Fair Districts PA: Restoring voice of people

I am writing in response to a recent op-ed by Lowman Henry: “Un-Fair Districts PA and the hijacking of redistricting.”

He described his experience observing a Fair Districts PA volunteer at his polling place on Nov. 5. What he didn’t see was that over 400 Fair Districts PA volunteers collected over 12,000 petition signatures on that one day in rural, suburban and urban districts, in red, blue and very purple regions.

As Mr. Henry stated, the manipulation of district lines for personal or partisan benefit, a practice called gerrymandering, has been a scourge on US elections for years.

The name was coined in 1812 following Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry’s approval of a district looking like a salamander. What Mr. Henry failed to mention is that new mapping and data collection technologies have made those early gerrymanders look quaint compared to the recent surgically-precise districts drawn to control electoral outcomes.

While technology makes gerrymandering more and more toxic to democracy, new means of measurement make it more and more possible to compare distorted districts. By those new measurements, the PA congressional map drawn in 2011 was among the worst in the country. Its replacement, drawn by a court-appointed special master in 2018, still gives a slight advantage to Republicans but is far less gerrymandered than its predecessor.

Meanwhile, our state legislative districts continue to be among the worst in the nation, cracking most of our small cities, stradling mountains and rivers, forcing constituents to drive through other districts in efforts to reach their own legislators’ offices.

According to research done by Fair Vote and the Bipartisan Policy Center, Pennsylvania’s legislative agenda fairness index is zero. Leaders push through bills without public input, tell colleagues how to vote without explanation, play games with the legislative calendar in ways that defy logic. The story of the 2011 congressional map is one of manipulation, coercion and rampant self-interest.

Mr. Henry suggests “the ‘fair’ districts proposal would inject an element found in neither the U.S. nor Pennsylvania constitutions — political parties.” In reality, the current legislative commission is based entirely on party leadership. The majority and minority leaders of both houses are joined by a fifth commissioner, supposedly a neutral mediator, but in reality a partisan operative chosen by the majority of the PA Supreme Court. If Mr. Henry is alarmed at the court’s involvement in the 2018 congressional process, he might consider how that plays out in 2021, when the same court chooses the deciding vote for the drawing of state legislative districts.

Those who know the process well would be happy to explain how legislative leaders use the promise of safe districts to keep colleagues in line, to maintain control of the legislative agenda, and to reward sycophants who do as they’re told. They could also share stories of legislators “drawn off the map” for attempting to represent their communities. Accountable government is impossible when leaders barricade themselves against voters and guarantee their own and their cronies seniority by manipulating maps.

Recent polling by the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall University shows that voters across the state and political spectrum don’t like gerrymandering, don’t like the resultant distorted districts and don’t believe legislators should draw their own district maps. Two thirds of respondents, from all parts of the state, would like to see an independent citizens redistricting commission.

Gerrymandering is wrong no matter who does it. The bills supported by Fair Districts PA would provide for public input and a transparent, accountable process. They would put a mathematical limit on division of counties. And they would end the conflict of interest that allows legislative leaders to draw their own districts.

Mr. Henry suggests Fair Districts PA is attempting “a hijacking of the redistricting process to solidify the unconstitutional re-gerrymander of districts implemented by Pennsylvania’s rogue state Supreme Court in 2018.” The exact opposite is true. Unless the process changes, the PA Supreme Court will be selecting the final vote for state legislative districts drawn in 2021. We invite Mr. Henry to help us prevent that and to restore government of, by and for the people, rather than of, by and for partisan leaders of both sides.

Carol Kuniholm is chairwoman of Fair Districts PA.