Judge Strikes Down Redistricting Ballot Question, Stays Ruling Pending Supreme Court Appeal
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews ANNAPOLIS — An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge ruled Wednesday that Maryland...
Gerrymandering
The First Lawsuit Went Dark. A Second One — Led by a Local GOP Official — Is Wide Open.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews The Republican lawsuit challenging Maryland's redistricting ballot question — filed late...
Is the Redistricting Lawsuit Just a Publicity Stunt? Here’s What the Record Actually Shows
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews A common response to this week's lawsuit against Maryland's redistricting amendment is that...
Republicans, D.C. Watchdog Group Sue to Keep Redistricting Amendment Off November Ballot
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland Republican lawmakers and a Washington-based conservative watchdog group filed suit...
Power Over People: How Annapolis Rewrote the Rules — and What It Ignored to Do It
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews The Maryland General Assembly closed its three-day special session Tuesday night having...
The Senate Passed It 32-13. Republicans Are Already Talking About Court.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland's Senate voted 32-13 Tuesday to pass the congressional redistricting...
The House Passed It 96-38. Bouchat’s Bill Never Got a Hearing.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews The Maryland House of Delegates voted 96-38 Tuesday to pass House Bill 2100, sending the...
Day One: The Session Convenes, the Math Gets Real, and a Democrat Breaks Ranks
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews The General Assembly gaveled in at 10 a.m. Monday for the Aug. 3-5 special session, and by...
Two Bills. One Week. Opposite Visions of Who Draws Maryland’s Maps
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Senate Bill 2100 asks Maryland voters to strip constitutional limits off how the General...
The Amendment Written to Undo a Judge’s Ruling
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews When the Maryland General Assembly convenes at noon Monday for a three-day special session,...
The GOP Says This Bill Proves Hypocrisy. The Bill Itself Tells a Messier Story.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews The Maryland Republican Party posted the text of House Bill 2101 on July 30 with a direct...
Here’s What Senate Bill 2100 Actually Does — And Why It’s Drafted Like a Legal Shield
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland's special session doesn't convene until Aug. 3, but the bill text and hearing...
Republicans Won’t Boycott the Special Session. They’ll Just Talk About Everything Else.
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey wants one thing clear before the Aug. 3-5 special...
The Memo That Locked Everyone Else Out Just Let Bouchat In
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews — Part of The Bouchat Paradox series Christopher Eric Bouchat has spent three sessions...
Republicans Say They Warned Leadership — Then Got Shut Out Anyway
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews ANNAPOLIS — Maryland's presiding officers have moved to limit what can even be introduced...
Maryland Democrats Already Ran This Play — Just One Level Down the Ballot
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk say the special...
Bouchat Fires Off at Leadership as the Redistricting Session He Predicted Finally Arrives
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews — Part of the Bouchat Paradox series Christopher Eric Bouchat has spent three legislative...
Maryland Sets Aug. 3-5 Special Session on Redistricting — But the Dates Conflict with the State’s Own Ballot Deadline
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews ANNAPOLIS — Maryland's General Assembly will return to Annapolis Aug. 3-5 for a special...
The Firewall Fell Overnight
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews The Maryland Senate's redistricting firewall held for six months. It lasted about eighteen...
Ferguson Survives — But the Margin Is the Message
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Bill Ferguson is going back to Annapolis. The Maryland Senate President declared victory...
REPUBLICAN DELEGATE SAYS OWN PARTY LACKS “COURAGE” TO BACK CITIZEN REDISTRICTING — AND CITES SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY TO EXPLAIN WHY
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews The day before Maryland's primary election, Carroll County Delegate Christopher Bouchat...
REPUBLICAN DELEGATE ANNOUNCES COUNTER-PROPOSAL FOR SPECIAL SESSION: TAKE REDISTRICTING OUT OF POLITICIANS’ HANDS ENTIRELY
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Frederick County Delegate Christopher Bouchat announced today that he intends to introduce...
MARYLAND DEMOCRATS PLAN POST-PRIMARY SPECIAL SESSION TO REDRAW CONGRESSIONAL MAP
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews With Maryland's primary election two days away, the state's top Democrats are preparing to...
Ferguson Reverses on Redistricting — After Spending a Year Blocking It
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson spent the better part of a year standing in the way...
SCOTUS Lets Virginia’s Redistricting Map Die — And Maryland Democrats Should Take Note
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews The U.S. Supreme Court closed the last exit ramp for Virginia Democrats on Thursday,...
Law Day Irony: Maryland’s Top Lawyer Has Failed the Law
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews At 3:07 p.m. today, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown posted a tribute to the rule of...
High Court’s VRA Ruling Exposes Maryland’s Racial Gerrymander — and Democrats’ Hubris
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews A landmark Supreme Court ruling handed down Wednesday could reshape Maryland's political...
Three Bills Nobody Is Talking About — And Why They Should Be
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Before we get to the bills, a word about the messenger. Del. Christopher Eric Bouchat of...
Maryland’s Redistricting Pressure Cooker: Closed-Door Politics and the 50-Day Clock
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Annapolis is no stranger to hardball politics. But when members of Maryland’s...
Filing Clock Ticking: Does the Deadline Cripple Gov. Moore’s Redistricting Push?
By MDBayNews Staff With just days remaining before Maryland’s candidate filing deadline on February 24, a late-stage...
“The Senate President Is Not a King”: LaPin Delivers 7,000 Signatures Demanding Vote on HB 488
By MDBayNews Staff ANNAPOLIS, MD — In a pointed challenge to Senate leadership, Army veteran and State Senate candidate...
Maryland Freedom Caucus Slams Unscheduled Jeffries Visit After House Floor Delayed
By MDBayNews Staff ANNAPOLIS — Tensions flared in the Maryland House this week after an unscheduled visit by U.S. House...
Moore’s “Working With Judges” Comment Fuels Scrutiny After $147M Court Contract
By MDBayNews Staff As Maryland voters prepare for another heated election cycle, Governor Wes Moore is once again facing...
Poll-Driven Redistricting? Maryland Democrats Play With the Map Again
By MDBayNews Staff A new article in Maryland The Daily Record reports that a poll of “likely Democratic voters” shows...
MARYLAND’S LEGISLATIVE MAPS: NOT THE WORST GERRYMANDER — BUT DESIGNED TO LOCK IN POWER
By MDBayNews Staff Maryland’s state legislative districts are often lumped into the same category as the state’s...
CNN’s Dana Bash Corners Gov. Wes Moore on Redistricting: “How Is That Good for Democracy?”
By MDBayNews Staff In a rare moment of national media clarity, Dana Bash pressed Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on a redistricting...
Maryland’s Redistricting Power Grab Is Playing With Fire
By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews | Opinion Let’s stop pretending this is about fairness. Maryland Democrats are pushing a...
California’s Redistricting Green Light Puts Maryland on Notice
By MDBayNews Staff The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision this week to allow California’s new congressional map to take...
Ferguson Pulls the Plug on Mid-Cycle Redistricting: “Mutually Assured Destruction”
By MDBayNews Staff ANNAPOLIS — Maryland’s controversial push for mid-cycle congressional redistricting appears...
Maryland Democrats Push Mid-Decade Gerrymander as House Passes HB 488
Annapolis, Md. — Maryland House Bill 488, a controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting proposal backed by...