Retain judicial elections
Gerrymandering is the system where politicians pick their constituents instead of the other way around. Used widely over the years by both political parties when they are in power, gerrymandering has been criticized by many for subverting democracy. Instead of drawing fair districts, the districts are drawn to suit the re-election needs of politicians.
And now instead of being confined to the drawing of districts for the state Legislature and U.S. Congress, Pennsylvania’s Republican lawmakers want to see the practice extended to the state’s judiciary.
The state Senate recently voted 2624 for a constitutional amendment to have statewide justices such as those on the Supreme Court, Superior Court and Commonwealth Court run in geographical districts where candidates must live for at least one year.
Currently, the justices run in statewide elections. The proposal divides the state into 31 judicial districts: seven Supreme Court districts, nine Commonwealth Court districts, and 15 Superior Court districts.
The state House of Representatives had already approved the move. For the amendment to become law, both chambers must approve it again next year. Then, it must be approved by voters in a referendum, which could come as early as next spring.
The bills were opposed by every Democrat in both chambers, as well as a few Republicans.
Some proponents of the bill claim that it would help rural parts of the state that aren’t represented on judicial issues because most of the appellate court judges come from Allegheny and Philadelphia counties.
However, that begs the question of how the Pennsylvania Constitution can be interpreted in such a way. Aren’t all Pennsylvania residents subject to the same laws? There is no distinction between urban and rural areas in any of the state’s statutes.
What’s really behind the bill is a desire to get more Republicans on the bench. Currently, there are five Democrats and two Republicans on the state Supreme Court.
The drive to create judicial districts, along with calls from Republicans to impeach Democrats on Pennsylvania’s high court, arose in 2018 after the court struck down Republican-drawn congressional districts as unconstitutionally gerrymandered.
Republicans have been further angered by recent court rulings that stymied their attempts to rein in Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s responses to the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s noteworthy that Republicans made no such calls for regional courts when they made up the majority on the state Supreme Court from 2002 until 2015.
Changing the state constitution at the whim of the party in power is bad government in every way.
This bill can’t be allowed to become law. If legislators won’t vote it down, then voters across Pennsylvania must stand up and reject this bill.