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Delegate advances plan for citizen-run redistricting convention after each census
Summary
House Bill 203 would create an 188-member citizen convention to draw legislative and congressional districts every 10 years, allocate delegates by county population and prohibit elected officials from serving on the convention.
Delegate Chris Frerich Boucher presented House Bill 203 to create a citizen-run redistricting process to draw Maryland’s legislative and congressional districts after each decennial census. Under the proposal, a convention of 188 members would be elected on a nonpartisan basis, with county delegations sized according to population; every county would be guaranteed a minimum delegation of three members.
Boucher told the committee the change would return redistricting power to Maryland voters and reduce partisan control of mapmaking. "Take it out of our hands, turn it over to the citizens," he said. He also said the plan would prohibit current public officeholders from serving on the convention and would favor single‑member districts in place of multi‑member districts currently used in parts of the state.
During the hearing, Delegate Fockel asked whether the sponsor had research on single-member districts; Boucher replied that only a few states retain multi-member districts and that single-member districts would reduce a tool he described as being used for gerrymandering.
No committee vote on HB 203 was recorded in the hearing transcript.
