A Crop of legal challenges to contorted legislative districts in states like Maryland will soon give the Supreme Court its best opportunity in years to consider whether maps drawn for partisan advantage deprive voters of an equal voice in elections.
Good-government groups believe the justices are poised to take up redistricting cases from North Carolina or Wisconsin — or both — in the next term. The plaintiffs are challenging the legality of one party drawing an electoral map that all but guarantees its candidates will win nearly all the seats.
Either case could have implications for Maryland, where squirrelly congressional lines have helped Democrats control seven of the state's eight House seats, but have drawn criticism from analysts, voters and the high court itself. The late Justice Antonin Scalia described Maryland's congressional map as a "crazy quilt" in a redistricting case last year.
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Gerrymandering is a high tech problem. Where known statistical data are applied to geography and then lines are drawn in the sand so to speak. Once the data is analyzed a simple majority of the population is for or against whomever they desire. And go figure what state could areguably be considered the worst gerrymandered state...i'll give you a hint (YOU LIVE IN IT!). Do the research and educate yourself.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.governing.com/gov-data/politics/gerrymandered-congressional-districts-compactness-by-state.html
Maryland's congressional districts were created to give the Dems the seats, plain and simple. One of the districts looks like a giant paint spatter.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the Constitution got to do with this? We're Democrats, we have the most seats in the Maryland House and Senate so we can draw lines where we want. It's legal, look it up.
ReplyDeleteThe unfairness seen in these obvious partisan district lines is why the Supreme Court decided to consider it in the first place, as they should.
ReplyDeleteLike I have said we should not have parties. If they want us to be one in this country then stop shaping us to hate each other. but give us something to bite in. that is trump (map)
ReplyDeleteIt's been going on for quite some time. It should be illegal, but I doubt if it is. This very maneuver by democrats is responsible for a huge turn around in our local elections.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the district lines should be drawn based on equal area having equal votes and not population what else could be more fair...then the eastern shore would have control of the majority of seats @ 4:03 how do you feel about that?
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