Maryland Republicans will present the General Assembly with several alternative redistricting maps next week in an effort to save Western Maryland’s 6th District — one of the state’s two Republican-majority districts — from turning blue. Under a plan supported by Gov. Martin O’Malley’s council on redistricting, the 6th District would lose four Republican-leaning counties and gain a slew of voters from liberal Montgomery County. O’Malley is expected to introduce a version of the plan to the General Assembly when it begins its special session on Monday.
Three alternative maps floated by state lawmakers would preserve the Republican solidarity of the current District 6, create a new conservative-leaning district in Anne Arundel County and parts of Southern Maryland, as well as add a majority-minority district along the Montgomery County border with Prince George’s County.
By adding the majority-minority district, Republicans gain the support of minority advocates who say Hispanic and black voters are underrepresented in Maryland.
The NAACP and other minority groups have threatened to sue Maryland if the General Assembly approves a map that doesn’t reflect the minority population in the state.
“African-American communities in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Montgomery County and Prince George’s County are being diluted for the purposes of electing Congressman [Steny] Hoyer, Congressman [Paul] Sarbanes and Congressman [Dutch] Ruppersberger,” reads a statement from the Fannie Lou Hamer PAC, a black majority political action committee.
Among the Republicans proposing alternative maps are Sen. E.J. Pipkin, R-Eastern Shore, Sen. Joseph M. Getty, R-Carroll and Baltimore counties, and Del. Michael Hough, R-Frederick and Washington counties. Hough’s proposal, which was crafted by the Fannie Lou Hamer PAC, would create a black-majority district by adding Charles County to Prince George’s County.
“The plan put forward by the governor’s council is simply a partisan gerrymandered mess that divides communities and disenfranchises voters across the state,” Hough said.
Getty’s majority-minority district would join Prince George’s County with metropolitan Baltimore and leave District 6 untouched.
