Gerrymandering in Maryland

Gerrymandering. We’ve all likely heard of it at some point in our academic careers, but how much real-world attention do we give it? Well, considering that some of Maryland’s congressional districts are among the most gerrymandered in the nation, probably not enough.

Take, for example, Maryland’s 3rd District. Spanning four counties and ranging from the suburbs of Washington, D.C., to the suburbs of Annapolis and a large portion of Baltimore, the district is considered by many experts to be one of the most gerrymandered in the country. And by some analyses, Maryland is tied with North Carolina as the most gerrymandered state in the country.

So how can this even happen? Well, congressional districts are drawn by both parties, but Maryland’s Democrats have the numbers to skew things in their favor. For decades, the districts have been redrawn to displace conservative voters and provide Democratic candidates with more African-American voters and wealthy donors. Conservative counties are split into multiple districts so as to diminish the chances of a conservative winning a seat there. The suburbs of Washington and Annapolis often consist of neighborhoods and towns where there are actually more Republicans than Democrats, yet they are broken up in such a way that this majority will be overwhelmed.

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