Maryland

Racial Representation
Of Maryland's total voting population of 2,004,759, 26.5% are black and 4.4% are Latino.  Under the current eight-district system, black voters make up the majority of voters in two districts, both of which currently have black representatives.  Under the proposed super districting plan, black voters in Super District A are well-positioned to elect a candidate of choice and those supporting a candidate with crossover appeal could, in coalition with other minority and white voters, elect a second candidate of choice.  Black voters in coalition with white and other minority voters are well-positioned to elect a candidate of choice in Super District B.
Political Analysis
Al Gore won Maryland in the 2000 Presidential election with 57% over George W. Bush's 40%.  Maryland's overall Democratic partisanship is 58.4%.  Despite making up two-fifths of Maryland's voting population, Republican voters can only elect a candidate of choice in two of the current congressional districts.  Under the proposed super districting plan, voters would likely elect five Democrats, two Republicans, and two representatives who could come from either party.

 

SUPER DISTRICT A - FIVE SEATS
     

            2000 Presidential Vote

    % Black % Latino
State CD Bush (%) Gore (%) Other (%) Total Origin Origin
Maryland 1 160402 (57.2%) 111807 (39.8%) 8424 (3.0%) 280633 11.2% 1.6%
Maryland 2 91677 (40.8%) 127510 (56.8%) 5285 (2.4%) 224472 27.1% 2.2%
Maryland 3 107481 (41.4%) 143685 (55.3%) 8456 (3.3%) 259622 16.2% 2.9%
Maryland 5 101056 (41.1%) 139068 (56.5%) 5871 (2.4%) 245995 30.0% 3.5%
Maryland 7 57262 (25.0%) 166410 (72.5%) 5766 (2.5%) 229438 58.8% 1.7%
Total   517878 (41.8%) 688480 (55.5%) 33802 (2.7%) 1240160 27.7% 2.4%

Winning Percentage:

16.7%
Voting Rights Analysis: Black voters are well-positioned to elect a candidate of choice.  Black voters supporting a candidate with crossover appeal could, in coalition with other minority and white voters, elect a second candidate of choice.
District Partisanship: 57.1% This super district would likely elect three Democrats and one
Republican with one competitive seat.

 

SUPER DISTRICT B - THREE SEATS
     

            2000 Presidential Vote

    % Black % Latino
State CD Bush (%) Gore (%) Other (%) Total Origin Origin
Maryland 4 49202 (21.4%) 176780 (76.8%) 4098 (1.8%) 230080 56.8% 7.5%
Maryland 6 160263 (60.8%) 95282 (36.1%) 8029 (3.0%) 263574 4.8% 1.4%
Maryland 8 84088 (31.0%) 177475 (65.5%) 9382 (3.5%) 270945 16.4% 13.7%
Total   293553 (38.4%) 449537 (58.8%) 21509 (2.8%) 764599 24.6% 7.6%

Winning Percentage:

25%
Voting Rights Analysis: Black voters, in coalition with Latino and white voters, are well-positioned to elect a candidate of choice.
District Partisanship: 60.4% This super district would likely elect two Democrats and one
Republican.

This proposal is based on the current congressional districts of Maryland.  Because current congressional districts are often the results of gerrymandering, the proposed super district boundaries are not as smooth and nice-looking as they could be in a similar proposal that made use of sub-congressional district data.