Carroll County would be split between two districts in Congress — one aligned with western Maryland and Montgomery County and the other reaching to the Eastern Shore — under the proposal unveiled this past week by the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Committee this week.
Carroll County is currently represented by the 6th Congressional District, whose current congressman is Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R).
Under the advisory panel's recommended plan, the county would be shifted to the 8th Congressional District, currently represented by Rep. Christopher Van Hollen, a Democrat; and the 1st Congressional District, currently represented by Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican.
In announcing the plan this week, the committee stated that under the proposal, "more than 70 percent of Marylanders will remain in their current Congressional district."
But Carroll County will fall into the other 30 percent.
Under the draft plan, the areas of Sykesville, Eldersburg, Westminster, Mount Airy, New Windsor and much of Union Bridge would shift to the 8th District, paired with majority of Frederick County and also a slice of Montgomery County that would reach south to Chevy Chase, Kensington and the border with the District of Columbia.
The rest of Carroll County — including Taneytown, Silver Run, Manchester, Lineboro, Hampstead, Finksburg and Gamber — would become part of the 1st Congressional District, which would include northern Baltimore County, much of Harford County and all of the Eastern Shore reaching toOcean City.
Every 10 years, the state must adopt new boundaries for state legislative district and congressional districts based on changes in population revealed in the U.S. Census.
The Maryland General Assembly will convene a special session on Oct. 17 to discuss both the congressional and state legislative boundary proposals.
Over the summer, the advisory committee conducted a series of hearings around the state to gather public feedback on the district map issues. None of those sessions were held in Carroll County, though hearings were held in Frederick, Montgomery, Howard and Baltimore counties.
Jeanne Hitchcock, who is the appointments secretary for Gov. Martin O'Malley and the chair of the advisory committee, said this week in a statement that, "The map we are submitting ... conforms with state and federal law and incorporates the 331 comments we received from the public."
"We have developed a plan that reflects the population shifts, demographics and strengths of our state," she said.
The committee noted that the proposed map does not draw any incumbent out of his or her district. Bartlett would remain in the 6th District, but its boundaries would be changed to include all of western Maryland, part of Frederick County — including the city of Frederick — and western Montgomery County.
O'Malley formed the redistricting advisory committee in July. In addition to Hitchcock, other members of the committee are Maryland Senate President Thomas "Mike" Miller Jr., House of Delegates Speaker Michael Busch, former Anne Arundel County Del. James King and Richard Stewart, president and CEO of Montgomery Mechanical Services Inc.
State officials said O'Malley will consider the proposed congressional plan and introduce his own plan during the special session inAnnapolis.
The committee's proposal is open for public comment through Tuesday, Oct. 11.
Comments may be sent via email to Redistricting2011@mdp.state.md.us, mailed to Redistricting 2011: Maryland Department of Planning, 11th Floor, 301 W. Preston St., Baltimore, MD 21201, ATTN: Linda Janey; or submitted on-line at planning.maryland.gov/Redistricting/2010/publicCommentsCongDraft.shtml.