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Marylanders said the state鈥檚 solidly Republican 1st Congressional District should be redrawn to be more competitive at a Monday evening Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission hearing, citing U.S. Rep. Andrew P. Harris鈥� vote earlier this year against certifying the 2020 presidential election results.
Harris, the state鈥檚 lone Republican in Congress, was among a majority of U.S. House Republicans who聽聽to certifying the 2020 presidential election results after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. People who testified at Monday鈥檚 meeting cited that vote, alongside Harris鈥櫬犅燼warding Congressional Gold Medals to police officers who protected the Capitol that day, as reasons to draw a more competitive 1st District.
The Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission (LRAC) released聽聽last week. While two of those maps would likely maintain Democrats鈥� current 7-1 advantage in the state, two would combine the Eastern Shore with portions of Anne Arundel County to create a more competitive 1st District.
鈥淭he existing congressional map has empowered an extremist to represent us with little fear of retribution for any of his actions or comments,鈥� Queen Anne鈥檚 County resident Peter Behringer said at a statewide virtual LRAC hearing Monday.
Behringer said lawmakers should draw up a 1st District that is 鈥渃ompetitive and balanced鈥� and empowers people of color.
Those who testified overwhelmingly supported Plan 3, boundaries proposed by the commission that include a large portion of Anne Arundel County with the Eastern Shore and is the closest to an 8-0 Democratic map. That plan would include a 1st District that would favor Democrats 55%-45%, according to an聽.
Plan 2, which includes a smaller portion of Anne Arundel County with the Eastern Shore, would favor Democrats 51% to 49%, according to the analysts at Princeton. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave all four maps a failing grade after researchers rated them based on 鈥減artisan fairness,鈥� 鈥渃ompetitiveness鈥� and 鈥済eographic features.鈥�
The 1st District currently includes the entire Eastern Shore before looping north to include parts of Harford, Baltimore and Carroll counties.
鈥淗e can lean extremely far to the right since the current map stacks Republicans together in District 1,鈥� Felicia Martin, a Harford County resident, said. 鈥淒istricts should be drawn so that representatives can contemplate a spectrum of issues and be willing to work with both parties.鈥�
Judy Wixted, an Eastern Shore resident, said Plan 3 is 鈥渟omewhat acceptable,鈥� but added that she doesn鈥檛 think the plan goes far enough to challenge Harris.
鈥淭his district, as it was drawn ten years ago, packed MD-1 in such a way that only the most radical Republican could win a primary,鈥� she said.
Mason likewise urged lawmakers to draw a more competitive 1st District at the meeting, and also noted the vast geographic size of the district as it鈥檚 currently drawn, comparing it to 鈥渢wo Delawares.鈥�
Some who testified at the meeting said it makes sense to combine the Eastern Shore with Anne Arundel County, since the regions are connected by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Marnette Finn, an Anne Arundel County resident, said the Eastern Shore is linked 鈥渃ulturally and economically鈥� with Anne Arundel County because of the bridge. She said it makes more sense to connect the Eastern Shore with the rest of Maryland at the bridge rather than by going north through Harford County.
鈥淏oth regions have the same economic and environmental interest in protecting the Bay,鈥� Finn said.
Paul Berman noted that Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has聽聽he wants the planned third span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to be built at the current site.
鈥淕overnor Hogan鈥檚 insistence on expanding the connection between the Eastern Shore and Anne Arundel County offers clear confirmation of this commission鈥檚 [Plan 3]. Linking the Eastern Shore with Annapolis and a large portion of Anne Arundel County would provide the best configuration for Maryland鈥檚 1st Congressional District,鈥� Berman said.
The congressional聽聽proposed by Hogan鈥檚 Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission (MCRC) keeps the Eastern Shore linked with parts of northern Maryland. That map received聽聽from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project for partisan fairness, and Hogan has said he will oppose any maps from the General Assembly that differ from the MCRC鈥檚 proposal.
While Hogan could veto congressional maps, Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in both the House of Delegates and the State Senate and have complete control over the redistricting process in Maryland. Lawmakers are set to tackle congressional redistricting at a special session beginning Dec. 6.
Maryland鈥檚 current congressional district map was challenged as an illegal partisan gerrymander in federal court and considered by the Supreme Court twice, with justices聽聽not to set a standard for what constitutes extreme gerrymandering.
