Ultra-Partisan DCCC Seeks to Take Over Partisan Gerrymandering Case from Maryland Legislature
Ultra-Partisan DCCC Seeks to Take Over Partisan Gerrymandering Case from Maryland Legislature
Washington, D.C. Based Political Campaign Committee Dedicated To Electing Congressional Democrats Files “Motion to Intervene” To Protect Legislature’s Gerrymandered Congressional Map
**ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 24, 2021)—**Fair Maps Maryland, the nonpartisan organization dedicated to the abolition of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland, today disclosed the legal filings of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) seeking a motion to intervene in the partisan gerrymandering case filed last month in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. If granted by the court, the motion to intervene would make the DCCC a legal defendant in the case and allow their highly paid and partisan lawyers to argue in favor of gerrymandering.
The DCCC’s insistence on being party to this case inadvertently proves the very claims they are seeking to defend. The map created by the leadership of the Maryland General Assembly is deliberately gerrymandered to create congressional districts more favorable to Democratic candidates. As prominently displayed on its website, the sole mission of the DCCC is to elect Democratic candidates to Congress and protect the “new Democratic Majority.”
The motion to intervene was filed by attorney Marc E. Elias of the Elias Law Group on behalf of the DCCC. In an appalling display of hypocrisy, Mr. Elias, the founder of a group called Democracy Docket, is also currently leading a North Carolina lawsuit claiming that elected officials in that state are guilty of partisan gerrymandering – nearly identical claims he is attempting to defend in Maryland. In public forums, Mr. Elias claims to be an opponent of partisan gerrymandering and has referred to the new North Carolina congressional map as “a grotesque partisan gerrymander” and “indefensible.”
“The Republican Party has lost all shame,” Elias said. “I mean, in the 2010 [redistricting process and] after 2010, they were still pretending that they cared about democracy and about voting rights, and now they no longer pretend.” (Associated Press, 11-5-21)
In addition, Mr. Elias was recently sanctioned by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals over his actions in an elections case in Texas.
“If hypocrisy has a face and a name, this is it,” said Fair Maps Maryland spokesman Doug Mayer. “Nothing screams you don’t have a legal leg to stand on than bringing in high-powered, partisan attorneys to defend the indefensible. Unlike the DCCC and their hired guns, Fair Maps Maryland has zero problems proclaiming that partisan gerrymandering is illegal, unethical, and immoral regardless of who is doing it or where it is occurring. The leadership of the Maryland legislature can try to hide behind their well-funded DC allies, but they can’t hide from the truth. Gerrymandering is wrong, they are clearly guilty of it, and they will reap the whirlwind soon enough.”
This action by the ultra-partisan campaign committee is clear proof that the Maryland General Assembly is extremely concerned about their chances in a court of law and are turning to political actors and money to defend its actions. Unsurprisingly, DCCC also claims to be explicitly against partisan gerrymandering and has publicly derided its use and existence countless times.
About Fair Maps Maryland:
Fair Maps Maryland is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the abolition of politically motivated gerrymandering and the full implementation of non-partisan redistricting. Specifically, Fair Maps Maryland is working to ensure that the electoral maps created by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission are accepted by the Maryland General Assembly and enacted into law.
-###-
