Lawmakers in Maryland have approved a congressional map to replace a version deemed unconstitutional by a judge, even as the state’s attorney general is appealing the judge’s ruling. Both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly this week approved the new map, contained in Senate Bill 1012. The state Senate passed the measure 30–10 and the state House of Delegates passed it 94–41. Most lawmakers who supported the legislation are Democrats; most Republicans remained unsatisfied and opposed it. Anne Arundel County Senior Judge Lynne Battaglia ruled on March 25 in favor of two groups that sued over the previous map, finding that it was unconstitutionally aimed at reducing the power of Republican voters because it shifted the only Republican member of Congress representing Maryland, Rep. Andy Harris, into a different district, where he was likely to lose. The map was a “product of extreme partisan gerrymandering,” according to Battaglia. Lawmakers, facing a March 30 …
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