Maryland court was 1 vote short of rejecting legislative map
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland's highest court was one vote away from rejecting a map of state legislative districts last April.
The Baltimore Sun reports that rejecting the map could have further delayed the state's July 19 primary.
In April, the Maryland Court of Appeals rejected complaints by Republican politicians and voters that a map of state House and Senate districts violated the state's constitution.
The map had been approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.
The court had issued a five-page order and said it would give its reasons later in an opinion. That opinion was released Wednesday. It showed that three of the seven judges opposed the majority ruling written by Senior Judge Robert McDonald.
Republican plaintiffs alleged that some districts were irregularly shaped or wove across rivers or county lines in ways that violated provisions in the state constitution.
But McDonald suggested the court would be overreaching if it sought to insert its "preferred district boundaries" in place of the General Assembly's.
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