Fair Districts PA hosts gerrymandering reform forum at Boyertown Library

A presentation on “Making Your Vote Count - Redistricting Reform,” will be made at the Boyertown Community Library, 24 N. Reading Ave., Boyertown on Wednesday, March 4, at 6:45 p.m. by Fair Districts PA – Berks and Montgomery County leaders.

Sally Trump and Rich Rafferty, the Fair Districts PA – Leads for Berks and Montgomery counties, will explain why gerrymandering reform is critically needed in Pennsylvania. They will also explain why the participation of a motivated citizenry across Pennsylvania is urgently needed in 2020 to change how our Congressional and state legislative maps are drawn.

“It’s important to remember that the 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that forced a redrawing of our 18 Congressional district maps will expire in 2021 and the same Harrisburg legislative leaders will then proceed under the old backroom rules, resulting in another 10-year cycle of gerrymandered Congressional and state legislative maps,” Rafferty said. “We need reform legislation to be adopted in 2020.”

Berks County, with a population of 418,000, should have seven state representatives with election districts completely inside the county. Instead, the 2011 gerrymandered district maps Berks nine state representative districts, of which five are split across adjoining counties. Likewise, Berks should have one or two state senate districts within its borders; instead, Berks has four senate districts, three of which are split across adjoining counties.

Montgomery County, with a population of 826,075 residents, should have 13 state representatives with election districts completely inside the county. Instead, the 2011 gerrymandered district maps gave us 18 state representative districts, of which six state representatives partially represent Montgomery County and an adjoining county such as Berks, Delaware or Chester. Likewise, all six Montgomery County Senators also represent another part of adjoining counties.

“By any measure, Pennsylvania is among the most severely gerrymandered states in the nation,” said Carol Kuniholm, the cofounder and chair of Fair

Districts PA. “This means diminished choice for all voters. Our distorted districts yield a less accountable government that is unable to enact policy solutions or accomplish even the minimum requirement of the job — to agree on a reasonable budget.”

Fair Districts-PA endorses redistricting reform legislation that puts redistricting control in the hands of an Independent Citizens Commission, operating transparently and with a minimum of personal voter data. The group’s reform legislation has garnered a near-majority of state representatives support during the current 2019-20 legislative session but appears blocked by leaders of both parties.

All are welcome to attend this education event to understand the problem, the proposed solutions and how every citizen can help end gerrymandering in Pennsylvania.

Area Pennsylvania legislators have also been invited to attend.

Fair Districts PA is a nonpartisan, statewide coalition of individuals and organizations that believes that free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. Its mission is to ensure that the redistricting process in Pennsylvania is fair and transparent.

For more information, go to www.FairDistrictsPA.com and Fair Districts PA – Montgomery County on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fdpamontco/