ROCKVILLE, MD (October 1, 2018) — The Maryland Public Policy Institute today responded to Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Jealous’ pledge to use Maryland’s redistricting process to eliminate Republicans from Maryland’s congressional delegation. According to The Baltimore Sun, Jealous told a Baltimore County audience he would ensure all eight congressional districts were drawn to elect Democrats.

“Give Ben Jealous credit,” said Christopher B. Summers, president and chief executive officer of the Institute. “When he intends to violate the U.S. Constitution and systematically suppress the civil rights of more than one million registered republicans, he tells us all about it first. That is an improvement over former Governor Martin O’Malley, who only reluctantly admitted to drawing districts for partisan gain after being compelled to in sworn testimony in federal court.

“Redistricting is a tool for achieving fair political representation, not exercising political warfare. Both parties in Maryland and elsewhere must commit to using redistricting only as the founders intended.”

Embedded in the U.S. Constitution, redistricting is the process of redrawing electoral district boundaries to equalize district populations.  Maryland’s redistricting process is widely regarded as one of the most politicized in the nation, with incumbent politicians drawing lines to strengthen their political party rather than ensuring equal voting representation.  Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens called Governor Martin O’Malley’s congressional redistricting plan “outrageously unconstitutional,” and The Washington Post called it, “bald-faced Gerrymandering.”

Summers is a member of the Maryland Redistricting Reform Commission, a bipartisan Commission charged with examining Maryland’s redistricting process and recommending improvements. Learn more at mdpolicy.org.

About the Maryland Public Policy Institute: Founded in 2001, the Maryland Public Policy Institute is a nonpartisan public policy research and education organization that focuses on state policy issues. The Institute’s mission is to formulate and promote public policies at all levels of government based on principles of free enterprise, limited government, and civil society.  Learn more at mdpolicy.org.