HARRISBURG, PA. (Erie News Now) – Every ten years, Pennsylvania redraws it’s congressional and state voting districts to reflect population changes from the census in a process known as redistricting.
The General Assembly is tasked with passing a map containing new boundaries for congressional voting districts.
The Governor has the final say, and can either approve or veto the map. However, the deadline is quickly approaching.
Pennsylvania will lose a congressional seat in Washington this year as the result of the 2020 Census.
The commonwealth will have 17 instead of 18 representatives in the House.
The pressure is on for Pennsylvania lawmakers to vote and approve a new map because the current one does not account for the loss of the congressional seat.
This week the PA house is considering amendments to a preliminary congressional map, and a final vote is expected. The map was approved by the house State Government Committee in December along party lines.
Shortly after committee approval, Gov. Wolf expressed his concerns with the map.
If Gov. Wolf and the Republican controlled General Assembly cannot reach an agreement before the late January deadline, it is possible the state Supreme Court may have to get involved. And with the spring primary just around the corner, time is of the essence.
Pennsylvania house and senate maps are approved through a separate process controlled by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission.
It’s a five-member panel which consists of party leaders from both the house and senate, and a non-partisan chair.
Leave a Reply