BALTIMORE — A judge on Friday deferred ruling on whether to accept or reject a redrawn map of Maryland’s congressional districts that she had ordered after concluding the original map was unfair to Republicans.
Judge Lynn A. Battaglia suggested during an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court hearing that it would be inappropriate for her to rule on the General Assembly-approved map for two reasons.
One is that the state attorney general has appealed her March 25 order in which she ruled that the original map was too partisan and must be rewritten by the legislature. That appeal has left her order in limbo while it is considered by the Maryland Court of Appeals.
Battaglia also suggested it would be premature for her to rule because the Democrats’ replacement map has not yet been signed or vetoed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
“It’s my understanding that the map is in the governor’s office, in his domain,” the judge told attorneys for the state and Republican elected officials and voters challenging the district lines. “So the map has not been either adopted or vetoed and, if vetoed, it has not had a veto override. In light of that, any decision I would render about the map would be an advisory one. Because unless the map has been enacted, I can’t function to approve or not approve.”
Rather than rule, Battaglia said she would collect evidence about the substitute map and present it in a few days as “findings of fact.” Those facts could be used by the Maryland Court of Appeals to help evaluate the case.
“I understand that, in doing that, in some respects I’m acting as a special master,” the judge said. A special master is used in complex cases to gather findings on a court’s behalf.
In her 94-page order on March 25, Battaglia said the General Assembly’s original map violated multiple provisions of the Maryland Constitution, which decrees that districts must be “compact in form” and respect natural boundaries and the borders of political subdivisions like counties and cities.
General Assembly Democrats said the redrawn map makes the districts more compact and meets constitutional requirements. But Republicans said the new lines are still too partisan.
Democrats currently hold a 7-1 advantage over the GOP in the state’s eight U.S. House seats. In a state in which Democrats hold a 2-1 voter registration advantage, Republicans have long complained that they would likely win more seats if the district map were fairer.
On Wednesday, the state appealed Battaglia’s order. That means the Democrats’ original map — which Republicans say placed them at a greater disadvantage than the replacement one — is also still in play.
The map must be finalized well before the July 19 primary, which was already pushed back once by the Maryland Court of Appeals because court challenges were still unresolved. The election will include nominating races for all eight congressional districts as well as governor, a U.S. Senate seat, and a number of state and local races. The candidate filing deadline is looming on April 15.
Courts around the country have been hearing challenges related to gerrymandering, in which one party creates district lines to disadvantage the other.
A New York judge on Thursday barred the use of Democratic-drawn congressional district boundaries in that state, saying the lines were drawn with “political bias.” Republican-drawn maps were blocked by courts in other states, including North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
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