Court: Pennsylvania's congressional map is illegal and must be redrawn

The Morning Call ^ | 22 January 2018 | Steve Esack

[napscoordinator]

Pennsylvania's Republican-leaning congressional map is illegal and must be redrawn, according to a 4-3 ruling by the Democratic-leaning state Supreme Court.

The 3-page ruling was released this afternoon.

The order says the state’s 2011 map “plainly and palpably violates the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” The ruling directs the GOP-controlled Legislature to redraw the map and submit it to Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, by Feb. 9 and the court for approval by Feb. 15. If lawmakers or the governor miss those deadlines, the court would draw its own map “based on the evidentiary record developed.”

Gerrymandering foes urged to apply pressure A new map would impact the candidates running in the May 18 because those district boundaries could change. Republicans have consistently won 13 of the state’s 20 congressional seats since the map went into effect in the 2012 election.

Democrats quickly took to Twitter to celebrate the victory. But it could be a short one.

[Sgt_Schultze]

This whole mess is a byproduct of civil rights rulings that require minority representation in congress. As districts are drawn to guarantee certain minority outcomes, the concentration of reliable democrat votes dilutes democrat representation in the remaining districts.