On a February weekend, state Sen. Mary Washington left her Northeast Baltimore rowhouse, got into her car and headed north on York Road toward the city-county line.
She was seeing that section of Baltimore County from a fresh perspective. On Jan. 27, Maryland state lawmakers approved a new map of state House and Senate districts that extended Washington’s district into the county for the first time. She considered her drive an advanced orientation to her new constituents. “I want to get to know those people and have them get to know me,” she said.
But weeks later, Washington — like many other candidates for state, federal and congressional offices — is hardly feeling oriented.
A series of legal challenges to Democratic-created maps has postponed the state’s primary from June 28 to July 19 and created uncertainty about what congressional and state legislative districts, including Washington’s, will ultimately look like.
The unresolved situation has led candidates to wonder which voters to court, and elections officials to fret about preparing ballots on time. They want to be sure voters aren’t confused and need to secure polling places aligned with the correct maps.
“I say the serenity prayer a lot,” said Washington, 59, referring to the call on God to “grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Washington, a Democrat, a progressive and a former state delegate who lives in the diverse Ednor Gardens-Lakeside neighborhood, said it would do no good to fret. “As an elected official, I want to express confidence. To contribute to a sense of despair or lack of faith is against what I believe is our responsibility.”
But others have loudly complained that shifting the primary date so deep into summer — and perhaps pushing voters into unfamiliar districts on short notice — could diminish turnout at the heart of vacation season.
“This latest mess … is a stark reminder that we need to reform the process by which our congressional and legislative district maps are chosen,” said Rushern Baker, a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. “Because whichever side of the aisle you happen to be on, it’s clear this isn’t working for the people and does little but inspire confusion, resentment and apathy within our political system.”
“We hope everyone will do everything they can,” said Joe O’Hern, campaign manager for John King, another Democratic gubernatorial candidate, “to make sure voters are educated on the change so no one is disenfranchised.”
Maryland isn’t the only state dealing with redistricting challenges and delays. North Carolina’s legislative and congressional primaries were pushed back by a state court because of litigation that has since been resolved. The governor then vetoed an attempt to delay the primary further.
Meanwhile, candidate filing deadlines have been extended in multiple states, including Maryland, where a judge last week ordered a postponement of the date from March 22 to April 15. It had already been delayed from Feb. 22.
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The delays seem to particularly grate on Armstead B.C. Jones, Baltimore’s election director. He says people may not grasp all that is required — everything from hiring and training election judges to ensuring precincts are in the right districts.
”There’s a whole lot to it,” Jones said. “It’s not just, ‘Throw the map out there and have an election.’”
Some political strategists speculate that the filing dates and primary may get pushed back again, perhaps even to the fall.
“This is bad news for the dozen or so people running in the Democratic primary and great news for [Republican gubernatorial…
Read More: Maryland redistricting court cases keep candidates, election officials in limbo – Baltimore Sun