Frederick Official Files Redistricting Lawsuit
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- A Frederick County commissioner has filed a lawsuit challenging Maryland's redistricting map.
The Frederick News-Post reports that Republican Commissioner Paul Smith has filed complaints in the Maryland Court of Appeals and Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.
He is criticizing the new map signed into law last month by Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley for failing to design contiguous and compact voting areas.
The map has drawn other legal challenges as well.
On Monday, a federal judge ruled that constitutional claims in a lawsuit brought by nine black voters are substantial. U.S. District Judge Roger Titus denied the state's efforts to dismiss the case and wrote that convening a three-judge panel was appropriate to hear the case.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
