A Prince George’s county judge overturned the controversial redistricting map approved by the County Council last year, citing a procedural error made by lawmakers. Circuit court judge William Snoddy ordered the council to implement the original map introduced by the county’s independent redistricting commission.

Council spokesperson Karen Campbell says lawmakers will appeal the decision “immediately.” The Council is aware that the filing deadline for candidates for the 2022 elections is Feb. 22, she says via email.

The council’s redistricting map approved in a 6 to 3 vote, received significant pushback from residents, 150 of whom testified against the proposal during a six-hour hearing in November. Critics accused the Council of gerrymandering in favor of incumbents, saying lawmakers drew the maps in such a way as to cut out progressives who were challenging more moderate members.  The new map shifted boundaries within College Park, removing three candidates from districts they had already started campaigning for. People also criticized lawmakers for the way they went about creating the new map, calling the process opaque.

A group of residents filed a lawsuit last week, asking the courts to throw out the council-approved map because lawmakers failed to pass a redistricting bill. Instead, the council approved the map via resolution.

Judge Snoddy agreed, writing in his ruling that “a resolution, while having the effect of a law, is not a substitute for a law.” Snoddy ordered the Council to instead use the map produced by a non-partisan three-member redistricting commission, which relied heavily on the previous map.

Not everyone was happy with the independent commission’s map, either. Critics of that map believed it concentrated residents who are low-income in certain districts. Council Vice-Chair Deni Taveras (D-District 2), who was among the six lawmakers to pass a new map, also worried that the proposal diluted the Latinx vote. “Why can we not have a majority-minority district that is Latino?” Taveras, the only Afro-Latina on council and a member whose term is ending, previously told DCist/WAMU. “I feel blessed that I have the opportunity to serve on this council, but the representation of somebody like me or another Latino after me is not guaranteed.”

The map introduced by the independent commission had some supporters, including Linda Thornton-Thomas, the president of Prince George’s County NAACP. Former council member Eric Olson also supports the commission’s proposal, calling it a “fair, impartial map.”

But about the council-approved map, Olson told DCist/WAMU, “It carved up neighborhoods, and it did not keep communities of interest together.” He added, “It was also politically motivated.”

Olson, who represented District 3 between 2006 and 2014 and is seeking reelection, was among the candidates forced to run in another district under the council’s map, having been moved from District 3 to District 1. He didn’t end his campaign, but says he had to shift its focus. Olson would again be running in District 3 under the court’s decision. According to the Washington Post, his campaign financially supported the lawsuit.

“The public knows that I have the community’s interest at heart,” he says. “I’m also independent minded, so I’m not going to just go along with something if it’s wrong. And so I think that has ruffled some feathers.”

According to Maryland Matters, the two other candidates who may benefit should the court’s ruling stand are candidates Tamara Davis Brown, who had planned to run in District 9, and Krystal Oriadha, who is running for a seat in District 7. Like Olson, they’ve been outspoken critics of the county’s political establishment.