Furor Over Multi-Member Districts Returns as Legislative Redistricting Trial Wraps Up

The ability of legislative district mapmakers to use both single- and multi-member delegate districts is enshrined in the Maryland Constitution. But an attorney for petitioners against the state’s new legislative map argued in the Court of Appeals Thursday that their use conflicts with other constitutional provisions. David K. Bowersox, an attorney in a petition brought by Dels. Brenda J. Thiam (R-Washington) and Wayne A. Hartman (R-Wicomico) and Republican voter and Hampstead resident Patricia Shoemaker, argued that Maryland’s use of both single- and multi-member districts conflicts with the Maryland Declaration of Rights’ guarantee that elections be “free” and equal protection under law.