Federalsburg holds first election since historic redistricting

FEDERALSBURG, Md – The town of Federalsburg is having its election following the ACLU lawsuit that saw the town shift from an At-Large to a district system in the hopes of representing more of the town’s Black residents in elected positions.

The move came after the MD ACLU sued the town to remove its At-Large system, finding it a violation of the National Voting Rights Act.

The MD ACLU says, in the town’s 200 history not a single person of color was ever elected to office, but this election saw multiple elections including for the mayor, with turnout expected to also be boosted by the shift to districts.

“The town is divided into two separate districts, and two town council members will represent each of the two districts,  and so this new district-based system will be put into effect for the first time, and it’s in federalsberg’s bicentennial year, so what that means for the town is that finally the black community will be able to elect people to represent them on the town council, and they represent about half of the population in federalsberg,” said ACLU Staff Attorney Nick Steiner.

The ACLU says they are grateful to the NAACP for highlighting the issue for years and pushing to get it resolved.

The organization says it will be monitoring the results of the day’s elections closely.