Philadelphia, PA- The Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced that it decided to upheld the LRC maps. The opinion of the Court was that the previously challenged congressional maps did not violate the PA Constitution and the US Constitution and decided that the new congressional maps will remain in place. This decision comes after the new maps were recently challenged that would have caused a delay in the upcoming election cycle. “I’m pleased with this ruling because not only were these maps fair, reasonable and supported in a bipartisan way, today’s decision means we can proceed with our election calendar and folks can begin preparation to run for office or learn who their potential representatives will be,” said Senate Democratic Leader and LRC member Jay Costa in a press release.
Not everyone is happy with the Court’s decision ““Today’s order reflects the Pennsylvania Supreme Court majority’s continued shift from a fair arbiter of fact and law to a rubber stamp for liberal special interests and left-wing partisan political positions.”said Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin. The maps have been a topic of tension within Pennsylvania politics with concerns that the new map was not going to reflect the reality in PA’s demographic and population. Another concern behind the maps has been the issue of “gerrymandering” which means the use of maps redistricting for political advantage not allowing a certain political party have a fair competitive position when elections happen.
Due to the slow growth in Pennsylvania’s population the state also lost a seat in the US Congress. “The Census Bureau announced Monday that Pennsylvania will lose one U.S House seat in 2022.” York Daily Record reported ““This is not a surprise,” said Kris Kanthak, a University of Pittsburgh political science professor. “We’re older. We’re not getting quite as many people coming in.”. These changes have been reflected in a national level and a state level. Representative Andrew Lewis (105th Legislative District) announced today in a press release that he will not be seeking re-election due to the changes in the Pennsylvania congressional map “Because of changes with the legislative districts, I do not intend to seek re-election to my seat. The changes implemented by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission are detrimental to my community and the ones surrounding it,” Lewis said. “I’m not concerned about my own future, but I am mindful that my friends and neighbors are having their voice diluted in the House.”
Author: Amaury Abreu
