Redistricting Testimony Sign-Up Too Short, Anti-Gerrymandering Activists Say

Lawmakers are set to convene a special session on Monday to tackle congressional redistricting, but anti-gerrymandering activists say the window for members of the public to register to testify on the issue is too narrow.

The opportunity to sign up, through the General Assembly website, opened at 9 a.m. Thursday and will close at 6 p.m. Friday.

Members of the House Rules and Executive Nominations Committee and the newly formed Senate Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee will weigh two separate congressional redistricting proposals during a joint virtual meeting Monday that is slated to start at 12:30 p.m.

The Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission, a panel created by Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County), has proposed one of those maps. That commission includes Jones and Ferguson, two other Democratic legislative leaders, two Republican legislative leaders and is chaired by Karl Aro, a former head of the nonpartisan Department of Legislative Services.

The other congressional map is proposed by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, a panel created by Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) to draw up congressional and legislative maps for him to submit to the General Assembly. That commission includes three Republicans, three Democrats and three unaffiliated voters.

Hogan has said he would veto any congressional map that differs from the one proposed by his Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, but Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in legislature and easily overrode his vetoes on several measures, including police reform, during the 2021 legislative session.

The Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which evaluates redistricting proposals based on partisan fairness, competitiveness and geographic features, gave the congressional map proposed by the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission an “F” overall, while analysts gave the proposed congressional map from the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission an “A” based on the same criteria.

Some fair elections advocates, including Common Cause Maryland Executive Director Joanne Antoine, on Thursday urged lawmakers to extend the window for the public to sign up to testify beyond Friday at 6 p.m.

“The sign-up portal — the deadline is too short,” Antoine said. “Are they willing to extend it, at least through Saturday or sometime over the weekend?”

Antoine also said she was seeking some guidance about the deadline for submitting written testimony, and whether testimony can be submitted after the Monday hearing.

Doug Mayer, a former communications strategist for Hogan who helped form the anti-gerrymandering group Fair Maps Maryland to advocate for maps proposed by Hogan’s citizens redistricting commission, called the short window to sign up “a slap in the face of anyone who cares about transparency.”

“It’s a clear sign that the legislature has no interest in actually hearing from the public,” Mayer said.

David Schuhlein, a spokesperson for Ferguson, said he doesn’t anticipate the sign-up deadline to be extended.

How to sign up to testify

To testify at the Monday, Dec. 6 joint hearing on redistricting, you will need to sign up for an account on the General Assembly’s website.

After confirming your email address and signing in, you’ll need to click on “witness signup.”

Four bills are available for the public to provide testimony on.

HB0001 is the congressional districting plan from the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission.

HB0002 is the congressional districting plan drawn by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission.

The other two bills include HB0003, which deals with redistricting for the Montgomery County Board of Education, and HB0004, the redistricting plan for Carroll County Commissioner Districts.

There are four types of testimony: “favorable,” “unfavorable,” “favorable with amendments” and “informational only.”

You can provide written testimony, oral testimony, or both. If you are providing written testimony, you’ll need to click on “upload file(s)” and upload a PDF document with your testimony.

Oral testimony will be virtual only for the Monday joint hearing.

Click “save” at the top of the page once you’ve checked the box by the bills you plan to provide testimony for. You will be able to verify your registration under the “signed up items” tab.

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