Ask lawmakers to support citizen-based redistricting process

After months of meetings with voters across the Commonwealth, the Governor’s Redistricting Reform Commission released its report in August. The report details public response to the current legislative district map-making system and provides a structure for designing a reapportionment process that is transparent and fair to all Pennsylvanians.

According to the report, Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly do not trust the current reapportionment system whereby legislators draw their own maps to favor their elections in a process known as gerrymandering.

Instead, most people support the creation of a citizens’ commission that would craft Pennsylvania’s legislative boundaries. With public pressure from groups such as Fair Districts PA, impetus toward this goal was achieved last year in Senate Bill 22. However, gamesmanship by legislative leadership in Harrisburg doomed the effort.

Article II, Section 17, of Pennsylvania’s Constitution provides the framework for the Legislative Reapportionment Commission system in use today. Defenders of our current legislator-driven reapportionment system wrap themselves around the language in Section 17. However, Article II, Section 16, dictates that unless absolutely necessary “no county, city, incorporated town, borough, township, or ward shall be divided” in forming a legislative district.

The gross violation in both spirit and practice of Section 16 by legislators contributed significantly to the public outcry for reform. Pottstown is a victim of such legislative trickery. Residents of the 19464 Area Code reside in one of three different State House and two State Senate Districts! Pottstown’s own Ward 7 is split between the 146th and the 26th House Districts!

Public hearings in Harrisburg on producing a transparent, accountable reapportionment mechanism are scheduled Sept. 18 by the House State Government Committee. One of our local representatives, Joe Ciresi (D, 146th) sits on this committee.

I urge residents to contact Joe’s office and ask that he support a citizenbased redistricting process. Let’s finally take our legislators out of the business of drawing their own legislative maps.