Advocates for Latino voters in Pennsylvania say they’ll sue if the rejection of the latest state legislative redistricting plan means this year’s elections will be based on districts set in 2001.

The Latino Lines Redistricting Coalition, based in Philadelphia, had made the case before the Legislative Reapportionment Commission that more state House districts should be majority-Latino.

Angel Ortiz, a lawyer and former Philadelphia City Councilman with the group, said the redistricting map remanded by the state Supreme Court included four such districts.  Previously, Latino voters had only been a majority in one district since the 1980s. Under the most recent rejected district map, three more majority-Latino House districts would have been created – a second seat in Philadelphia, one in Reading, and another in Allentown.

“That’s what’s right now at risk – those four districts,” said Ortiz. 

At risk, because state Supreme Court justice Max Baer told Capitolwire the current district lines, drawn in 2001, will likely be in effect for this year’s elections. 

That would bring the grand total of majority-Latino districts back down to one.  Ortiz says if that’s what the Court ultimately decides, his group is prepared to take “legal action.”

“We would be in court,” said Ortiz.  “And I do not think that would be acceptable and upheld in the federal [court].  I think that would be rejected.” 

Ortiz said, rather than keep the old districts, the state could push its primary data back from April 24^th to give the Legislative Reapportionment Commission time to fix district maps to the state Supreme Court’s liking. 

“The date of the primary is not etched in stone.  I think primaries can be held in May or June,” said the former councilman.  “As long as they’re held before the general election in November, that’s all that’s needed.”

Franklin and Marshall College pollster Terry Madonna said there’s precedent for keeping last decade’s district lines for this year’s elections.  In 1964, the state Supreme Court ruled that district population was too variable in a state redistricting plan, and gave the Legislature one year redraw its maps.  In the meantime, 1964 elections were based on existing district lines, according to Madonna.    

If that precedent were to apply here, Ortiz said the 2001 maps would knock the number of majority-Latino districts back to one.

“One district, here in Philadelphia, that would be packed – would have almost 80 percent Latinos in it – and we would have one person representing the Latino community, period,” said Ortiz.

The Latino Lines group hasn’t specified who it would sue to keep the 2001 district lines from being used this election, but state House Speaker Sam Smith has already filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of the Commonwealth.