Hogan orders special session for General Assembly to discuss legislative maps

(The Center Square) – With the final, certified legislative and congressional maps completed by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, Gov. Larry Hogan has called for a special session of the Legislature.

Hogan signed a proclamation calling for a Dec. 6 special session of the Maryland General Assembly to act on the maps as he accepted the maps from the commission’s three co-chairs, Judge Alexander Williams, Dr. Kathleen Hetherington and Walter Olson.

“This is a great day for the State of Maryland and for democracy,” Hogan said in a news release. “On behalf of all the people of Maryland, I want to express our appreciation to the members of the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission for their service to our state. I want to thank them for conducting their business with integrity in a completely open and transparent manner, and most especially for their incredible efforts to finally restore fairness and competitiveness to Maryland elections.”

The maps can be viewed here.

Hogan established the commission through executive order in January to create the nine-person commission to redraw the state’s legislative maps in a fair and equal manner after the 2020 census, according to the release. The maps that were presented do not take into account residency of any of the incumbents or candidates who are running for office.

The commission was constructed to include three Republicans, three Democrats, and three Independents, according to the release, and were chosen because of their nonlegislative influence, being impartial and represented the state’s diversity, geography and racial and gender construction.

The commission, according to the release, held 36 public meetings with more than 4,000 residents, provided an online mapping portal for the public to design and submit maps, and received a total of 86 maps.

According to the release, the state earned a reputation for having the most gerrymandered districts in the county, and Hogan has pushed for gerrymandering reform not only in the state but across the nation.

During Hogan’s time in office, according to the release, he has introduced redistricting reforms that would remove politicians and partisan policies out of the process, but they never have been brought to the floor by the General Assembly for a vote.

To date, according to the release, the General Assembly’s Redistricting Advisory Commission has yet to release a single draft map for congressional of legislative districts for public input.

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