The Democratic-controlled court stated the gerrymandered districts drawn by Republicans in 2011 unconstitutionally put partisan interests above such criteria as keeping districts compact and respecting municipal and county boundaries.
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The state’s Republican leaders filed an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday, but the court is not required to hear it.
“Justice (Samuel) Alito denied any attempt to stay the Pennsylvania Supreme Court”, McKenzie stresses.
“Our concerns stem from the attack on the [U.S.] Constitution initiated by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court – not the design of a map”, state Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R., Centre) said in a statement.
Elections that have no choices don’t attract as many voters as elections that do.
“At all stages, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court set this case on a path whereby only it would draw Pennsylvania’s new congressional districts-a task delegated to the “Legislature”-in violation of the Elections Clause”, they wrote”.
A spokesman for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, responding to the lawmakers’ filing, said Wolf was “focused on making sure the Department of State is fully complying with the court’s order by updating their systems and assisting candidates, county election officials and voters prepare for the primary election”. The new court-drawn map is expected to upend that tilt.
If the organizations file a lawsuit, they will join several others in challenging the map.
In a rare visit to Harrisburg, Republican US Senator Pat Toomey made clear his strong opposition to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to redraw the state’s congressional maps. These Republicans continue to cheat, trying to preserve their gerrymandered legislative maps.
With no map meeting the approval of all interested parties, the state Supreme Court released its own version on Monday.
After the 2011 redistricting, they had 12.
GOP leaders have said the lack of guidance is the reason they didn’t start drawing a map in earnest until 48 hours before it was due – a decision that left them no time to get a vote from the Legislature.
Republican congressman Chris Costello, who is facing a very real possibility of losing his seat as a result of the redistricting, called the court’s independent redistricting plan “politically corrupt”.
The effects of gerrymandering also are evident in SC, where the Statehouse and congressional districts are typically created to be self-serving to one political party or the other.
Houlahan and her fellow Pennsylvania Democrats may be rejoicing, but the Republicans won’t go down without a fight – they are already threatening to challenge the map in federal court.
Joining in on this newest challenge are Republican U.S. Reps. “I am also concerned for the communities that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ripped apart in its handiwork”.
They’ve found grist for that argument from the fact that the 5-2 majority finding the 2011 map unconstitutional was consisted completely of justices elected to the court on the Democratic Party ticket.
Indeed, had the court simply gone with a “partisan-blind” remedial map, it would be tough to raise a principled objection.
The map removes the heart of one district from Philadelphia, where a crowd of candidates had assembled to replace the retiring Democratic Rep.
Plus, McDonald noted, the court map was drawn by Stanford University law professor Nathaniel Persily, who has helped courts draw maps in multiple states and is widely regarded as fair and expert.
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“They’re basically throwing everything against the wall and hoping it’ll stick somewhere” Hasen said.
