The state map is a “clear example of the politicians picking their voters and not the voters picking their politicians,” said Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington), one of the 12 plaintiffs in the case. Parrott is seeking the Republican congressional nomination in Maryland’s Sixth District.

The lawsuit names Linda Lamone, state administrator of the Maryland State Board of Elections, and William Voelp, chairman of the state Board of Elections, as defendants.

“We all know how gerrymandering works,” said Robert Popper, an attorney with Judicial Watch – a conservative group that aims to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in government – which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 12 defendants.

Gerrymandering transfers power from voters to politicians, and it’s wrong no matter which party does it, he said.

The Maryland Democratic Party and the office of Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) created a Maryland Redistricting Reform Commission in 2015, with seven members appointed by Hogan and the majority and minority leaders in the General Assembly.

That commission recommended the formation of another commission, the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission, which Hogan created in January with three Democrats, three Republicans, and three political independents to redraw the state’s map of congressional districts.

That commission held more than 30 public meetings around the state, and in November it submitted a map that the Republican lawsuit said met the requirements of the U.S. and Maryland constitutions, as well as the federal Voting Rights Act.

“It also respected natural boundaries and the geographical integrity and continuity of municipal, county, and other political subdivisions, and its districts were geographically compact,” the lawsuit said.

Earlier this month, the General Assembly voted to adopt a plan the plaintiffs say is illegally gerrymandered and prevents them from being fairly represented in their districts.

The plan’s boundaries cause district lines to become “distorted and noncompact,” and to “deviate from and to cross existing political boundaries,” the lawsuit said.

Hogan vetoed the plan, but the veto was overridden the same day along party lines, with one Democrat crossing over to vote with Republicans.

The lawsuit splits Anne Arundel County into three congressional districts and connects the Eastern Shore to a section of Anne Arundel via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the complaint said.

It also divides the city of Baltimore amongst three districts, does the same with Baltimore County, and divides Montgomery County amongst four districts.

Frederick County includes portions of the Sixth and Eighth congressional districts, represented by U.S. Reps. David Trone (D) and Jamie Raskin (D), respectively.

“The Eighth District connects the suburbs of Washington, D.C. to the more Republican rural areas of Frederick and Carroll counties at the Pennsylvania border,” the lawsuit said.

It went on to stated the “Sixth Congressional District connects ... the poorest areas of the state in Garrett County, the westernmost rural county which borders Pennsylvania and West Virginia, with one of the wealthiest, Potomac, Maryland, which is a suburb of Washington, D.C. These two populations do not form a ‘community of interest.’”

“Because its districts cross so many political boundaries, the Plan ensures that representatives from these districts will face conflicting allegiances as to legislative initiatives that benefit one constituency at the expense of another,” the complaint said. “Because of these conflicts, representatives from these districts will represent their constituents, including plaintiffs, less effectively.”