Judge tosses Maryland congressional map

Maryland Judge Lynne Battaglia ruled in favor of Republican plaintiffs in two separate lawsuits Friday that the General Assembly–approved redistricting map is “a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering.” She gave state legislators a March 30 deadline to create new, fairer maps. The Democratic-led General Assembly is likely to appeal the decision. Earlier this month, the state’s highest court rescheduled the state’s primary from June to mid-July in light of the legal challenges over the new districts.

What did the map do? In 2021, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave Maryland an “F” grade for trying to push Democratic advantages with redistricting. The lines legislators approved retained seven safe Democratic seats and made the only Republican seat more competitive. RealClearPolitics analyst Sean Trende testified during the trial that Democrats are trying to spread out Republican voters across heavily blue districts. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has made the fight against gerrymandering a key pillar of his administration. The General Assembly passed the maps over his veto. He created a bipartisan independent commission to draw new maps last year and asked the Legislature to consider their proposal after Battaglia’s ruling Friday.

Dig deeper: Listen to Sean Trende talk with Mary Reichard about redistricting on The World and Everything in It podcast.