From Fair Districts PA (http://www.fairdistrictspa.com):
You are encouraged to review the draft Congressional map released by the House State Government Committee (HSGC). Then submit comments about your area before Monday morning. Be specific about what you think does or doesn’t make sense and keep comments non-partisan.
The HSGC Congressional plan will be given a vote in committee on Monday, December 13, but not finalized or given a final vote until sometime in early January. Remember the congressional map is passed like a regular bill and will require passage in the House, Senate and the Governor’s signature.
Literally thousands of people offered input that was incorporated into the Draw the Lines Citizens’ Map presented to the HSGC. A myriad of people testified at hearings across the Commonwealth, and many people submitted alternative maps to the HSGC. It does not appear the preliminary map includes any of this input. It also seems to prioritize just one of the many redistricting criteria embedded in federal law or legal precedent – zero population deviation. It does less well on the others.
REVIEW DRAFT MAP FROM THE HSGC
This map is on the portal used by the committee to field public comment. However, it may be easier to evaluate the map in publicly available platforms like Dave’s Redistricting App.
SUBMIT COMMENTS
Submit Comments here, at MyDistricting. Look to the upper right to see a button “Add Comment”, click on it and a new window or pop-up window will appear.
IN CONCLUSION…
We are entering the final phase of the redistricting cycle and things are going to get busy! Be on the lookout for additional information from FDPA. We anticipate:
The Legislative Reapportionment Commission (LRC) will release the preliminary maps for the House and Senate in the near future.
The Senate State Government Committee will release what they are calling a bi-partisan Congressional map that the Majority and Minority Chairs have agreed to.
In the meantime, please review the draft Congressional map released by the HSGC and submit your observations, comments and suggestions.
Best wishes for a safe, happy and healthy holiday season!
PS: check the News & Update section for updates
PSS: Here are some tips to navigate Dave’s Redistricting App
- You can zoom in on sections of a map. The more you zoom in, the more details appear. On the left of the screen there are viewing options.
- DISTRICTS: you can look at map colors or partisan lean indicated by red or blue and dark or light.
- OVERLAYS: you can turn off and on different boundary lines (district, precinct, county, etc., with or without labels) to help you focus on what is important to you.
- OPACITY: This slider will make the map colors more or less vibrant.
- Hover over any part of the map and more detailed precinct information will be displayed on the right side of the screen.
- Hover over the upper right icon (looks like a spreadsheet – SHOW DISTRICT STATISTICS) and select and you can see details on every district. This includes partisan lean and majority-minority statistics.
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