AUGUSTA — A partisan-deadlocked committee charged with redrawing the lines of Maine’s two congressional districts narrowly voted today to support a Democratic proposal.

The 15-member panel comprises seven Democrats and seven Republicans and is chaired by an independent.

Michael Friedman, a Bangor independent, said he had hoped the process would have been simple and devoid of politics.

“I was probably naive,” he said. “I couldn’t get the donkey and the elephant to move a stitch, even though I tried.”

He said he voted in favor of the latest plan proposed by the Democrats because it offered the most simple solution and a population difference between the two districts of only one person.

The plan, approved 8 to 7, is merely a recommendation for the Legislature and lawmakers can develop their own plan if they wish. The Legislature is scheduled to adopt a new map during a special session scheduled for Sept. 27.