Much is riding on the new maps of congressional boundaries and state legislative districts the governor will draw soon, and the players are keeping their cards close to the vest this early in the game.
"It's hard to tell right now what's going to happen," said state Sen. John Astle, D-Annapolis, a member of the General Assembly since 1983.
What is known is that Gov. Martin O'Malley is expected any day now to appoint a five-member commission to hold public hearings around the state, and to draw maps for the General Assembly's review.
The General Assembly will adopt the new congressional map during a special session in late October, and will take up the state legislative map during its regular session in January.
The two maps will affect eight members of the House of Representatives, 47 state senators and 141 delegates. They'll make life easier for some politicians, harder for others.
Under federal and state laws and constitutions, legislative boundaries must be adjusted every decade, following the latest census report.
The idea is that everyone is to have equal representation, which wouldn't happen if, for example, one congressional district had 1 million people and another had 10,000.
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