Special election timing creates more confusion

The redistricting fallout in southeastern Pennsylvania is not the only election confusion plaguing voters.

As if the new Congressional boundaries aren’t confusing enough, Gov. Wolf has created more bewilderment.

The 7th District, as readers of this page are well aware, has been the poster child for the illogical congressional districts in the state.

But the controversy involving the incumbent congressman in that district, former state Rep. Pat Meehan, stems not from redistricting but from that other headline saga of 2017-18, sex harassment claims.

In January, the former Delaware County D.A. and U.S. Attorney announced he would not seek re-election after being ensnared in a controversy over his use of taxpayer funds to settle a sex harassment suit filed by a former campaign staffer.

At the time, Meehan said he would continue working and serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in January, 2019. That changed last Friday. Meehan announced he was resigning his seat immediately.

Under the state constitution, Gov. Tom Wolf had 10 days to announce a special election to fill Meehan’s seat.

Thursday he announced the special election would be held in conjunction with the general election on Nov. 6.

There are several problems with this, not the least of which is the fact that it means residents of the current 7th District will in essence be without representation in Congress until next January.

That’s on Meehan. If he had stepped down earlier, the election could have been aligned with the May 15 primary.

But waiting as long as he did took that possibility out of the equation.

The election cannot be held for 60 days after the governor makes his decision. There’s more. There is the cost of the special election.

By picking Nov. 6, Wolf at least mitigated some of the cost, since it will occur on the same day as the general election.

But then there is the confusion.

The 7th District as we know it is going away, but not before this special election.

The current 7th District stretches from Delaware County through five counties including parts of Montgomery, Chester, Berks and Lancaster.

Under new redistricting maps which go into effect for the May primary, voters in the current 7th will be in a new 4th, 5th or 6th district.

For example, on May 15 voters in Delaware County will go to the polls to select candidates to run in the November election for the new 5th District seat.

While Republicans have united behind Pearl Kim, a former county assistant district attorney and deputy state attorney general, there are 10 Democrats on the ballot. That’s down from 14.

But come November, voters actually will be casting ballots in two races, both the 7th and 5th.

We can assume that the winners of the Democratic and Republican Primary in the 5th District race will run in the special election for the 7th District race.

There’s more. The special election will be held according to the boundaries of the old 7th District, yes those same gnarled borders that just got tossed out.

That means that some people will not be able to vote in the 7th race but will be eligible to cast a ballot in the 5th.

Voters in Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties that were in the 7th will be allowed to vote in the special election, but not in the general election for the 5th. That’s because they are no longer included in the 5th.

And all of this will be done for someone who technically will only sit as the 7th District representative for two months.

In January the new districts go into effect. Confused? So are we. Just when we were beginning to get our heads around who votes for whom, we’re back in the fog.