This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.
The Maryland Court of Appeals on Friday pushed Maryland’s 2022 primary campaign candidate filing deadline back by a month after several petitions were filed against the state’s new legislative districts earlier this week.
The new deadline will be March 22 at 9 p.m., according to an order from Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Joseph M. Getty. The March 4 deadline to withdraw a certificate of candidacy has also been extended to March 24; the March 8 deadline to fill a vacancy in candidacy for a primary election is extended to March 28; and the March 9 deadline to challenge a candidate’s residency is extended to March 29.
The deadline to file petitions against the state’s new legislative maps, enacted by lawmakers in January, was Thursday.
A total of four petitions were filed against the state’s new legislative districts, including two by Republican delegates who charge that some of the state’s new districts violate the Maryland Constitution’s requirements for compactness and respect for geographic and political boundaries.
The new legislative map changed current districts to account for population changes over the last decade, and shifted some potentially vulnerable Democrats to safer boundaries. The new legislative districts were drawn up by the Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission, a panel established by Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County).
The state’s deadline to respond to petitions against the legislative map is Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., and a scheduling conference is set to be held virtually on Thursday at 10 a.m.
