Redistricting Opponents Claim Fix Is In

Community to force a recently passed plan that redraws Baltimore County's seven council districts to the 2012 ballot are doomed to fail and are vowing legal action.

Ella White Campbell, executive director of the Liberty Road Community Council, said Tuesday that state and county elections officials delayed decisions on the legal sufficiency of their petition form. The delays caused a coalition of community groups to circulate several petitions that may not pass legal muster and may result in hundreds, if not thousands of signatures, to be rejected.

"It's grossly unfair," said White Campbell. "Not just to the Liberty Road corridor but to the citizens of the entire county because it means you will not be able to successfully challenge any local law because we've got it fixed so you can't succeed."

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The group, which has been , has 45 days to collect 9,513 of the 28,826 signatures of registered county voters needed to place the issue before voters in November 2012.

If they meet the first deadline, the group has an additional 30 calendar days to collect the balance of the needed signatures.

The group hits its first deadline on Nov. 17.

"This is an exercise in futility because the games have already been played," said White Campbell.

White Campbell said that she fears the efforts will ultimately fail. She said legal action to challenge the plan would be the next course of action—most likely the basis of a violation of the federal Voting Rights Act or a civil rights violation.