ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has approved a new congressional map Monday after a judge struck down a previous map and supporters of the original withdrew their appeals of that decision.
"Today, after eight years of fighting against the worst gerrymandering in America," said Hogan on Twitter. "We have won a tremendous victory for democracy and for free and fair elections in Maryland."
Democrats, who control the Maryland General Assembly, approved a quickly redrawn congressional map on Wednesday, five days after a judge struck down the one lawmakers approved in December as unconstitutional for diluting Republican votes. It was the first congressional map drawn by Democrats to be struck down this redistricting cycle.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan vehemently opposed congressional maps passed by the state Senate, utilizing his gubernatorial veto powers in a press conference. The senate-accepted maps were a rejection of Hogan's own redistricting plans.
"These maps disenfranchise voters," Hogan said in December. "They violate the Voting Rights Act. And they are in violation of numerous state and federal laws. On behalf of all the people of Maryland, who value fairness and integrity in our elections, and in our political system, I am vetoing these disgracefully gerrymandered illegal maps, which are a shameful violation of state and federal law. This is not the end of the process. This is just the beginning."
Last week, a judge declared New York's new Democrat-drawn congressional and legislative district maps unconstitutional. Courts have previously intervened to block maps they found to be GOP gerrymanders in North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
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In Maryland, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1, Democrats hold a 7-1 advantage over the GOP in the state's U.S. House seats.
The initial map approved by Democrats over Hogan's veto made the lone Republican-held district held by Rep. Andy Harris more competitive. The new map takes away a portion that stretched from the Eastern Shore across the Chesapeake Bay into an area with more Democrats.
Republicans have long criticized the congressional map with its long, contorted lines as one of the most gerrymandered in the nation.
"This is an historic achievement, but now the General Assembly needs to fix this process permanently so that the politicians can’t go back and try to violate the Constitution again," said Hogan on Twttier. "Voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around."
The new map for Maryland's eight U.S. House seats makes the districts more compact.
In her 94-page ruling, Lynne Battaglia described the initial map as a "product of extreme partisan gerrymandering." She found it violated the state constitutional requirement that legislative districts consist of adjoining territory and be compact in form, with due regard for natural boundaries and political subdivisions. It also violated the state constitution's free elections, free speech and equal protection clauses, she said.
Maryland's highest court already had delayed the state's primary in a big election year from June 28 to July 19. Voters will decide all 188 seats in the state legislature, open statewide offices such as governor, attorney general and comptroller, a U.S. Senate seat and all eight congressional seats.
“While this map isn’t perfect it’s a tremendous improvement from the absolute unconstitutional disaster we started with late last year," Fair Maps spokesman Doug Mayer said. "Our full attention is now on the legislative districts which are just as bad or even worse than the original Congressional districts. Fair Maps Maryland was started to end gerrymandering in Maryland, we are halfway home."