BALTIMORE, MD (WBFF) — A new bipartisan ballot committee is launching in Maryland as lawmakers move a proposed constitutional amendment to voters in November that supporters say could pave the way for a dramatically more lopsided congressional map.
Protect Maryland Votes announced its formation the same day it said Maryland lawmakers passed a constitutional amendment “to go before voters in November” that “would clear the way for the most one-sided congressional map in Maryland history.” The group said the General Assembly held a special session this week and passed a ballot amendment that it says would remove a constitutional protection that struck down Maryland’s gerrymandered congressional map in 2022.
Protect Maryland Votes is led by attorney and businesswoman Yuripzy Morgan, retired Army Lt. Col. and lifelong Democrat Colin Pascal, and political analyst and former host of the Torrey Snow Program, Torrey Snow. The organization also announced that Doug Mayer will serve as senior advisor.
Maryland’s Constitution has protected fair elections for over half a century, and Annapolis just erased that protection this week, in a two-day special session most Marylanders didn’t even know was happening,” Morgan said. “That’s not democracy. That’s politicians who don’t like being told no by a court, so they’re rewriting the rules instead.
Pascal, who described himself as a lifelong Democrat, said his opposition is not about party politics.
I’ve been a Democrat my whole life. I voted for Barack Obama, twice, and I’m proud of the work Democrats have done to improve the lives of Americans,” Pascal said. “But this isn’t about party. This is about basic fairness and the type of state we want to live in. Republicans were wrong when they gerrymandered states they controlled earlier this year, and it’s just as wrong if Democrats do the same in Maryland. I can’t remain quiet while my party tries to do the same thing I’ve criticized Republicans for doing elsewhere.
Snow said the group is launching ahead of the November vote to raise awareness about the proposed amendment.
Every Marylander deserves a real voice in who represents them, no matter their zip code or their party,” Snow said, via a press release. “This amendment would take that voice away for good, and most people don’t even know Annapolis is trying to put it on their ballot. That’s why we’re here, before a single vote is final.
In its announcement, Protect Maryland Votes pointed to former Gov. Larry Hogan’s efforts to create “an independent, evenly-split citizens commission” to handle redistricting, saying the process was rejected by Annapolis in 2021 before the state lost in court the following year. The group also said Maryland’s Senate president has acknowledged legal risk in redrawing the map outright, and argued the amendment is intended to remove that risk.
Protect Maryland Votes said it plans voter outreach, advertising and earned media efforts across the state between now and November.
Local Story
