Hogan Vetoes Congressional Map Passed By General Assembly, Calls On White House To Add Maryland To Gerrymandering Lawsuit

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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) — Gov. Larry Hogan connected Thursday vetoed a legislature representation recently passed by the Maryland General Assembly, saying the recently drawn lines for districts successful the U.S. House of Representatives disenfranchise voters and interruption the Voting Rights Act.

The politician called connected the Biden medication to adhd Maryland to a precocious filed Justice Department lawsuit against Texas alleging redistricting plans successful that authorities interruption the voting rights of number voters.

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At a property league Thursday, Hogan said the representation “makes a mockery of our democracy” and called it “disgracefully gerrymandered.” He besides implied the representation for section legislative districts would beryllium adjacent much tilted toward Democrats, who outnumber Republicans successful the authorities by 2-1.

Hogan suggested the legislature representation wounded majority-minority jurisdictions specified arsenic Baltimore City and Prince George’s County by carving them up and putting them successful antithetic House districts.

Speaking successful the Maryland State House, helium noted the building’s past arsenic the tract of the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, formally ending the Revolutionary War, and the determination of the archetypal peacetime capitol successful the country’s history.

“American ideology virtually began close here, successful this precise place,” helium said. “And yet, erstwhile it comes to escaped and just elections, Maryland is failing to unrecorded up to that arrogant legacy.”

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The politician besides suggested determination would beryllium abstracted ineligible challenges of the territory lines successful authorities and national courts.

“These maps cannot and volition not stand,” helium said.

Democrats, who person a supermajority successful the legislature and power redistricting successful the state, person said the representation they passed is an improvement, with much compact, contiguous districts.

Republicans person argued the representation makes the lone House territory with a Republican representation, the 1st Congressional District, adjacent much competitive. The remaining 7 seats successful the state’s U.S. House delegation are held by Democrats.

The representation was representation approved by a committee with six legislators: 4 Democrats including House Speaker Adrienne Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson, who supported the map, and 2 Republicans, Senate Minority Leader Bryan Simonaire and House Minority Leader Jason Buckel, who opposed it.

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Hogan favored a antithetic representation drawn by a nine-member committee helium appointed. The sheet of 3 Democrats, 3 Republicans and 3 Independents proposed a map that would person mostly kept the 1st Congressional District arsenic is and brought backmost a territory occidental Maryland that historically went Republican.

CBS Baltimore Staff

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