From Fair Districts PA (http://www.fairdistrictspa.com):
This graphic from a recent Washington Post article confirmed what we’ve been seeing: by every indicator, our state legislature is one of the most unresponsive in the country. That’s because leaders can barricade themselves and their cronies against the will of the voters. Last November, the distance between votes cast and seats won was the most severe in the nation, 50% worse than the next two most gerrymandered states.
Two bills, one commission:
As you know, enacting a constitutional amendment requires that a bill be passed in consecutive two-year sessions followed by a voter referendum. That means the earliest date that voters could approve a new legislative redistricting commission would be at the May Primary Election in 2021, too late to begin the process of selecting and training a commission in time to have new maps in place for the 2022 election.
We’ve heard suggestions that we give up on our hope for an independent commission for legislative redistricting, but we continue to gather evidence confirming the tight connection between the current process, incumbent protection and unfair procedural rules that shut down collaborative policy-making and real solutions for the people of Pennsylvania. We believe reform of the legislative process is essential to real representation in our commonwealth.
As we discussed at our December 1 town hall, we’ve been working on a two bill one commission solution. We’ve shared draft language with any coalition members expressing interest and have incorporated good feedback from allies and national experts.
This week, Representatives Murt and Stevenson will begin circulating cosponsor memos for the two-bill package of HB 22 and HB 23. These bills address the timing problem by having the General Assembly enact HB 23 during the 2019-20 session to create an independent commission for congressional districts. HB 22 would be passed in both the 2019-20 and early in the 2021-22 legislative sessions. By the time voters were able to approve it in a referendum in May 2021, the new congressional redistricting commission would already be in place and ready to take over the legislative redistricting process as well.
The bills contain similar provisions relating to the makeup of an independent redistricting commission and its duties. Both bills also specify the same criteria for how congressional and legislative districts must be drawn. HB 23 incorporates more implementing detail, which is more appropriate in the election code than in a constitutional amendment.
Both bills reflect the work done on bills in the past session, incorporating some key changes suggested by legislators and advocates over the past two years. One major change is to introduce an elimination vote as the failsafe for a deadlocked commission. You can find more detail in our recent update here.
Is it possible?
We are starting this session in a far stronger place than was the case in 2017, with far more public attention and a much stronger, determined coalition. With your help we’ve held over 620 public meetings and planted over 50 local groups, all talking with their own representatives and writing letters to their local papers. Local governments covering more than 50% of the state population have passed resolutions in support of an independent commission for both congressional and legislative districts. Conversations are underway in both houses, in all four caucuses, about this needed reform and the best way to move it forward.
What’s happening in the Senate?
Senators Boscola and Folmer are planning to reintroduce Senate Bill 22, as amended by Senator Folmer’s omnibus amendment, before the Aument judicial amendment was added. We’ve made clear we won’t support the bill in that form, both because we believe the timing wouldn’t work but also because some of the provisions were of such concern to some of our partners and supporters. Both senators are considering changes we’ve suggested. We’ll continue conversation but for now won’t support proposed SB 22.
What about other initiatives?
The governor’s commission will certainly focus further attention on redistricting. While Republican leaders refuse to participate, their message seems to be “we are already working on this.” There’s some incentive there for real solutions to move quickly, rather than wait on a commission report. We’ll be doing our best to advocate for strong legislative solutions while encouraging strong participation in commission meetings and listening with interest to commission conclusions.
We also know that both major parties have reframed their messaging on this issue. When we began, the Republican Party was talking about REDMAP 2020. That plan appears to have been replaced by the National Republican Redistricting Trust. Pennsylvania will continue as a top target: as their website makes clear “Republicans . . . know that in states like Pennsylvania — as well as Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin — having your party in the majority means you can have a major impact in redrawing voting maps after the 2020 Census.”
The initial Democratic alternative, Advantage 2020, also appears to have vanished. Instead, the National Democratic Redistricting Commission will be funneling millions into efforts to control the outcome in reform, elections, litigation and grassroots energy. Pennsylvania will be a priority state, with money targeting state House and Senate races.
The redistricting “space” will be increasingly loud, increasingly confused, and increasingly pulled in conflicting directions by undisclosed dollars and partisan agendas.
Our goal will be to stand firm for the guiding principles we all agreed to when when we joined the Fair Districts PA coalition: a fair, transparent, independent process for both Congressional and legislative redistricting.
Thank you for your continued help in this. Thank you for co-hosting meetings, sharing calls to action, inviting our speakers to share our vision at your conferences and conventions. We now know far more about how broken our state government is, but we also know more about possible solutions. Together, we have the resources to make those solutions happen.
The work we do in the months ahead could reshape Pennsylvania for decades to come. We are committed to doing all we can to ensure that all our votes count, and to reclaim our democracy on behalf of our communities and the common good.
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