Last month, Governor Moore launched what he described as a “bipartisan” Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission (GRAC). He proclaimed early and often; the sole goal of his commission is to develop “fair” congressional maps in Maryland before the 2030 nationwide census determines how many seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be allocated to each state based on population. In Maryland, as in many states, drawing the actual district boundaries is done by the state legislature subject to approval by the governor.
Moore proclaimed, “My commitment has been clear from day one — we will explore every avenue possible to make sure Maryland has fair and representative maps.” Moore also suggested that recommendations from his GRAC be on the agenda of a special General Assembly session on December 16, 2025. They were never considered, if in fact, they were ever delivered.
Following that outcome, many observers in the Annapolis political arena, including me, concluded GRAC was an idea whose time had not yet come. Instead, Governor Moore’s office doubled down with a statement in which Senator Alsobrooks announced the commission would continue to solicit new maps from the public and hold two more meetings.
Apparently, Senator Alsobrooks and Governor Moore were not aware of or chose to ignore poll results from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Institute of Politics.
Only 27% of the survey respondents said that an accelerated schedule for redrawing congressional district lines is a top priority. 63% also said redistricting maps should be drawn by a nonpartisan, independent commission.
In any event, Maryland Matters has reported the decision for GRAC to continue has been met with swift, negative, and deep concerns about a lack of transparency in GRAC actions.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson had this to say in a written statement: “Our state’s residents have been clear, in front of this commission and through polling. The overwhelming majority do not want a new congressional map. They want their government focused on fostering growth, affordability, and real protections against this lawless federal Administration. The Senate of Maryland remains focused on this important agenda as we continue to try to tackle a $1.4 billion budget shortfall in Maryland’s state budget.” Senator Ferguson also said the outcome of the latest GRAC meeting was “pre-ordained” and lacking in public transparency.
Republican state Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey has said, “Public hearings and commissions should be vehicles for transparency and trust, not performative exercises designed to legitimize predetermined decisions.”
The Executive Director of Common Cause Maryland observed that “GRAC has met five times and has yet to produce a proposed redistricting map for public comment … that raises serious concerns about the commission’s commitment to public engagement and transparency.”
She also said the commission suffered from a “glaring lack of transparency, highlighted by Thursday’s decision to move forward with redistricting after failing to release any proposed maps to the public.” She also suggested the last GRAC meeting may have violated Maryland’s open meetings Laws for failing to provide adequate public notice.
The executive director of the League of Women Voters of Maryland said the commission “failed to meet the spirit or intent” of state open meetings laws. The panel “demonstrated that it is more loyal to a single party’s desire to redistrict than to the people of Maryland,” She also said: “There was no notice of today’s meeting; it was not streamed for public viewing, The Commission has not shared future meeting dates or even an outline of a process or tools for people to contribute to the development of meaningful and fair maps. While it seems like small details, it sends a clear message that says the majority party can jam through what it wants while ignoring the citizens.” She also said bluntly “The entire process is a mess.”
GRAC member Cumberland Mayor Ray Morriss said post meeting: “I’m not a lawyer, but to me, there wasn’t anything we were discussing that couldn’t have been discussed publicly.”
What happens next on the current effort to accelerate the schedule for drawing and approving new congressional district maps in Maryland remains to be seen.
Currently there are only two scenarios with a high level of certainty.
In the 2026 General Assembly session, addressing projected short-term and projected long-term state budget deficits will require enormous amounts of time and attention, as they should. Redistricting will get very little attention if any at all.
Whenever the next round of redistricting does occur a much better model already exists.
It is the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, launched by former Governor Larry Hogan. Hogan appointed nine members to his commission from across Maryland — three Democrats, three Republicans, and three Independents. No commission member was a current or former elected official except one who was elected twice as State’s Attorney in Prince George’s County. Stanford University Law School Professor Nathaniel Persily, an expert on voting rights and election law, served as an advisor for the commission. Professor Persily told commission members their efforts should be held out as a national model for the way things should be done. The commission’s final report also earned an “A+” for fairness from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.
No matter when the next congressional redistricting occurs in Maryland, the “Hogan” model, or a comparable one would achieve nonpartisan, independent, and fair outcomes.
For that to occur, a measurable number of Maryland citizens need to demand that the governor and the General Assembly leaders do redistricting with such a model going forward.
David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant and a consultant to non-profit organizations on governance, leadership, and management matters and lives in Easton.
William Keppen says
I always read and value Mr. Reel’s opinions, but in this case I disagree. This whole redistricting mess was initiated by Trump and his Republican enablers in Red states, starting with Texas. Trump knows that a Blue wave takeover of Congress will finally hold him accountable for all of his crimes and violations of the Constitution and so does Mr. Reel. In Trump’s own often used words, “let’s see what happens”.
Bob Parker says
I completely agree that any redistricting plan should be NON-partisan, enacted following each Constitutionally mandated (deca-annual) census and preferably enshrined in the Constitution of each state. However, in the current political environment in which trump has pushed Texas and other Republican controlled states to redistrict in preparation for the 2026 mid-term elections with the stated goal of decreasing “democrat” districts, instituting non-partisan redistricting is unrealistic. The Supreme Court’s 2019 decision in Rucho v Common Cause set the stage for partisan redistricting, and only when the court admits its mmistake and rules that redistricting to benefit one party over another is unconstitutional will we see an end to the practice of representatives selecting their voters rather that voters selecting their representatives.
Dan McKew says
When Is Enough Enough?
There have been thirteen presidents and fourteen administrations in my lifetime. I have voted in thirteen elections and supported the winning candidate six times. I have lived through assassinations, resignations, impeachments, trickle-down economics, the Strategic Defense Initiative, sex scandals, hanging chads, wars launched over fictitious weapons of mass destruction, the promise of affordable health care, and now aging—version 2.0.
All of that unfolded over more than sixty years.
Yet in just the last eleven months, it feels as though I have lived another sixty.
Consider only a partial list: tariffs, pardons, a record number of executive actions, bombings of Iran or suspected drug runners, public embarrassment of foreign leaders, deportations and aggressive border enforcement, gilding of the White House, demolition of the East Wing, Epstein files, the weaponization of the justice system, berating women reporters, renaming national monuments and bodies of water, accepting lavish gifts from foreign entities, misrepresentation of facts, praising dictators, the so-called affordability hoax, and endless accusations of “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Some of these actions may even be positive on their own. But whatever good exists is consistently eclipsed by behavior that is negative, nasty, and divisive.
Years ago, I wrote that I judge leaders by a simple standard: Would I want them as my next-door neighbor? On the Eastern Shore, we still value decency, respect, and getting along with the people who live beside us. That standard shouldn’t disappear in Washington.
Enough is enough.
I am exhausted—and I know many of my neighbors are as well. It is time for strong Republicans to stand up for what is right and for what they actually believe, rather than what is dictated from the White House. It is time to move past narcissism, anger, and revenge, and return to respect, empathy, and ethics.
Our government was designed with checks and balances for a reason. We need balance again. A divided Congress may not be efficient, but history has shown that one-party control can be dangerous.
Here on the Eastern Shore, we deserve representation that reflects our values, not blind loyalty to any one individual. It is time to replace Andy Harris with someone who actually stands for something—and who actually accomplishes something.
Use your vote in the midterms.