Redistricting in Pennsylvania

March 8, 2018

Every 10 years, the United States conducts a Census to determine shifts, growths or declines in our nation’s Populace. Based on population, the Census requires the adjustment of both Congressional and state legislative districts., .This process is called redistricting. The next Census and resulting redistricting is scheduled for 2020.

We have gone through three election cycles since 2010, and the last redistricting map was voted on and passed by the PA House of Representatives with a strong bipartisan majority of 136-61.

As recently as Jan. 10, 2018, a three-judge federal panel upheld these Congressional maps as legal and constitutional, which as we mentioned, have been in force for the past three election cycles.

On Jan. 22, the General Assembly received an order from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to redraw the Congressional maps and demanded these new maps be submitted by Feb. 9.

The problem was, they never completed their opinion until Feb. 7, and that opinion was not delivered to House leadership until two days before the court-ordered deadline.

In anticipation of complying with the “new map,” legislators were asked for their input in late January. Many legislators, including myself, provided our suggestions. House and Senate leadership then asked for a meeting with the governor.

During this meeting Gov. Wolf gave very little guidance, which did not come as a surprise since he has been less than cooperative during budget negotiations resulting in three unsigned budgets. The Legislature submitted a redrawn map to the Governor for approval on the deadline required by the Court order. We did our best to comply with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s order to maintain Continuity, and avoid “Packing”, “Cracking” and “Splitting” districts.

We are not saying that maps can’t be improved, what we are saying is ‘not so fast’ and we are going to do this by the next congressional election anyway due to the 2020 Census.

After maps submitted by the legislature were rejected by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, they have decided to draw the maps themselves. The problem is the authority to draw maps for the election of members to the U.S. House of Representatives is clearly and explicitly given to the state legislatures in Article 1, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution:

“The Times, Places and Manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof;”

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not and does not have the power to invalidate the constitutional, democratically passed congressional map. Should the Pennsylvania Supreme Court be permitted to invalidate federal congressional lines and draw lines of their own, the U.S. Supreme Court will be compromising the separation of powers..

If the U.S. Supreme Court doesn’t stop this, what will be the next legislative issue they will decide?