Baltimore County residents are encouraged to attend a Council hearing on Bill 55-25, the proposed redistricting map, to share testimony and raise questions about representation. (Photo courtesy of countycouncil.baltimorecountymd.gov)

By Peta Richkus
Baltimore County Coalition for Fair Maps

Baltimore County residents will have the opportunity to testify (in-person and virtually) at today’s public hearing on Bill 55-25, the Council’s proposed redistricting map, at the Council’s regularly scheduled work session.

Time and Place: Tuesday, August 26, 4pm, 2nd floor Council Chambers, Historic County Courthouse.

There is intense local interest in this issue: during the compressed Redistricting Commission process, more than 1,600 written and in-person testimonies were submitted, along with hundreds of calls and conversations held in communities across the County.

Unfortunately, misinformation has been circulated alongside the facts. The facts, however, are clear:

  • The numbers are the numbers. The distribution of Baltimore County’s minority communities across the county is a matter of record.
  • Bill 55-25 divides, not unites. The proposed map cracks communities of color on the east side and further fragments representation.
  • Packing Black voters is not compliance. Concentrating Black voters into two districts at 74.75 percent and 60.12 percent BVAP, while leaving the remaining 78 percent of districts as majority-White, cannot credibly be described as sufficient under the Voting Rights Act.
  • Independent legal experts have weighed in.
    • In an August 18 Baltimore Sun article, Gilda Daniels, nationally known voting rights expert and law professor at the University of Baltimore, said that if adopted, a legal challenge to the Council’s proposal is “highly likely.”
    • Today, Dr. Kareem Crayton, Vice President of the Brennan Center for Justice’s DC office, sent a letter to the Council clarifying that neither he nor the Brennan Center has evaluated or opined on any proposed map. He emphasized that compliance with the Voting Rights Act — especially for majority-Black districts exceeding 70% BVAP — can only be determined through a Racially Polarized Voting (RPV) study. Not by community demands or political assertions. (Dr. Crayton’s letter is attached.)

Community members and advocates will be watching closely to ensure the County adopts a map that reflects demographic realities, respects months of public input and complies with the law.