Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday that he would sign on to a nonpartisan friend-of-the-court brief filed in a gerrymandering case now before the U.S. Supreme Court that challenges Maryland’s congressional districts as redrawn and approved in 2011.
The case, Benisek v. Lamone, was brought by seven Republicans from Maryland’s 6th Congressional District who maintain the redrawn lines violate their First Amendment rights.
Gov. Larry Hogan reiterates his support for redistricting reform at a news conference Thursday. Photo by Josh Kurtz
Hogan (R) would be signing on to a yet-unfiled amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs as an individual, though identified as governor of Maryland. There would be no cost to taxpayers related his action, said Douglass V. Mayer, the governor’s communications director.
Also signing onto the brief, Hogan said, is Gray Davis, a Democrat who was California governor from 1999 to 2003. He urged other governors to join what he called a “bipartisan effort,” as well.
“This isn’t a fight between the right and the left; this is a fight between right and wrong,” Hogan said.
Additionally, Hogan announced Wednesday that he would again propose legislation to reform the redistricting process by putting it in the hands of a nonpartisan commission, a bill similar to one that has been killed by the Democrat-controlled legislature in the last two years.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by William F. Zorzi over at Maryland Matters