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Assistant Attorney General Andrea Trento warned Thursday that election officials might struggle to implement changes that may result from challenges to Maryland鈥檚 new legislative map in time for the June 28 primary.
鈥淚 have people at the board of elections, both at the State Board of Elections and all the local boards of elections who are losing sleep right now thinking about how they鈥檙e going to deal with whatever emerges from both this case, the federal case and some of the counties鈥� maps that are at issue right now,鈥� Trento said at a virtual scheduling conference Thursday morning.
Special Magistrate Alan M. Wilner, a retired Court of Appeals judge who served on the court between 1996 and 2007, said he would try to get his report on legislative redistricting challenges to the Court of Appeals by April 4 at the latest.
Wilner said he plans to hold a hearing on petitions against the new legislative districts on March 22 鈥� the delayed date of the听听for the primary election.
听were brought against the state鈥檚 new legislative map. Two petitions from Republican delegates charge that some of the new districts violate the Maryland constitution鈥檚 requirement that legislative districts respect natural boundaries and political subdivisions.
A petition brought by Del. Mark N. Fisher (R-Calvert), Del. Nicholaus R. Kipke (R-Anne Arundel) and Del. Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore and Harford counties charges that 13 of the 47 senatorial districts in the new map violate that constitutional provision, and requests that if the General Assembly doesn鈥檛 enact a new legislative redistricting plan that 鈥渃omplies with the Maryland Constitution and Declaration of Rights in a timely fashion,鈥� the plan put forward by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, convened by Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), be put in place instead.
The districts that lawmakers enacted in January were drawn by the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission, a panel established by Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County). The听听largely mirror previous ones and shore up several potentially vulnerable Democratic lawmakers for reelection.
Trento said it takes months for election officials to implement an entirely new map. He added that election officials are already implementing the legislative districts that the General Assembly approved in January.
Trento didn鈥檛 specifically ask for a delayed election or a further postponed candidate filing deadline but said it鈥檚 鈥渋mpossible to speak in absolutes鈥� over what timeframe election officials would need to implement any possible changes to the legislative map.
鈥淭his is as fast as we can go, but it may require significant changes,鈥� Trento said. 鈥淎nd if that鈥檚 the case, so be it. But I just don鈥檛 want anybody to be under any illusions that it鈥檚 all good if we get it done on this schedule.鈥�
Strider Dickson, an attorney representing Szeliga, Fisher and Kipke, said he doesn鈥檛 want to put an unnecessary burden on election officials, but said the schedule is already 鈥渁ccelerated.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how we could possible move any faster,鈥� Dickson said.
Wilner said both the petitioners and the state seem to be on the same page with the expedited schedule.
鈥淢y role is to make sure that I鈥檓 not delaying anything unnecessarily, and so far I鈥檓 hearing from both the state and from the petitioners a willingness to try to meet these dates,鈥� Wilner said. 鈥淚f this is the best we can do, then at least we鈥檒l do that.鈥�
Wilner noted that the expedited hearing schedule and his pending report to the Court of Appeals are happening at the same time as separate challenges to the state鈥檚 congressional map.
On Wednesday, Senior Judge Lynne A. Battaglia said she plans to rule on the state鈥檚 motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the congressional map by Tuesday and听听for a four-day trial in that case starting March 15.
The state has filed motions to dismiss challenges to the new legislative district map, arguing that the new map doesn鈥檛 violate the state constitution. Attorneys for the state said in a court filing听that 鈥渢owns and localities鈥� don鈥檛 constitute political subdivisions in Article III, Section 4 of the Constitution of Maryland.
Attorneys for the state also argue that the framers of Maryland鈥檚 constitution 鈥渟truck a careful balance in recognizing that some pursuit of political objectives in districting was permissible,鈥� as long as the districts comply with the state constitution鈥檚 requirements for compactness and respect for natural boundaries and political subdivisions.
鈥淎llowing claims like Petitioners鈥� to proceed under other provisions of the Constitution would upset this balance struck by the framers to moderate 鈥� but not eliminate 鈥� the degree to which political considerations may be used in creating State legislative districts,鈥� the听听reads.
