Lawsuit filed over Maryland congressional redistricting

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A government watchdog group filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging the constitutionality of Maryland’s congressional district map.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore by Judicial Watch, contends Maryland has some of the most gerrymandered districts in the nation. Gerrymandering is the process in which officials draw congressional districts to help their party.

Del. Neil Parrott, a Washington County Republican, and Del. Matt Morgan, a St. Mary’s County Republican, are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with former delegate and gubernatorial candidate Ellen Sauerbrey and others.

It’s not the first time the drawing of the state’s eight congressional districts has been challenged in court. In 2011, a three-judge panel dismissed an earlier and separate lawsuit against the state’s congressional redistricting map.

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