Saturday, September 10, 2022

Redistricting

As is the case with the federal House of Representatives, all seats in the Pennsylvania House (203 of them in the case of the Commonwealth) are up for election every two years. In addition to that, on February 4, 2022, the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted 4-1 to approve new state House and Senate maps, which will be in effect for our upcoming 2022 legislative elections. Factoring in census data reveals that as of the 2020 Census, Pennsylvania state representatives represented an average of 64,052 residents, an increase from the 2010 Census, after which each member represented 62,573 resident  Thankfully, the Pennsylvania Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and compact, and that they keep in mind county, city, incorporated town, borough, township and ward boundaries. Such a requirement greatly reduces the possibility of the kind of gerrymandering that has happened at the Federal level.

Pennsylvania holds elections for its lower legislative chamber only in even-numbered years. So, on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, all 203 seats in our state House will be up for grabs. Even without the recent redistricting, that number of choices can seem intimidating. GOTV guesses that you, like us, may not be sure of the legislative district that represents you. (GOTV's changed after a move from western to eastern Delaware County.) But wait – no worries.

While intimidating in its reliance on legal-speak, GOTV considers the document cited below to be the most thorough resource available regarding state legislative districts in PA. For example, consulting it allowed us to determine that the move from western to eastern Delaware County:

  • had not put us into an environment of split jurisdictions, be they borough, county, or township

  • confirmed that all of Delaware County now occupies District 5

If you can take it in stages, in order to avoid your eyes glazing over, read the reapportionment plan ; look for the caption Carter Plan via PA Supreme Court (Feb. 23, 2022). You'll get significant insight into the nuts and bolts of politics.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Mickie would enjoy hearing from you; email her at:
petrovskymichele@gmail.com

Pot, Meet Kettle

On Thursday, a member of the so-called Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives claimed that Nancy Pelosi, not the FC, were diddling w...