Pennsylvania's congressional districts: Difference between revisions
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Map, District by District |publisher=New York Times |first1=Nat e|last1=Cohn |first2=Matthew |last2=Bloch |first3=Kevin |last3=Quealy</ref> |
Map, District by District |publisher=New York Times |first1=Nat e|last1=Cohn |first2=Matthew |last2=Bloch |first3=Kevin |last3=Quealy</ref> |
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Republican lawmakers from Pennsylvania requested that the Supreme Court block the implementation of the court-drawn map; however, on March 19, 2018, the United States Supreme Court denied their request.<ref>{{cite news|last1= |
Republican lawmakers from Pennsylvania requested that the Supreme Court block the implementation of the court-drawn map; however, on March 19, 2018, the United States Supreme Court denied their request.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lai|first1=Jonathan|last2=Navratil|first2=Liz|title=Supreme Court upholds new Pa. congressional district map, rejecting Republican challenge - Philly|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/state/pennsylvania-congressional-map-federal-lawsuit-dismissed-gerrymandering-20180319.html|work=Philly.com|date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> A parallel suit for an injunction against the implementation of the map was blocked by a Pennsylvania federal district court on the same day.<ref name=SuitsDismissed /> |
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==Historical district boundaries== |
==Historical district boundaries== |
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Revision as of 22:18, 7 May 2018
After the 2000 Census, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was divided into 19 Congressional Districts, decreasing from 21 due to reapportionment. After the 2010 Census, the number of districts decreased again to 18.
On January 22, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the Congressional Districts were an unlawful partisan gerrymander in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.[2] The General Assembly and governor failed to reach an agreement for a revised district map. Therefore, on February 19, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court released a new congressional map.[3] That map is estimated to have a partisan balance of 10 Republican-leaning and 8 Democratic-leaning seats.[4]
The court-mandated map is set to go into effect before the primary elections on May 15, 2018.[5] Republican lawmakers in the state asked for a stay from the United States Supreme Court[4] and brought suit in federal court, seeking an injunction against using the court-drawn map in the upcoming congressional elections.[6] Both attempts failed on March 19, 2018, following rulings by the Supreme Court and a Pennsylvania federal district court.[7]
Current districts and representatives
The congressional delegation from Pennsylvania consists of 18 members. In the current delegation, 11 representatives are Republicans, 6 are Democrats, with 1 vacancy (after Pat Meehan's resignation on April 27, 2018). [8]
The list below identifies the members of the Pennsylvanian United States House delegation, their terms, and their current district boundaries. Congressional district boundaries for the 2018 elections are also shown.
| District | Incumbent | District map (2018 Elections) | District map (Current) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representative | Party | Hometown | Beginning of service | |||
| 1st |  Bob Brady
|
Democratic | Philadelphia | May 19, 1998 | 
|
|
| 2nd | .jpg) Dwight Evans
|
Democratic | Philadelphia | November 14, 2016 | 
|
|
| 3rd |  Mike Kelly
|
Republican | Butler | January 3, 2011 | 
|
|
| 4th |  Scott Perry
|
Republican | Harrisburg | January 3, 2013 | 
|
|
| 5th | .jpg) Glenn Thompson
|
Republican | Oil City | January 3, 2009 | 
|
|
| 6th |  Ryan Costello
|
Republican | West Chester | January 3, 2015 | 
|
|
| 7th | VACANT | 
|
| |||
| 8th |  Brian Fitzpatrick
|
Republican | Levittown | January 3, 2017 | 
|
|
| 9th |  Bill Shuster
|
Republican | Altoona | May 15, 2001 | 
|
|
| 10th |  Tom Marino
|
Republican | Williamsport | January 3, 2011 | 
|
|
| 11th |  Lou Barletta
|
Republican | Hazleton | January 3, 2011 | 
|
|
| 12th |  Keith Rothfus
|
Republican | Sewickley | January 3, 2013 | 
|
|
| 13th |  Brendan Boyle
|
Democratic | Philadelphia | January 3, 2015 | 
|
|
| 14th |  Michael Doyle
|
Democratic | Pittsburgh | January 3, 1995 | 
|
|
| 15th |  Charlie Dent
|
Republican | Allentown | January 3, 2005 | 
|
|
| 16th |  Lloyd Smucker
|
Republican | West Lampeter Township | January 3, 2017 | 
|
|
| 17th |  Matthew Cartwright
|
Democratic | Moosic | January 3, 2013 | 
|
|
| 18th | _(cropped).jpg) Conor Lamb
|
Democratic | Mt. Lebanon | April 12, 2018 | 
|
|
2012 redistricting and gerrymandering challenge
Red – Republicans (13)
Blue – Democrats (5)
Following the 2010 Census, redistricting in Pennsylvania was controlled by elected officials from the Republican party. In 2012, Pennsylvania realigned a number of districts. A number of sitting Congressional Representatives had their districts modified or merged as part of the redistricting. The merger of Districts 4 and 12 forced a primary runoff between the two sitting Congressional representatives.[9]
The 2012 redistricting process resulted in a map that disproportionately favored Republican candidates. In the 2012 Congressional elections, Democratic candidates won 50.5% of the total votes cast.[10] However, only five of the state's 18 Federal Representatives (27.78%) were Democrats.[11]
On June 14, 2017, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit, alleging that the district boundaries constituted an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.[12] The case was eventually appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On January 22, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the Congressional Districts were unlawfully gerrymandered in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.[2] The court ordered the General Assembly and the governor to adopt a remedied map, to be used for the 2018 Congressional elections.[2] Pennsylvania Republicans requested a stay from the United States Supreme Court, to delay the drawing of new district boundaries; however, that request was denied on February 5, 2018.[13] The governor and General Assembly failed to reach an agreement regarding the district boundaries, thus the Pennsylvania Supreme Court drew its own remedial map.[14]
On February 19, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court released a new congressional map, to take effect for the May 15, 2018, primaries.[15] The Court voted to implement the new map by a 4–3 vote.[16] The map was designed with the assistance of Stanford University law professor Nathan Persily.[17] The districts in the Court's map were significantly more compact, and its map split fewer municipalities and counties than the prior Republican-drawn map.[18] While the GOP-drawn map had favored Republican candidates, the court-drawn map is expected not to favor one party over the other.[19]
Republican lawmakers from Pennsylvania requested that the Supreme Court block the implementation of the court-drawn map; however, on March 19, 2018, the United States Supreme Court denied their request.[20] A parallel suit for an injunction against the implementation of the map was blocked by a Pennsylvania federal district court on the same day.[7]
Historical district boundaries
-
Districts 2003–2013 -
Districts 2013–2019
See also
References
- ^ "The national atlas". nationalatlas.gov. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c The Associated Press. "Pa. Supreme Court rules state's congressional districts are unconstitutional". Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ Lai, Jonathan; Navratil, Liz (February 19, 2018). "Pa. gerrymandering case: State Supreme Court releases new congressional map for 2018 elections". Philadelphia Inquirer. 2018 Philadelphia Media Network (Digital), LLC. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Christopher Ingraham. "Pennsylvania Republicans lost the redistricting battle. Now, they're declaring war on the courts". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ Manchester, Julia. "Pennsylvania Supreme Court releases new congressional map". The Hill. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^ David DeKok. "Pennsylvania Republicans make case for scrapping new Congress map". Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ a b Joseph Ax (March 19, 2018). "Supreme Court upholds Pennsylvania congressional map in win for Democrats". Reuters.
- ^ https://meehan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-meehan-announces-resignation
- ^ "Pa's New Congressional Maps". www.politicspa.com.
- ^ Wang, Sam (December 5, 2015). "Opinion - Let Math Save Our Democracy" – via www.nytimes.com.
- ^ "2012 Pennsylvania House Election Results". Politico. Politico LLC. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
- ^ Marc Levy. "Pennsylvania's US House district borders challenged in court". The Morning Call. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
- ^ Mark Scolforo and Mark Sherman. "US Supreme Court Won't Block Pennsylvania Redistricting". Retrieved February 5, 2018.
- ^ John Finnerty. "Supreme Court will get to pick new map for state's congressional districts". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ Lozano, Alicia Victoria (February 19, 2018). "Pennsylvania Court Issues New Congressional Map". NBC 10: NBC Philadelphia. 2018 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^ Lai, Jonathan; Navratil, Liz (February 19, 2018). "Pa. gerrymandering case: State Supreme Court releases new congressional map for 2018 elections". Philadelphia Inquirer. 2018 Philadelphia Media Network (Digital), LLC. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ Previti, Emily; Meyer, Katie (February 19, 2018). "In Pennsylvania, New Court-Drawn Voting Map Could Shift Advantage To Democrats". National Public Radio. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
- ^ Ingraham, Christopher (February 20, 2018). "Pennsylvania Supreme Court draws 'much more competitive' district map to overturn Republican gerrymander". Washington Post. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
- ^ {{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/19/upshot/pennsylvania-new-house-districts-gerrymandering.html |title=The New Pennsylvania Congressional Map, District by District |publisher=New York Times |first1=Nat e|last1=Cohn |first2=Matthew |last2=Bloch |first3=Kevin |last3=Quealy
- ^ Lai, Jonathan; Navratil, Liz (March 19, 2018). "Supreme Court upholds new Pa. congressional district map, rejecting Republican challenge - Philly". Philly.com.