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Redistricting remains in action
This week, we took a look at redistricting news out of Maryland, Missouri, and Ohio.
Maryland
On March 25, former Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Lynne Battaglia, acting on senior status, ruled that the state’s Congressional map was a partisan gerrymander and ordered the General Assembly to draft a new map. The Maryland Court of Appeals earlier postponed the state’s primary election from June 28 to July 19 in a March 15 order. The court also extended the filing deadline for all candidates from March 22 to April 15. The court said it had “received timely-filed petitions challenging the validity of the 2022 legislative districting plan enacted by the General Assembly”
Missouri
Missouri became the 43rd state to complete legislative redistricting on March 15, when the Judicial Redistricting Commission filed new state Senate district boundaries with the secretary of state. The House Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission completed the state House’s district boundaries on Jan. 21.
Ohio
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on March 16 that legislative district boundaries the Ohio Redistricting Commission had adopted on Feb. 24 were unconstitutional and gave the commission until March 28 to draft new maps.
In a 4-3 decision, the court said the revised maps violate sections 6 (A) and (B) of the state constitution. Those provisions, which came out of a 2015 voter-approved constitutional amendment establishing the redistricting commission, require legislative district boundaries not “be drawn primarily to favor or disfavor a political party.”
SCOTUS confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson
The Senate Judiciary Committee held confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson Monday through Thursday. The first day of hearings consisted mainly of opening statements from committee members and ended with Jackson’s opening statement. The second and third days of the hearing consisted of senators asking Jackson questions, with each member allotted 50 minutes between the two days. On the fourth day, witnesses supporting and opposing Jackson’s confirmation appeared before the committee. You can follow our coverage of the confirmation hearing highlights at the link below.
Candidates for state and federal office in New Mexico had until Thursday to file; four more states have filing deadlines next week
March (filing deadline) Madness continued this week with New Mexico. All 435 seats in the U.S. House are up for election this year, including all three in New Mexico. New Mexico will also hold elections for 12 state executive offices, including the governorship, all 70 seats in the state House, and three of the five seats on the state Supreme Court.