gerrymander: to divide or arrange (a territorial unit) into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage — Merriam-Webster

Here at Sister District Project MA-RI, we [heart] Pennsylvania. The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Philly Cheesesteak — what’s not to love?
Well, here’s something: gerrymandering. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, Pennsylvania is one of the top three worst-gerrymandered states in the country (North Carolina is number one).

As in all US states, current Pennsylvania district maps stem from 2010, the year of the most recent US Census (after every decennial Census, states use that data to redraw their maps, or “redistrict.” And yes, the next Census is happening next month!). 2010 was a bad election year for Dems in Pennsylvania: the GOP ended up with trifecta control over the State House, Senate, and Governorship, and as a result, the party gained control over the drawing of Congressional and state legislative district maps that would stand for the next ten years.

Creative Cartography

GOP mapmakers’ genius at “packing” (concentrating as many opposition supporters into as few districts as possible) and “cracking” (diluting the opposition’s votes by spreading members among several districts) led to election results like those of 2018, when 54 percent of Pennsylvania voters chose a Democrat as their State House Representative — yet the GOP, despite winning only 45 percent of votes, maintained control of the House.
Visually, the gerrymandering generated some of the most fantastical, blatantly contorted district lines ever to grace a map. Behold the 7th Congressional District, aka “Goofy Kicking Donald Duck:”

What would (Republican) Disney say?

Coincidentally, a Republican State Representative from the district — Steve Barrar, a 12-term incumbent who voted twice for the gerrymandered map — was almost unseated in 2018 by SDP MA-RI candidate Anton Andrew, who came within an astonishing 900 votes of victory. Barrar will be retiring in November 2020, and Andrew is running again for the seat. Stay tuned.

So how, exactly, are Pennsylvania state maps drawn?

PA Federal Congressional District Lines

… are generated via regular legislative process: a bill is passed by the State House and Senate, and signed by the Governor (or not signed, if the Governor exercises veto power). Unlike state legislative district maps, which (are supposed to) ensure fairness by adhering to certain rules about population distribution, Congressional maps have no limiting criteria. If one party has a trifecta, only a lawsuit can stop it from drawing whatever gerrymandered lines it wants.
Or… several lawsuits. In 2018, the State Supreme Court struck down the state’s GOP-created, 28-county Congressional map as unconstitutional and redrew a fairer map comprising just 13 counties. The GOP proceeded to file suit (dismissed), request a stay by SCOTUS (rejected), and propose impeachment for the Democratic judges involved (abandoned). We’ll see if they’ve got other tricks up their collective sleeve.
“An election corrupted by extensive, sophisticated gerrymandering and partisan dilution of votes is not ‘free and equal.’” — PA State Supreme Court, 2018

PA State District Lines

… are drawn by a five-member Legislative Reapportionment Commission comprising the Majority and Minority Leaders of the State House and Senate, plus a Chair selected by the other four. If, as frequently happens, the four can’t agree, the state Supreme Court appoints the Chair, currently a Republican. (Reminder: PA voters elect their state Supreme Court Justices, who run for election in partisan (party-affiliated) elections. Pennsylvanians, take note.)
Here’s the thing about the Legislative Reapportionment Commission: it’s beholden to no one. The state legislature doesn’t vote on, nor does the Governor retain veto power over, the Commission’s redistricting propositions. I don’t know about you, but the prospect of House and Senate incumbent leaders wielding complete control over drawing their own districts — especially in a state with such a history of relentless gerrymandering — gives me the willies no matter which party’s in charge.

It Ain’t Pretty

According to Dr. Carol Kuniholm, co-Founder & Chair of redistricting-reform group Fair Districts PA, gerrymandering has had devastating consequences for Pennsylvania citizens. Only 7 percent of bills, even those with strong public support, she says, make it out of state legislature. Eighteen cities in the state suffer from lead exposure worse than that of Flint, MI, yet not a single bill introduced to address this childhood scourge has made it to a vote. School funding across the state is the most inequitable in the country.

A Solution: “Two Bills, One Commission”

Fair Districts PA has maintained pressure on politicians to create a “two bill, one commission” solution, and the pressure may be paying off. HB23 and SB1023, both co-sponsored by bipartisan pairs of legislators, would create an 11-member Independent Redistricting Commission comprising four GOP citizens, four Democrats, and three unaffiliated with either party. The Commission would have authority to redraw federal Congressional maps, and would be required to do so in an independent and transparent manner. If the bills pass, the Democratic Governor can sign them into law.

The fight to reform state legislative redistricting faces a longer slog. HB22 and SB1022 would authorize creation of a Commission to redraw state legislative lines, but would require a constitutional amendment, not simply a legislative vote and a gubernatorial signature. In order to have the Commission in place in time for 2021 state legislative redistricting, legislators need to work fast: per state law, the bills must pass this legislative session by June 30, then pass the next session in early 2021, in order for a ballot referendum to be presented to voters in May 2021.

Amazingly, these reformist bills may yet stand a chance of success, because after ten years of unconstitutional maps and obstructionist litigation, voters of both parties are fed up with their state’s redistricting practices. According to Fair Districts PA, “once a fair-districts policy gets to voters, they tend to approve it by huge margins,” and sure enough, in a recent poll by Franklin and Marshall College’s Center for Opinion Research, two-thirds of surveyed registered voters favored an independent redistricting commission. This includes 63 percent of surveyed Republicans — too many, one hopes, for the GOP to ignore.

Another sign of hope: blue momentum. In 2018, SDP MA-RI played a role in the blue wave that dissolved the state’s GOP supermajority, flipping a dozen State House seats (hello, SDP MA-RI candidate Melissa Shusterman!). In 2019, we helped propel Pam Iovino to the State Senate in a special election. And now, it’s all hands on deck to help SDP’s first 2020 candidate, union man Harold Hayes, flip a House seat. His special election is March 17 — not a moment to lose!

State Elections Matter

We’ll see how many GOP state legislators heed their voters’ pleas for an Independent Redistricting Commission. As things stand now, Pennsylvanians have a Democratic Governor, thank goodness, but Dems still need to flip at least one legislative chamber if they want a voice in the redistricting process. Democrats need to win only four seats to flip the Pennsylvania State Senate, and nine seats to flip the State House. Every principled, humane legislative candidate running this year represents a potential break on the stranglehold of gerrymandering, which is why Hayes’ race is so important — and why voter turnout is so key.
It will be up to voters in November to make this happen — to elect state legislators who will determine not only how state maps are drawn for the next ten years, but who will draw them. Will voters allow partisan lawmakers to remain in power and continue to enforce some of the worst gerrymandering in the country? Or will enough voters come out to elect ethical legislators who will champion the creation of an independent, fair Commission (as well as a host of other presumably progressive initiatives)?

The state’s motto is “Virtue, Liberty, and Independence.” Let’s help progressive Pennsylvania candidates make it so.

Originally published by Juliet Eastland on Medium