Press Release - November 13, 2018

The League of Women Voters of Maryland and member Leagues across the state are celebrating the U.S. District Court’s November 7th decision to require our state to redraw the boundaries of the 6th Congressional District. The Court’s decision follows one day after voters in Michigan, Colorado and Missouri voted to get rid of Gerrymandered boundaries by margins of 61%, 71% and 62% respectively.  

LWVMD's years of work to reform Maryland's redistricting reform process has won recognition by LWVUS, and we have been awarded an $8,000 grant to educate the public from June 2018 through December 2018 - but the clock doesn't stop there! In fact, we'll just be getting to the most important time of year for legislative reform - the Legislative Session of the Maryland General Assembly!

There is a real urgency in Maryland to persuade our legislators to pass meaningful reform for our redistricting process during the 2019 session. 

Since REAL REFORM can only be achieved through a constitutional amendment, we have to get redistricting reform on the ballot in 2020, before the next redistricting process starts in 2021. 

A constitutional amendment MUST be voted on by the PEOPLE, meaning that the Maryland General Assembly has to pass legislation THIS NEXT session to get reform in motion that will make a difference when the next census triggers the redistricting process.

The 2020 census data is what informs the process of redistricting for the subsequent DECADE.

If nothing changes, we'll be stuck with the same old broken redistricting process we've had in Maryland for the previous 10 years!

This is the process that has given us a district that's been compared to blood spatter and a broken-winged pterodactyl.

And let's not forget how the state's legislative districts were drawn, with wandering fingers, and community slicing lines.

To ensure that we get a FAIR districting process in the next cycle, we have to act NOW. The clock is ticking!

Can you help? Let's see if we can MATCH the grant from LWVUS by the time session begins on January 9, 2019!

Research shows that 73 percent of Marylanders support having an independent commission draw district lines - that's 4,438,109 people! We can do this!

The League of Women Voters of Maryland supports: 

1. A state redistricting process and standards that promote fair and effective representation in the state legislature and House of Representatives with maximum opportunity for public scrutiny.
2. An independent commission as the preferred redistricting body. The membership of the redistricting commission should be multi-partisan, include unaffiliated voters, be geographically representative and not include any current state elected official. 
3. Standards on which the redistricting plan is based should include: substantially equal population, geographic contiguity and geographic compactness.
4. Final approval by the General Assembly for the legislative and Congressional redistricting plans. An amendment to the Maryland Constitution affirming that the redistricting process for the House of Representatives should occur only once each ten years after the census.
5. An amendment to the Maryland Constitution affirming that the redistricting process for the House of Representatives should occur only once every ten years after the census.

If you too support this position - Click the Clock Below to sign our support pledge Today

Ready to Learn More?

Click below for for access to the Redistricting Empowerment Toolkit

The information inside this toolkit will prepare you to slay your gerrymander & even help you teach others how to slay theirs! Check it out!

To Donate to LWVMD's campaign for Fair Maps in Maryland, please click below. Every $1 gets us closer to reform! 

Click here to learn more about why we need reform in 2019

LWVMD has been working on the issue of Redistricting Reform for Many Years in Coalition with other groups in Maryland dedicated to a Fair Redistricting Process - This Coalition is known as Tame the Gerrymander - Just Click Below to Learn More about What Our Coalition's been Up To since the Maps were gerrymandered in 2011.

We need your valuable input to tell legislators this session what Marylanders really want to see change in redistricting in 2018.

There's no time for delay - What Would You Do?

Take Our 3 Question Survey by Clicking the Image Below to Tell Us

Wasn't that Easy?

Please Share this With your Family, Friends, Neighbors, and ANYONE else who you know wants to Make Their Voice Heard!

Want to show Everyone You Support Redistricting Reform in Maryland?

Get a Tame the Gerrymander T-Shirt for $27.40

Elbridge Gerry would 274 in 2018 - isn't it about time we Tame the Gerrymander?

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 Tame the Gerrymander is a grassroots effort.

We rely on our dedicated volunteers to help us advocate during session, plan fun events to raise awareness, and learn more about how to bring Marylanders together to find the best plan to end gerrymandering.

The League of Women Voters of MD is joined by Common Cause MD, Represent.MD and Gerrymandered.org in this coalition dedicated to establishing a fair and open process for drawing election districts in Maryland

LWVMD with the Tame the Gerrymander Coalition has been working for many years to fight gerrymandering in Maryland. We have continually worked to support good redistricting reform legislation that has been introduced in the General Assembly throughout the years via grassroots advocacy and testimony, but here are a few more ways we are trying to win Fair Maps for all Marylanders since 2011:

2011: Testified at public hearings on redistricting all around the state on the most recent set of district maps.

2012: Educated Marylanders by hosting a series of showings of “Gerrymander the Movie” statewide.

2013: Hosted possibly the First Ever birthday party for Elbridge Gerry, the Father of Gerrymandering, establishing a trend that has unified reformers across the nation in protest of gerrymandering on July 17th. We also supported bipartisan legislation to create a Task Force to study Redistricting Reform.

2014: We sponsored Political cartoon contest in conjunction with our 2nd birthday party for Elbridge Gerry producing this thought-provoking design which demonstrates the importance of how the lines are drawn.

AND we hosted probably the longest Gerrymander Meander on record - a 236-mile relay run around Congressional District 3 AND hosted a Redistricting forum with the Brody Institute for Public Policy at the University of Maryland - It was a busy year!

2015: We saw our nominees from both LWVMD & Common Cause Maryland appointed to the Governor’s Redistricting Reform Commission, promoted and attended the Commission hearings, and published a recipe for Gerrymander Cake (yuck!).

2016: Supported the reform legislation that resulted from the Governor's Redistricting Commission's comprehensive recommendations.

2017: Hosted the Gerrymander Meander 2 celebrating Elbridge Gerry's birthday by traveling 13 miles, through 1 county to 4 events crossing Congressional district lines 5 times, began a Selfie Petition in Order to Show the Maryland General Assembly the Face of Redistricting Reform in Maryland, and created a platform for Marylanders to tell us what THEY would do about gerrymandering in Maryland.

2018: We gave Maryland's Congressional districts a voice in front of the Supreme Court as the oral arguments were being held on Benisek v. Lamone on March 28th, and we will be hosting Bad Gerry's Birthday Bash: A Faire Maps Event on July 15th this year - with fun, games, and tools to enable grassroots advocates to fight for fair maps too!

You Too Can Act to support Taming the Gerrymander in Maryland Many different ways:

Sign the Petition - this is the first step to telling Maryland legislators that making every vote counts matters to you

Take our 3 Question Survey - It's as easy as 1,2,3 to tell us what you think Maryland should do to end gerrymandering

Volunteer - From helping put on events, to gathering petitions, we need you to help us raise awareness and activate Marylanders!

Donate - in order to continue our work for reform we rely on donations to support volunteers with materials, put on events, and support advocacy - even $5 can help our mission to Tame the Gerrymander!

Statement from Common Cause Maryland and the League of Women Voters of Maryland on Governor’s announcement today on redistricting reform:

Today, Gov. Larry Hogan announced that he would veto SB 1023, the General Assembly’s proposal for redistricting reform. The Tame the Gerrymander coalition believes this veto gives both the legislature and the Governor another chance to work together to craft a strong, meaningful reform that will ensure Marylanders have the fair process they deserve.