PA Supreme Court Rejects Gerrymandered Map
By Sophia Qureshi
The Progressive Teen Staff Writer
In late January, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared the current electoral map to be unconstitutional on the grounds that it is drawn to favor GOP candidates. Furthermore, the court ordered that the map’s eighteen districts be redrawn by February 9 of this year. The 4–3 decision aims to have the new boundaries set by May’s congressional primaries, with GoveToWolf having the ability to veto unsatisfactory maps.
For Pennsylvania Democrats, who are in what political scientists call one of the most gerrymandered states, the ruling is comes just in time for midterm elections. Gerrymandering — named after former Massachusetts governor and fifth vice president Elbridge Gerry’s salamander-shaped district — is when a political party manipulates electoral maps to bolster itself. While voters were nearly evenly divided over President Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Republicans easily controlled thirteen out of eighteen districts. The disparity in voter composition and district control highlights the true severity of the state’s partisan electoral map. Since 2010, Democrats have failed to have significant success as a result of the boundaries. The redrawing could afford Democrats three more seats, giving them control over the House of Representatives.
Surprisingly, Pennsylvania’s push towards redistricting has involved bipartisan efforts. One such example is Fair Districts PA, a citizen-led, nonpartisan group which strives for impartial, transparent drawings of the state’s electoral maps by an independent, citizen-led commision after the 2020 census. Its efforts have culminated in the introduction PA Senate Bill 22 and PA House Bill 722. However, these bills have yet to pass.
Opposition to redistricting is evident, with an outcry from Pennsylvania Republicans after the decision. Among them, Pennsylvania Senate President pro tempore Joseph Scarnati said that he will not comply with the court’s order. His justification for violating the court is that the ruling is simply a reinforcement of partisanship, as the PA Supreme Court currently has a five Democratic justices to 2 Republican. Moreover, they plan to contest the case in the SCOTUS.
It is unlikely that the case will make it very far. The Pennsylvania order is based on the fact the current maps violate the state constitution, so the federal government does not have a say in the matter. Given these circumstances, it is unlikely that the SCOTUS would break precedent and rule in favor of disgruntled Republicans. The fact that the ruling was made by a state court should help to further its durability.
The Pennsylvania decision is another falling domino in the line of gerrymandered electoral maps that have been knocked down by various courts. In early January, a federal court struck down North Carolina’s electoral maps on the same grounds as Pennsylvania’s. Initially, the U.S. Supreme Court gave just two and a half weeks for the GOP-favoring districts to be redrawn, although that timeline has been put on hold until the 2018 midterm elections in November. In October of 2017, the SCOTUS heard a case on Wisconsin’s GOP-drawn map and is expected to rule by summer of 2018. Another case on Maryland’s Democrat-drawn maps is expected to be heard later this year as well. Ultimately, the democracy-impeding practice of gerrymandering may be significantly curtailed within the year.
