The Pennsylvania Supreme Court picked a new set of district lines after a plan that had been passed by GOP majorities in the Legislature was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.
Pennsylvania’s Latinos are hoping with new political maps that they will see more lawmakers from their communities.
By Anthony Orozco, Gabriela Martínez/WITF and Sam Dunklau The new boundaries are muddying things for some congressional candidates in western Pennsylvania.
“This ended up in their laps because of the failure of the other two branches.”
Commonwealth Court is starting to pore over 14 ideas for carving the state up into 17 Congressional districts.
With the Jan. 30 deadline imposed by Pa. Commonwealth Court approaching, the Republican-controlled state Senate is trying to cobble together a compromise.
Anticipating that the Democratic governor and GOP lawmakers won’t be able to agree on a map, concerned citizens and redistricting advocates are lobbying the state Supreme Court to intervene.
The Legislative Reapportionment Commission will hold four meetings the week of Jan. 3 to accept feedback on the maps, both in person and virtually.
Even lawmakers admit the final versions must look significantly different than they do now before they can be used as the platform for future elections.
The map approval process drew criticism from fair district advocates, Democrats, and at least one Republican, who said there was no need to act before additional public input.
