Ten years ago, the Congressional delegation of Maryland was 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans. After the 2002 redistricting plan, through the gerrymandering process of Governor Glendenning, the numbers shifted to 6 Democrats and 2 Republicans. It is common knowledge that Governor Martin O’Malley and the Democrats are planning even more shenanigans in Annapolis in 2012.
According to various websites, including Swing State Project, the Democrats have several options to solidify their current 7-1 margin or even increase their delegation to 8-0 by gerrymandering Roscoe Bartlett into a new 6th Congressional District that would include a chunk of Montgomery County. The new 6th would turn John McCain’s 17 point win into a 22 point victory for Barack Obama.
The time is now to prepare to fight against this clear and present attack against our right to have representation. It is critical that the Republican Party works together with non-partisan issue advocacy groups, local Republican and Libertarian Clubs, and neighborhood organizations throughout the state of Maryland to get the 53,650 signatures needed to place a referendum question on the 2012 ballot to reverse the actions of the General Assembly.
The 2012 Referendum Project is a grassroots neighborhood movement designed to educate the citizens of Maryland regarding the damaging impact of gerrymandering on local communities (i.e. breaking up Timonium into three congressional districts).
http://www.swingstateproject.com/diary/5576/redistricting-maryland-8-democrats-guaranteed
