“The Texas legislature might encourage other states to follow suit. I’m certain there will be suggestions for Maryland to do the same, although we can only change one district,” emailed Steve Shapiro, the initial complainant in the famous Maryland redistricting case,Shapiro v. McManus, to me on July 20.
Being the first to contest Maryland’s congressional district distribution for the 2010 period, I felt encouraged two days later (July 22) when House of Delegates Majority Leader, Del. David H. Moon (D-Montgomery Co.), revealed his intention to create a bill that would automatically redraw Maryland’s districts if other states alter their congressional boundaries outside the regular cycle.
On my 81st birthday, July 16, President Donald Trump (R) called on Texas to revise its congressional map, allowing the Republican Party to secure more seats in the 2026 midterm elections during a special session. Shortly after, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) suggested dismantling California’s voter-approved redistricting system to counter Texas’s attempts to redraw congressional districts. Ohio, which has 10 Republican representatives and five Democratic representatives, is scheduled to redraw its congressional district lines in September or October. Now, another red state, Florida, should think about revising its congressional districts between censuses. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is willing to redraw House lines only if other states break the rules. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker hosted Texas state legislators in Oakwood, IL, to address Republican congressional redistricting plans. Trump urged Missouri lawmakers to redraw their congressional map to gain one GOP seat. Oregon needs to redraw its congressional districts next time to avoid prison gerrymandering, but when? Washington state lawmakers believe their Redistricting Commission won’t redraw before next year’s midterms. New Jersey Democrats will likely have to amend the law to create a new map, provided the NJ court allows it.
The Princeton Gerrymandering Projecthas assigned the following grades to the states as previously noted: California “B” (43-to-9 Democratic lead), Florida “F” (20-to-8 Republican), Illinois “F” (14-to-3 Democratic), Maryland “B” (7-to-1 Democratic), Missouri “A” (6-to-2 Republican), New Jersey “A” (9-to-3 Democratic), New York “A” (19-to-7 Democratic), Ohio “D” (10-to-5 Republican), Oregon “D” (5-to-1 Democratic), Texas “F” (25-to-12 Republican with one open seat), and Washington “A” (8-to-2 Democratic). These ratings reflect the degree of fairness and transparency in each state’s redistricting procedures, with ‘A’ indicating the most equitable process and ‘F’ the least.
This led Del. Moon to raise the Maryland flag, a gesture typically used to draw attention or gain support for Maryland’s possible reaction to redistricting that occurs outside the regular cycle.
In 2018, Del. Moon was required to respond to aQuestion regarding Redistricting posed by the League of Women Voters of Maryland“What modifications, if any, do you endorse in the procedure for establishing congressional and legislative district boundaries in Maryland?” He wrote:
If a whole legislative body can be established independently, we should proceed with that. This is the reason I back independent redistricting for state legislative districts. However, when district boundaries are created incrementally, as occurs in Congress, I advocate for nationwide independent redistricting. Until then, I have co-sponsored legislation aimed at encouraging Maryland to enter into agreements with other states to implement this reform on a regional level.
Prior to serving as a Delegate in January 2015, Moon operated a blog titledMaryland Juice 1.0.
It could be more engaging to read his 2011 blog post titledWhat Occurs in Georgia Remains in Maryland: Exchanging Rep. Bartlett for Rep. Barrow.“
Now, Del. Moon could potentially exchange the sole Republican congressman from Maryland, Andy Harris, for a different Democratic representative from another state, such as Missouri’s Congressman Emanuel Cleaver.
Otherwise, how would Del. Moon’s fellow delegates reconfigure Rep. Harris’s 1st Congressional District to ensure the final one of the eight congressional districts remains with the Democrats? It could be straightforward to move Harford County and most of Cecil County into the 2nd District. To bring in more Democratic voters into the 1st District, it might be redrawn across the 4.3-mile-long William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial (Chesapeake) Bay Bridge to include downtown Annapolis, including the State House, where the Governor’s family resides. After that, lawmakers would adjust the boundaries of the remaining seven congressional districts according to the “Principle of Equal Population (One Person, One Vote).” As a result, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project would lower Maryland’s rating from “B” to “D.”
President Trump might overtake President Barack Obama as the top current proponent of gerrymandering. In 2009, the latter surprised opponents of gerrymandering by disregarding theredistricting reform billintroduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), despite the fact that the Democratic-controlled House and Senate were in session. No members of Maryland’s congressional delegation supported Rep. Lofgren’s 2009 bill.
I shared my comment on Delegate Moon’s Facebook page about his proposal. It states, “As someone knowledgeable about the hypocrisy of gerrymandering, I anticipate seeing you, Delegate, in your position on the Judiciary Committee in the upcoming session.”
This text was initially releasedMarylandReporter.com on July 28, 2025
Howard Gorrellis a supporter of the deaf community, a former Republican Party election data analyst, and a long-serving congressional staff member. For four decades, he has been working to oppose politically motivated redistricting.