The Democrats are not above gerrymandering, as it turns out. SCOTUS will be hearing a gerrymandering case out of Maryland in which Republicans are suing, not Democrats. From Reuters:
When Maryland Democrats drew new U.S. House of Representatives district maps in 2011, long-time Republican voter Bill Eyler found himself removed from a conservative rural district and inserted into a liberal one encompassing Washington suburbs.
Eyler, a retired business owner in the small town of Thurmont roughly 55 miles north of the U.S. capital, said he thinks he and others like him were being targeted by the Democrats because of their party affiliation. He was inserted into a Democratic-leaning congressional district in an electoral map that diminished the statewide clout of Republican voters.
“There’s nothing we can do or say or vote that will make any difference,” Eyler said in an interview.
Eyler is one of nine Republican voters who pursued a legal challenge against a portion of Maryland’s electoral map. Their closely watched case will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday.
It’s self-serving crap like this which alienates voters, and alienated voters tend to permit extremists to win elective seats. It signals voters that fairness for everyone is superseded by advantage for the political Parties.
And it can discourage participation from the common, moderate citizen, while encourage the extremists, regardless of whether they are favored or disfavored by the changes, to come out of their holes.
How bad is it in Maryland?
Despite [Republican] Hogan’s 2014 victory that illustrated Republican strength statewide, Republicans currently hold just one of Maryland’s eight congressional seats because of the way the electoral boundaries are drawn.
Obviously, this isn’t dispositive – possibly the Republicans ran very weak opponents for those seats – but it’s indicative of a problem.
