The governor’s Redistricting Reform Commission wrapped up its final report Tuesday calling for an independent, bipartisan commission of nine people to draw congressional and legislative district lines, with no politicians involved. All but two Democratic legislators on the 11-member reform group voted for the final report setting up the kind of independent commission Gov. Larry Hogan had called for. Good government groups in the Tame the Gerrymander coalition, including Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, applauded the outcome. The Maryland Democratic Party called the work “fundamentally flawed” and “predetermined by a small group of Republican insiders.”
… Maryland has some of the most gerrymandered districts in the country, and “an overwhelming number” of Maryland want it changed, Hogan said.
Patrick Hogan, one of the governor’s legislative officers who staffed the commission (and the governor’s brother), said the governor and staff will review the report and submit legislation to implement the plan.
Senate President “Mike Miller says it’s dead on arrival” when it is introduced, Gov. Hogan said. “He may have a difference of opinion when I’ll be the one drawing the districts. He’s under the impression that it will be a Democratic governor drawing the districts.” Hogan was referring to his potential reelection to a second term in 2018. Under current law, he would be in charge of redistricting following the 2020 Census.
Read More No politicians would draw lines under final redistricting plan | MarylandReporter.com.