 2012 is so wildly contorted and misshapen, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear lawsuits against it not just once, but twice.
read moreAs we reach the Christmas season and end of 2018, my family and I are grateful for the blessings we’ve been given in our lives. I’m particularly grateful for the opportunity to continue serving Carroll County in the State Senate and working to advance policies that will make our state better for families, retirees and job creators.
read moreRedistricting used to be regarded with a yawn. But it has become a hot issue. Republicans in 2000 successfully reconfigured state legislative and congressional districts to ensure their dominance in several states and Congress. One notable exception was Maryland, a Democratic stronghold.
read moreThe boundary lines of Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District are unconstitutional. That was the unanimous opinion of a three-judge federal court panel issued last week — just one day after the mid-term elections — effectively banning the current congressional district map from use in future elections.
read moreAmong the most challenging national issues of our time is the scourge of partisan gerrymandering. All supporters of responsible and good government are bracing themselves for the forthcoming decision by the United States Supreme Court in Wisconsin’s redistricting case, Gill v. Whitford, which is expected to address the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering.
read moreWASHINGTON — When Maryland Democrats redrew the state’s congressional districts in 2011, officials set up the commission charged with crafting the maps to avoid the state’s open meetings law, according to a cache of documents from the time reviewed by The Baltimore Sun.
read moreThe decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to let stand a state court ruling ordering Pennsylvania to draw new congressional districts doesn’t have any direct legal impact on Maryland’s own contested and convoluted maps.
read moreANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says he believes congressional redistricting should be taken out of the hands of politicians, “regardless of who the governor is or what party’s in power.”
read moreAsk most Maryland Democratic leaders about partisan gerrymandering, and they'll tell you it's a horrible problem. They'll say that is contrary to the principles of democracy, that it lets politicians choose their voters rather than the other way around and that it contributes to hyper-partisanship in Congress and state legislatures.
read moreWASHINGTON — Maryland Democrats drew the state's convoluted congressional districts with an eye toward ousting a longtime Republican incumbent and replacing him with a Democrat, former Gov. Martin O'Malley has acknowledged as part of a high-profile legal challenge to the maps winding its way through federal court.
read more"Phony" is an overused word in political discussions. Proposals may be inadequate, misconceived or counterproductive, but few are actually designed to be deceptive — for instance, to make it look as if its authors back a popular reform, when they really just want it to go away.
read moreDemocrats were quick to jump on Republican Gov. Larry Hogan for vetoing their version of alleged redistricting reform on Monday.
read moreOnce again, Maryland Democrats in the House of Delegates have killed Republican Gov. Larry Hogan's call to form an independent committee to draw the state's congressional and legislative districts every 10 years, choosing to play political games instead of doing what is best for Maryland voters.
read moreDemocrats in a key House committee on Monday killed Gov. Larry Hogan's proposal to assign the redrawing of Maryland's congressional districts to a nonpartisan commission.
read moreANNAPOLIS — In his State of the State address last week, Gov. Larry Hogan pressed lawmakers again to approve his proposal to appoint an independent commission to draw congressional and legislative districts.
read moreDemocrats fuming over the election of Donald Trump despite his 2.8 million vote deficit to Hillary Clinton are frequently confronted with the fact that the framers of the Constitution didn't intend for the election of the president to be a direct reflection of the popular will. (Granted, we think that idea is outdated, and in any case, we rather doubt Mr. Trump is what they had in mind.)
read moreWhen it comes to redistricting — and the sensible and popular recommendations put forward by the governor's Redistricting Reform Commission — we suppose snickering Democrats will see Gov. Larry Hogan as Don Quixote charging the windmills.
read moreAs voters went to the polls this week to elect a new Congress, Gov. Larry Hogan amended an executive order to extend the work of a bipartisan redistricting commission.
read moreIn states where they hold a majority in the state legislature, Republicans have pulled the same trick, drawing oddly-shaped districts to isolate the Democrats and guarantee the election of Republican lawmakers.
read moreMaryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller has declared Gov. Larry Hogan’s plan to reform the state’s redistricting process as DBA — dead before arrival.
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