WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - June 24, 2015) - Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a voter lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Maryland's gerrymandered congressional district maps. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of voters in each of Maryland's congressional districts. Plaintiffs in the new lawsuit include Maryland Delegates Neil C. Parrott and Matt Morgan, and former Maryland legislator and gubernatorial candidate Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey.
The lawsuit alleges that the Maryland maps were drawn in a way that violates the U.S. Constitution, especially the provision that "The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States..." (Article 1, Section 2). Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland against Maryland's state administrator of elections and the chair of the state board of elections (Parrott, et al, v. Lamone, et al (No. 1:15-cv-01849)). The lawsuit asks the court, among other relief, to declare the Maryland maps unlawful and require Maryland to redraw the maps.
The lawsuit challenges a congressional districting plan signed into law by then-Gov. Martin O'Malley in October 2011. The lawsuit alleges that the Maryland's congressional district map is the most distorted and confused in the country. According to the lawsuit, the 2011 redistricting plan uprooted millions of Marylanders from their previous congressional districts:
Maryland's gerrymander produces "split counties, county fragments, and split precincts," resulting in the arbitrary political fragmentation of the state. The lawsuit argues that the plan harms Republicans, Democrats, and independent voters:
Second, gerrymandering disadvantages entire legislative districts:
The lawsuit presents a "judicially manageable remedy" necessary to resolve clear cases of political gerrymandering, specifically the Polsby-Popper scale, "one of the most widely used measures of electoral district compactness." That scale is a:
Judicial Watch's lawsuit is unique in proposing a single, objective compactness measure to determine whether states are engaged in unconstitutional gerrymandering. Robert Popper, co-creator of the Polsby-Popper scale, is the lead Judicial Watch attorney in this lawsuit and directs the organization's Election Integrity Project.
Critics charged that the new congressional map was designed specifically to enhance the power of select incumbents while minimizing the voting power of minorities, rural voters and Republicans. The Washington Post editorialized: "The map, drafted under Mr. O'Malley's watchful eye, mocks the idea that voting districts should be compact or easily navigable. The eight districts respect neither jurisdictional boundaries nor communities of interest. To protect incumbents and for partisan advantage, the map has been sliced, diced, shuffled and shattered, making districts resemble studies in cubism."
"In Maryland, politicians pick their voters, which is unconstitutional," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Maryland's gerrymandered congressional district map is a national embarrassment and harms both Democrat and Republican voters. The courts should require Maryland to go back and draw district maps that respect Maryland voters and don't make a mockery of commonsense and the rule of law."