PRIMARY FOCUS
Fair Districts PA uses election to call for reform
Terry Marran was not standing outside the Ridge Fire Company to get votes.
She wasn’t there for any particular slate of candidates either.
Marran was there to educate voters on the many ways in which gerrymandering can affect elections.
She was one more than 400 volunteers from Fair Districts PA who manned more than 100 Pennsylvania polls on Tuesday working to educate voters about Redistricting Reform.
They also collected names of voters who believe that legislators need to pass legislation that will lead to the creation of the Independent Citizens Commission to draw state legislative and congressional maps.
The 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that forced a redrawing of Pennsylvania’s 18 Congressional district maps will expire in 2021 and the same Harrisburg legislative leaders whose district lines made Pennsylvania a national example of gerrymandering will once again be in charge unless a reform law is passed, according to Fair Districts PA.
The result of the Democratic-majority court’s redrawing of lines was that in last year’s elections, 18 seats from Pennsylvania split right down the middle, nine Republicans
and nine Democrats. That’s compared to the 2016 Congressional elections, which tilted red with 13 Republicans and five Democrats winning office under districts drawn by GOP state lawmakers.
Fair Districts is trying to build support for laws that would create a non-partisan citizens commission to draw the lines without consideration of political advantages for either party.
Right now, House Bill B 23 has 90 co-sponsors (75 Democratic and 15 Republican). That bill would create an independent citizen commission for Congressional Districts by statute, according to Ruth Yeiser, of the Fair Districts PA Polling Place Outreach Team.
House Bill 22 has 80 cosponsors (64 Democratic and 16 Republican). That bill extends the commission to state legislative districts and protects congressional independent citizens commission by constitutional amendment, said Yeiser.
“Across the state yesterday, volunteers collected more than 8,500 ‘signatures’ from
voters who support redistricting reform. That brings our total to more than 64,000 Pennsylvanians who have ‘signed our petition’ indicating their support of the creation of an independent citizens commission,” she wrote in an email.
“We were at polls of three Montco state house representatives who have not demonstrated any public support for redistricting reform in this session or in last session. Those reps include Rep. Marcy Toepel (R147th Dist.), Rep. Matt Bradford (D-70th Dist.) and Rep. Tim Hennessey (R-26th Dist.),” Yeiser wrote.
“Yesterday, we collected 347 additional signatures in District 147 bringing the total number of redistricting reform supporters in District 147 to nearly 1,500. In District 26, we collected (between Chester and Montgomery County) 459 signatures bringing our total for District 26 to 586 redistricting reform supporters. And in District 70, we collected just over 500 signatures bringing our total for District 70 to 873,” she wrote.
“I spoke to people wearing MAGA hats and military hats and Phillies hats. They all agreed — an independent
citizens commission for drawing our state legislative and congressional maps was a sensible and needed reform,” said Yeiser who worked polls in Lancaster and Lycoming counties.
“I’m furious at how politicians of both parties rig the system for unfair advantage, undermining our democracy. I got tired of feeling angry all the time,” said Rhana Cassidy of Malvern, who volunteered at the East Coventry polls.
“It was so encouraging to see how responsive people were when I approached them as they left the polling place. Many knew about gerrymandering and were quick to sign; some wanted more information, and many asked good questions,” said Marran, who came north from West Chester to work the polls. “Everyone was gracious and willing to engage. And the representatives of both parties greeted voters put in the long hours,” she said.
Nearly all of the 64 voters she spoke with between 1 and 5 p.m. “were very receptive. They all took the brochure and no one argued that the reform is not a good idea,” said Marran.