Redistricting Groups Ponder Single vs. Multi-member Maps

Allison Mollenkamp, Capital News Service • October 26, 2021

Edited with additional material by Peter Heck of Common Sense for the Eastern Shore

Image: Wikimedia Commons

One of Maryland’s two redistricting commissions is tasked with proposing a state legislative map using only single-member delegate districts, but the current mixed system still has significant support.

Unlike most other states, which elect one representative per district to the state’s lower chamber, Maryland uses a system that includes districts with one to three delegates.

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) established the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission in an executive order in January and directed the commission to draw a legislative map using single-member delegate districts.

That would be a change from the current system, which uses a combination of single- and multi-member districts.

Each state Senate district has three delegates. In some districts, all three represent the entire territory, while in others, the district is divided into three smaller areas. In still other places, a single-delegate district has been carved out, while the remainder is represented by two people.

The mixed system has its supporters, who say the system leads to greater diversity of representation.

Jackie Coolidge is part of the redistricting team for the League of Women Voters of Maryland, a nonpartisan public policy group. She told Capital News Service that the League supports the current system because it has helped make the Maryland General Assembly “one of the most racially and ethnically diverse in the country.”

Coolidge says the system also leads to greater gender diversity. “It looks as though it’s a bit easier for women to win a seat in a multi-member election,” Coolidge said. “And of course we like that.”

Multi-member districts have historically been used to disenfranchise Black voters, and Coolidge said some of Maryland’s single-member districts were drawn to create seats more likely to be won by people of color.

However, drawing those single-member districts depends on a history of housing segregation and racist zoning and won’t work for all minority groups in all places, according to Del. David Moon (D-Montgomery).

“If it were Asians, for example, I don’t know how many districts there are in Maryland where you’d have a concentration large enough that you could guarantee electoral outcomes for a single-member district,” Moon said.

He supports keeping single-member districts as a tool, but believes his own district’s diverse slate of officials — including several people of color — is a product of the multi-member system.

“The whole history of having to just choose one [delegate] is not a history that has been leading to the most diverse representation,” Moon said.

As a delegate, Moon has also seen how representatives from multi-member districts can work together. During the height of the pandemic, Moon’s constituents had problems filing unemployment claims. He said he and his fellow delegates for District 20 were able to divide and conquer the “huge” number because the district's constituents are shared among them.

On other issues, Moon said his constituents can benefit from their three delegates serving on different committees. For instance, Moon said his colleague, Del. Jheanelle K. Wilkins (D-Montgomery), takes the lead on renters’ issues while Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery) handles utility assistance.

Del. Haven Shoemaker (R-Carroll) also collaborates with the delegates from his district, but he would prefer to move to a single-member system. He said he’s seen constituents confused by the multi-member system, sometimes believing that the delegate living nearest to their area of the county is their only representative.

Shoemaker thinks the mix of single- and multi-member districts under-represents people of color and Republicans. He’s not alone in his suspicion that the current legislative map is a result of partisan strategy.

In 2015, the Maryland Redistricting Reform Commission released a report recommending the governor and legislature consider a single-member system.

The report said the commission heard testimony in favor of that system, some of it from Republican members of the legislature. They also heard support for three-member districts.

“Little if any testimony supported the current practice in which different methods are arbitrarily imposed on different areas around the state,” the report reads. “With the inconsistency of practice creating a strong suspicion that the discretion is being abused for tactical political ends.”

The report called for an end to the practice of creating one single-member and one double-member delegate district within the same Senate district, unless it was required by federal law.

The Maryland Constitution allows for a mix of single- and multi-member districts. Maryland is one of only 10 states that continue to use multi-member districts, according to Ballotpedia.

The Eastern Shore has examples of all three models. District 36, which combines Kent, Queen Anne’s, Caroline, and Cecil counties, has three delegates elected at-large. District 37, which includes Dorchester, Talbot, and Wicomico, is divided into one single-member district and one two-member district. Finally, District 38, covering Somerset, Worcester, and Wicomico, is made up of three single-member divisions. As if to emphasize Coolidge’s observation, Del. Sheree Sample-Hughes, from single-member District 37A, is the only person of color representing a legislative district on the Shore.

The Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission will submit legislative and congressional map proposals to the governor, who will send a final proposal to the legislature.

Meanwhile, the legislature has its own group working on maps: the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission. The General Assembly, where Democrats hold a supermajority, has final say on which maps become law.

Moon and Shoemaker expect that the eventual map will use a mix of single- and multi-member districts similar to the current one.

The final district map will be in place for the 2022 election.

Eastern Shore Legislative Districts, 2012. Map: Maryland Department of Planning

Sources:

Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission.

https://redistricting.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Executive Order, Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, Jan. 2021.

https://governor.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/execorder.pdf

Maryland Districting Reform Commission Report, 2015. https://governor.maryland.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Final-Redistricting.pdf

Maryland Constitution, Maryland Manual Online. https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/43const/html/03art3.html

States Employing MMDs, Ballotpedia.

https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_chambers_that_use_multi-member_districts#Maryland

Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission, Maryland General Assembly. http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Committees/Details?cmte=rac

Capital News Service is a student-powered news organization run by the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism. For 26 years, they have provided deeply reported, award-winning coverage of issues of import to Marylanders.

Peter Heck is a Chestertown-based writer and editor, who spent 10 years at the Kent County News and three more with the Chestertown Spy. He is the author of 10 novels and co-author of four plays, a book reviewer for Asimov’s and Kirkus Reviews, and an incorrigible guitarist.

< Older Post

Newer Post >

Mail

Common Sense for the Eastern Shore

Megan Outten Launches Campaign for Wicomico County Council, District 7

By Friends of Megan Outten • July 29, 2025

Megan Outten, a lifelong Wicomico County resident and former Salisbury City Councilwoman, officially announced her candidacy recently for Wicomico County Council, District 7. At 33, Outten brings the energy of a new generation combined with a proven record of public service and results-driven leadership. “I’m running because Wicomico deserves better,” Outten said. “Too often, our communities are expected to do more with less. We’re facing underfunded schools, limited economic opportunities, and years of neglected infrastructure. I believe Wicomico deserves leadership that listens, plans ahead, and delivers real, measurable results.” A Record of Action and A Vision for the Future On Salisbury’s City Council, Outten earned a reputation for her proactive, hands-on approach — working directly with residents to close infrastructure gaps, support first responders, and ensure everyday voices were heard. Now she’s bringing that same focus to the County Council, with priorities centered on affordability, public safety, and stronger, more resilient communities. Key Priorities for District 7: Fully fund public schools so every child has the opportunity to succeed. Fix aging infrastructure and county services through proactive investment. Keep Wicomico affordable with smarter planning and pathways to homeownership. Support first responders and safer neighborhoods through better tools, training, and prevention. Expand resources for seniors, youth, and underserved communities. Outten’s platform is rooted in real data and shaped by direct community engagement. With Wicomico now the fastest-growing school system on Maryland’s Eastern Shore — and 85% of students relying on extra resources — she points to the county’s lagging investment as a key area for action. “Strong schools lead to strong jobs, thriving industries, and healthier communities,” Outten said. “Our schools and infrastructure are at a tipping point. We need leadership that stops reacting after things break — and starts investing before they do.” A Commitment to Home and Service Born and raised in Wicomico, Megan Outten sees this campaign as a continuation of her lifelong service to her community. Her vision reflects what she’s hearing from neighbors across the county: a demand for fairness, opportunity, and accountability in local government. “Wicomico is my home; it’s where I grew up, built my life, and where I want to raise my family,” Outten said. “Our county is full of potential. We just need leaders who will listen, work hard, and get things done. That’s what I’ve always done, and that’s exactly what I’ll continue to do on the County Council.” Outten will be meeting with residents across District 7 in the months ahead and unveiling more details of her platform. For more information or to get involved, contact info@meganoutten.com

“Turtles All The Way Down”

By John Christie • July 29, 2025

Way back in 1935, the Supreme Court determined that independent agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) do not violate the Constitution’s separation of powers. Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (1935). Congress provided that the CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, would operate as an independent agency — a multi-member, bipartisan commission whose members serve staggered terms and could be removed only “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no other cause.” Rejecting a claim that the removal restriction interferes with the “executive power,” the Humphrey’s Court held that Congress has the authority to “forbid their [members’] removal except for cause” when creating such “quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial” bodies. As a result, these agencies have operated as independent agencies for many decades under many different presidencies. Shortly after assuming office in his second term, Donald Trump began to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of several of these agencies. The lower courts determined to reinstate the discharged members pending the ultimate outcome of the litigation, relying on Humphrey’s , resulting in yet another emergency appeal to the Supreme Court by the administration. In the first such case, a majority of the Court allowed President Trump to discharge the Democratic members of the NLRB and the MSPB while the litigation over the legality of the discharges continued. Trump v. Wilcox (May 22, 2025). The majority claimed that they do not now decide whether Humphrey’s should be overruled because “that question is better left for resolution after full briefing and argument.” However, hinting that these agency members have “considerable” executive power and suggesting that “the Government” faces greater “risk of harm” from an order allowing a removed officer to continue exercising the executive power than a wrongfully removed officer faces from being unable to perform her statutory duty,” the majority gave the President the green light to proceed. Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, dissented, asserting that Humphrey’s remains good law until overturned and forecloses both the President’s firings and the Court’s decision to award emergency relief.” Our emergency docket, while fit for some things, should not be used to “overrule or revise existing law.” Moreover, the dissenters contend that the majority’s effort to explain their decision “hardly rises to the occasion.” Maybe by saying that the Commissioners exercise “considerable” executive power, the majority is suggesting that Humphrey’s is no longer good law but if that is what the majority means, then it has foretold a “massive change” in the law and done so on the emergency docket, “with little time, scant briefing, and no argument.” And, the “greater risk of harm” in fact is that Congress provided for these discharged members to serve their full terms, protected from a President’s desire to substitute his political allies. More recently, in the latest shadow docket ruling in the administration’s favor, the same majority of the Court again permitted President Trump to fire, without cause, the Democratic members of another independent agency, this time the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Trump v. Boyle (July 23, 2025). The same three justices dissented, once more objecting to the use of the Court’s emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency as established by Congress. The CPSC, like the NLRB and MSPB, was designed to operate as “a classic independent agency.” In Congress’s view, that structure would better enable the CPSC to achieve its mission — ensuring the safety of consumer products, from toys to appliances — than would a single-party agency under the full control of a single President. “By allowing the President to remove Commissioners for no reason other than their party affiliation, the majority has negated Congress’s choice of agency bipartisanship and independence.” The dissenters also assert that the majority’s sole professed basis for the more recent order in Boyle was its prior order in Wilcox . But in their opinion, Wilcox itself was minimally explained. So, the dissenters claim, the majority rejects the design of Congress for a whole class of agencies by “layering nothing on nothing.” “Next time, though, the majority will have two (if still under-reasoned) orders to cite. Truly, this is ‘turtles all the way down.’” Rapanos v. United States (2006). * ***** *In Rapanos , in a footnote to his plurality opinion, former Supreme Court Justice Scalia explained that this allusion is to a classic story told in different forms and attributed to various authors. His favorite version: An Eastern guru affirms that the earth is supported on the back of a tiger. When asked what supports the tiger, he says it stands upon an elephant; and when asked what supports the elephant, he says it is a giant turtle. When asked, finally, what supports the giant turtle, he is briefly taken aback, but quickly replies "Ah, after that it is turtles all the way down." John Christie was for many years a senior partner in a large Washington, D.C. law firm. He specialized in anti-trust litigation and developed a keen interest in the U.S. Supreme Court about which he lectures and writes.

“Andy Harris Just Made the Most Dangerous Vote of His Career”

By Shore Progress, Progessive Maryland, Progressive Harford Co • July 15, 2025

Marylanders will not forget this vote.

How Many Will Be Kicked Off Medicaid in MD-01 Because of Andy Harris?

By Jan Plotczyk • July 9, 2025

More than 30,000 of our neighbors in Maryland’s first congressional district will lose their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid because of provisions in the GOP’s heartless tax cut and spending bill passed last week.

Six Reasons Why the House Budget Bill Will Hurt Rural America

By Michael Chameides, Barn Raiser • May 21, 2025

Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.

Who Will SNAP Cuts Affect in Maryland? On the Eastern Shore?

By Catlin Nchako, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities • May 21, 2025

The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.