Is least change some sort of legal requirement in Maine, or is that the surmise in case of deadlock as to what a court would do?
Addendum. Having looked at the process, in case of a deadlock (unlikely given the process), the Dem Supreme Court is almost certainly going to do a least change map. And that is what the press says.
https://bangordailynews.com/2021/08/12/politics/maines-southern-population-shift-will-remake-state-politics/So it looks like there are two options, the partisan difference between the two based on Trump 2020 is a grand total of 10 basis points. One is more compact, the other least change because there is not a mutual exchange of territory between the two CD's. The size of the chops of cities is 737 people for the least change map, and 634 for the more compact map.
So in the more compact map, ME-02 moves 50 basis points more Dem, and in the least change map 40 basis points more Dem.
In the event of deadlock by the commission, the Dem Supreme Court is going for the least change map. It's time to move on. There is nothing here.
The one thing I find amazing is that the existing map chops no municipalities. That explains the erose lines in Kennebec County. That serendipity was just too good to pass up. That is my surmise anyway.
