Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Hogan makes last-minute attempt to prevent Democratic gerrymander in Maryland

Larry Hogan

Gov. Larry Hogan announced the state's first citizen-led redistricting commission on Tuesday and appointed its first three members.

Michael Robinson Chavez/Getty Images

Gov. Larry Hogan is making one last effort to stymie partisan gerrymandering in Maryland before the next decade's election maps are drawn.

The Republican governor announced this week the creation of the state's first-ever citizen-led redistricting commission to draft new congressional and state legislative maps. But final approval will ultimately be up to the General Assembly, which is dominated by Democrats.

In most states, partisan map manipulations have favored Republicans, but Maryland is one of the few examples of Democratic gerrymandering. Several states' election maps have been challenged in court over the last decade, including Maryland's. But the Supreme Court deflected judgement over partisan gerrymandering, saying there is no clear standard to use in evaluating the maps.


In announcing the commission, Hogan also appointed its first three members, who will serve as co-chairs: Democrat Alexander Williams, a retired federal judge; Republican Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute; and independent Kathleen Hetherington, president of Howard Community College.

The co-chairs will soon choose Marylanders to fill the remaining six seats (two Democrats, two Republicans and two independents) from a pool of applicants. Members must be registered to vote in Maryland, but they cannot be elected officials, official party members or lobbyists.

"Unlike the partisan backdoor manner in which the state's political power brokers have conducted the state's redistricting process in the past, this time we want to make sure that the people of Maryland are actually the ones drawing these lines and not the politicians or party bosses," Hogan said during Tuesday's announcement.

But it's not guaranteed this commission will be able to prevent Democratic legislators in Annapolis from contorting Maryland's maps in their favor again. Once the commission submits its proposal, lawmakers have 45 days to make changes and vote on the maps. Hogan can veto the General Assembly's changes, but the Democrats could easily override it with their supermajorities in both chambers.

With elected officials still ultimately in charge of the final maps, Maryland remains among the majority of states subject to partisan gerrymandering. Only 11 states will use truly independent and nonpartisan commissions to draw their districts for the next decade.

But democracy reform groups say Hogan's commission is a step in the right direction because it promotes public input, transparency and accessibility in the redistricting process.

"Our Maryland government must create transparent processes that serve all of its citizens fairly, without regard to their voter registration. Without trust between the government and the governed, democracy fails," said Beth Hufnagel, who leads the redistricting team for the Maryland chapter of the League of Women Voters.

Read More

Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series
Voted printed papers on white surface

Defend Democracy Against Bombardments on the Elections Front –A Three-Part Series

In Part 1, Pat Merloe examines the impact of the political environment, the necessity of constitutional defense against power-grabbing, and the detrimental effects of proof of citizenship on voting.

Part One: Bellicose Environment, Constitutional Infringements, and Disenfranchisement by Proof of Citizenship

The intense MAGA barrage against genuine elections, leading up to 2024’s voting, paused briefly after Election Day - not because there was diminished MAGA hostility towards typically trustworthy processes and results, but mainly because Donald Trump won. Much valuable work took place to protect last year’s polls, and much more will be needed as we head toward 2026, 2028, and beyond.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rear view diverse voters waiting for polling place to open
SDI Productions/Getty Images

Open Primaries Topic Creates a Major Tension for Independents

Open primaries create fine opportunities for citizens who are registered as independents or unaffiliated voters to vote for either Democrats or Republicans in primary elections, but they tacitly undermine the mission of those independents who are opposed to both major parties by luring them into establishment electoral politics. Indeed, independents who are tempted to support independent candidates or an independent political movement can be converted to advocates of our duopoly if their states have one form or another of Open Primaries.

Twenty U.S. states currently have Open Primaries for at least one political party at the presidential, congressional, and state levels, including Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin. At least 15 states conduct "semi-closed" primaries, a middle position in which unaffiliated voters still have an option to choose to vote in one of the major party primaries. 

Keep ReadingShow less
Voter registration
The national voter registration form is now available in 20 non-English languages, including three Native American languages.
SDI Productions

With Ranked Choice Voting in NYC, Women Win

As New York prepares to choose its next city council and mayor in primaries this week, it’s worth remembering that the road to gender equality in the nation’s largest city has been long and slow.

Before 2021, New York’s 51-member council had always been majority male. Women hadn’t even gotten close to a majority. The best showing had been 18 seats, just a tick above 35 percent.

Keep ReadingShow less
Independent Voters Just Got Power in Nevada – if the Governor Lets It Happen

"On Las Vegas Boulevard" sign.

Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash. Unplash+ license obtained by IVN Editor Shawn Griffiths.

Independent Voters Just Got Power in Nevada – if the Governor Lets It Happen

CARSON CITY, NEV. - A surprise last-minute bill to open primary elections to Nevada’s largest voting bloc, registered unaffiliated voters, moved quickly through the state legislature and was approved by a majority of lawmakers on the last day of the legislative session Monday.

The bill, AB597, allows voters not registered with a political party to pick between a Republican and Democratic primary ballot in future election cycles. It does not apply to the state’s presidential preference elections, which would remain closed to registered party members.

Keep ReadingShow less