Opinion: Maryland must lead on gerrymandering. By Wesley K. Clark
Retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark, a former NATO supreme allied commander, is founder of Renew America Together.
Across the nation, states are responding to the results of the 2020 Census by redistricting. Unfortunately, setting up districts so that each voter is equally represented has become another arena for partisan combat. In my home state of Arkansas, a Republican-controlled legislature has split Pulaski County among three congressional districts, apparently to marginalize African American voters. But turnabout isn’t fair play in this case. Maryland must do better.
Maryland will soon determine whether to become the next state to remove partisan politics from the redistricting process or whether to go further down the road of extreme gerrymandering. While Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has ceded his power to draw redistricting maps to a nonpartisan and independent commission of citizens that has drawn fair and competitive maps, the legislature’s panel of politicians has proposed making some of the worst-in-the-nation gerrymandered maps even more unfair and uncompetitive.
I’m a proud Democrat, and Hogan is a lifelong Republican. But this battle isn’t about partisan politics. This isn’t even about Maryland. This is about the future of our country. In this time of increasing partisan acrimony in America, we desperately need sensible nonpartisan policies to move our country forward, and partisan gerrymandering is perhaps the greatest impediment to making sure our democracy is working for the people.
Here is why partisan gerrymandering is such a grave threat to our nation’s future:'>>>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/12/03/maryland-must-lead-gerrymandering/?