SPLC Urges Prince George's County to Strengthen Fair Redistricting Process

The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a formal proposal with the Prince George's County Charter Review Commission on March 11, urging the county to restructure its redistricting process before the next cycle begins and another legal battle erupts.

The proposal calls for creating a more independent redistricting commission, clarifying districting rules, and explicitly blocking political officials from overriding the commission's finalized map. It comes on the heels of a U.S. District Court decision upholding the 2021 Prince George's County Council redistricting plan, a map the SPLC has argued in court violates the constitutional "one person, one vote" principle by creating districts with unequal populations.

That legal challenge, filed in 2025 under the case name Cokely, et al. v. Honesty-Bey, was brought by the SPLC on behalf of Prince George's County residents. The organization argues the current map ignores the practical consequences of those population imbalances on county neighborhoods, diluting their collective voice on issues that hit close to home: affordable housing, public safety and improved transit services.

Bradley Heard, deputy legal director at the SPLC and secretary-treasurer of SCRIM, framed the county's recent legal history as an unmistakable signal. "Two redistricting disputes in this decade, relating to the County Council, should be a clear warning sign," he said. Prince George's County has now faced two major redistricting lawsuits within roughly ten years, one litigated in Maryland state courts and one in federal court, raising persistent questions about the clarity and integrity of the county's redistricting framework.

Heard positioned the Charter Review Commission as the right vehicle to fix those structural weaknesses before they generate a third conflict. "This proposal allows the county an opportunity to clarify, strengthen and modernize its governing rules now so that the next redistricting process is transparent, fair and trusted by the public," he said.

The Charter Review Commission has not yet publicly responded to the SPLC submission, and no timeline has been announced for when the commission will take up the proposal.