Anti-Gerrymandering Meeting Set for March 4

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Fair Districts PA
A presentation on "Making Your Vote Count -- Redistricting Reform," will be made at the Boyertown Community Library. 24 N. Reading Ave. on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 6:45 p.m. by Fair Districts PA – Berks and Montgomery County leaders.

Sally Trump and Rich Rafferty, the Fair Districts PA – Leads for Berks and Montgomery counties, will explain why gerrymandering reform is critically needed in Pennsylvania. They will also explain why the participation of a motivated citizenry across Pennsylvania is urgently needed in 2020 to change how our Congressional and state legislative maps are drawn.

“It’s important to remember”, Rafferty said, “that the 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that forced a redrawing of our 18 Congressional district maps will expire in 2021 and the same Harrisburg legislative leaders will then proceed under the old backroom rules, resulting in another 10-year cycle of gerrymandered Congressional and state legislative maps. We need reform legislation to be adopted in 2020.”

American politicians have practiced gerrymandering, the intentional manipulation of election district lines to protect incumbents and secure partisan advantage, for more than 200 years. In a profound distortion of the Democratic process, recent advances in mapping technology and voter data collection have made it possible for those who draw district lines in Pennsylvania to capture voting districts and control election results well before a single vote has been cast.

Politicians have been selecting their voters through mapmaking rather than voters choosing their political leaders at elections.

Berks County, with a population of 418,000, should have 7 state representatives with election districts completely inside the county. Instead, the 2011 gerrymandered district maps gave us nine state representative districts, of which five are split across adjoining counties.

Likewise, Berks should have one or two state senate districts within its borders; instead, Berks has four senate districts, three of which are split across adjoining counties.

Montgomery County, with a population of 826,075 residents, should have 13 state representatives with election districts completely inside the county. Instead, the 2011 gerrymandered district maps gave us 18 state representative districts, of which six state representatives partially represent Montgomery County and an adjoining county such as Berks, Delaware or Chester. Likewise, all six Montgomery County Senators also represent another part of adjoining counties.

The interests of Berks and Montgomery County residents cannot be adequately protected in Harrisburg when elected officials have divided county loyalties.

Carol Kuniholm, the co-founder and chair of Fair Districts PA, said, “by any measure, Pennsylvania is among the most severely gerrymandered states in the nation. This means diminished choice for all voters. Our distorted districts yield a less accountable government that is unable to enact policy solutions or accomplish even the minimum requirement of the job -- to agree on a reasonable budget.”

Fair Districts-PA endorses redistricting reform legislation that puts redistricting control in the hands of an Independent Citizens Commission, operating transparently and with a minimum of personal voter data. Our reform legislation has garnered a near-majority of state representatives support during the current 2019-20 legislative session – but appears blocked by leaders of both parties.

Time is short! All are welcome to attend this education event to understand the problem, the proposed solutions and how every citizen can help end gerrymandering in Pennsylvania.

Area Pennsylvania legislators have also been invited to attend.

The telephone number is 610-369-0496.

Boyertown Library to Host Talk on the Need for Action on Election District Gerrymandering Reform

This is the winning map of Drexel Hill's Philip Hensley in the first Draw the Lines PA competition sponsored by the Committee of Seventy.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Fair Districts PA.

A presentation on "Making Your Vote Count - Redistricting Reform," will be made at the Boyertown Community Library. 24 N. Reading Avenue, Boyertown on Monday, March 4, at 7 p.m. by a Fair Districts PA - Montgomery County leader.

Rich Rafferty

Rich Rafferty, the Fair Districts PA – Montgomery County lead, will explain why gerrymandering reform is critically needed in Pennsylvania. He will also explain why the participation of a motivated citizenry across Pennsylvania is urgently needed in 2019 to change how our Congressional and state legislative maps are drawn.

“It’s important to remember,” Rafferty said, “that the 2018 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that forced a redrawing of our 18 Congressional district maps will expire in 2021 and the same Harrisburg legislative leaders will then proceed under the old backroom rules, resulting in another 10-year cycle of gerrymandered Congressional and state legislative maps. We need reform legislation to be adopted in 2019.”

American politicians have practiced gerrymandering, the intentional manipulation of election district lines to protect incumbents and secure partisan advantage, for more than 200 years. In a profound distortion of the Democratic process, recent advances in mapping technology and voter data collection have made it possible for those who draw district lines in Pennsylvania to capture voting districts and control election results well before a single vote has been cast.

Gerrymandering made PA a national laughing stock with the former
7th District mocked by many as "Goofy Kicking Donald Duck."
I always thought it looked more like the Bullwinkle District (below).

Politicians have been selecting their voters through mapmaking rather than voters choosing their political leaders at elections.

Berks County, with a population of 417,000, should have seven state representatives with election districts completely inside the county. Instead, the gerrymandered, 2011 district maps gave the county nine state representative districts, of which five are split across adjoining counties.

Likewise, Berks should have one to two state Senate districts within its borders; instead, Berks County has four Senate districts, three of which are split across adjoining counties.

Montgomery County, with a population of 826,075 residents, should have 13 state representatives
with election districts completely inside the county.

Instead, the gerrymandered, 2011 district maps gave Montgomery County 18 state representative districts, of which six state representatives partially represent Montgomery County and an adjoining county such as Berks, Delaware or Chester. Likewise, all six Montgomery County Senators also represent another part of adjoining counties.

For example, part of Pottstown is represented to state Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-26th Dist., and all of the rest of his district is in Chester

How the 7th evolved into a joke through Gerrymandering.

County.

The interests of Berks and Montgomery County residents cannot be adequately protected in Harrisburg when elected officials have divided county loyalties.

Carol Kuniholm, the co-founder and chair of Fair Districts PA, said, “by any measure, Pennsylvania is among the most severely gerrymandered states in the nation. This means diminished choice for all voters. Our distorted districts yield a less accountable government that is unable to enact policy solutions or accomplish even the minimum requirement of the job -- to agree on a reasonable budget.”

How Gerrymandering skews election results.

Fair Districts-PA endorses redistricting reform legislation that puts redistricting control in the hands of an Independent Citizens Commission, operating transparently and with a minimum of personal voter data.

Its reform legislation, which secured bipartisan majority support during the 2017-2018 Harrisburg legislative session, was blocked by those few legislative leaders. Fair Districts-PA is back advocating for legislation that must pass during the 2019-2020 session.

Time is short! All are welcome to attend this education event to understand the problem, the proposed solutions and how every citizen can help end gerrymandering in Pennsylvania.

Area Pennsylvania legislators have also been invited to attend.

The Boyertown Library is located at 24 N. Reading Avenue, Boyertown, PA. The telephone number is 610-369-0496.

Click here to read Wednesday's Mercury editorial on the subject of gerrymandering.

West Pottsgrove Board Votes for Fair Districts

Photo by Evan Brandt

Chuck and Ruth Yeiser made a presentation to the West Pottsgrove Commissioners Wednesday night on behalf of Fair Districts PAon the need for a Constitutional amendment to take the drawing of Congressional and state House and Senate district lines out of the hands of the politicians who benefit from their gerrymandering and put it into the hands of a non-partisan citizens commission. 

When the founders wrote the U.S. Constitution, they envisioned voters picking their elected representatives, not the other way around.

But as the recent lawsuit over the drawing of Congressional district lines in Pennsylvania, and the subsequent re-drawing of the map by the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court have show, it's a problem.

And while that court decision, and its political ramifications, have grabbed headlines for the past two

months, it does not solve the problem, said Chuck Yeiser, who spokle to the West Pottsgrove Township Commissioners Wednesday on behalf of the organization Fair Districts PA.

When the 2020 Census rolls around, the process will remain the same, except instead of the Republicans controlling the process and drawing districts that help keep Republicans in office, it will be the Democrats turn, thanks to the new majority on the Supreme Court, Yeiser said.

What would be better, he said, noting that former President Ronald Reagan agrees with him, would be a system by which the districts are drawn by those who do not have a stake in the outcome -- a non-partisan citizens commission that is representative of the state, rather than the five middle-aged white guys who did it last time.

This map shows how Democrat-leaning areas of West Pottsgrove and

Pottstown have been divided among three separate state House
districts, 

thus "diluting your voices with more rural areas."

Yeiser explained to the commissioners that West Pottsgrove and the neighboring Pottstown
community had been "cracked" by gerrymandering in order to split and diminish their influence.

(Historical trivia: "Gerrymandering" comes from the 1800s when Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry, a signatory to the Constitution, allowed a district to his benefit that many said looked like a salamander -- thus Gerry-mander. And now back to our regularly scheduled program.)

As if our elected ethically-challenged leaders in Harrisburg were not already tempted enough to design districts that best fit their needs -- now easier than ever with hair-splitting computer efficiency -- there is a lot of big money involved, Yeiser explained.

Both Republicans and Democrats have formed political action committees raising obscene amounts of cash to try to get control of the process in Pennsylvania for two reasons; one, to try to get (or keep) control of Congress and two, because its so damn easy in Pennsylvania.

Yeiser said the Center for Public Integrity gives Pennsylvania an F when it comes to campaign finance law. "If you want to spend money to influence an election, Pennsylvania is the place to do it," Yeiser said.

This is how gerrymandering districts can produce winners for one party, even when they are in the minority.

"Many of the things we care about cannot be accomplished without a functioning democracy," said Yeiser. "Until we fix a gridlocked system, we cannot make progress on things that matter."

To make matters more difficult, it takes bills passed in two consecutive sessions of the Legislature, and a state-wide vote, to change the state Constitution. And while a bill that would do what Fair Districts has proposed, and has a majority of co-sponsors in the House has sat in the State Government Committee without a hearing for months, it was recently acted upon -- badly.

That's when the chairman, Darryl Metcalfe, a Republican from the western part of the state, not only moved it, but gutted it, giving the legislature even more power to draw district lines because, you know, that worked out so well the last time.

Yeiser said State Rep. Marcy Toepel, R-147th Dist., who represents West Pottsgrove, had wanted hearings on the bill and although she has not said she opposes it, she has also not co-sponsored it.

They were scheduled to meet with Toepel and state Sen. Robert Mensch, R-24th Dist., who also represents West Pottsgrove, today to discuss the problem. Yeiser said it would be helpful to attend that meeting with a resolution from West Pottsgrove, supporting the citizens commission amendment to show both officials their constituents support this bill.

They got what they asked for. With Commissioner Mark Green absent, the board voted 3-1 to adopt the resolution, joining more than 200 others across the state.

Commissioners Chairman Steve Miller cast the dissenting vote, "based just on your presentation," but said he might support it later.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting:

Let's Get the Bull(winkle) Out of PA Re-Districting

When I think of Pennsylvania and its notably gerrymandered Congressional districts, I usually think of the 7th.

And when I think of the 7th Congressional District, I think of Bullwinkle.

Not because Republican Patrick Meehan, who holds the seat, reminds me of Bullwinkle.

Rather, because, well, I think you can see for yourself.

When the Washington Post named the nation's most gerrymandered districts back in 2014, Pennsylvania's 7th was right up there near the top.

And it is one of the primary examples for why we have gridlock in Washington.

As writer Christopher Ingraham explained:  "Contrary to one popular misconception about the practice, the point of gerrymandering isn't to draw yourself a collection of overwhelmingly safe seats. Rather, it's to give your opponents a small number of safe seats, while drawing yourself a larger number of seats that are not quite as safe, but that you can expect to win comfortably."

A gerrymandered district does two things: it neutralizes a portion of the opposite party's voting population, which is its intended purpose, and it makes compromise increasingly impossible because House members need not appeal to a broad range of voters, but can win just by appealing to their base.

Congressional districts used to be fairly evenly shaped, back when politicians were adults and they recognized they had to represent the district's population as it exists in the real world.

Now, rather than win a race to represent a community, you change the community so you can win the race.

Consider; this is the evolution of the seventh district over the last 60 years:

One might accurately call it de-evolution.

There is no good reason for the changes you see above other than electoral advantage.

Does anyone really believe that Pennsylvanians along the Delaware/Maryland border should be represented by the same person who represents the people in rural Pike Township in Berks County?

It's certainly not done for the benefit of the constituents. It's done for the benefit of, in this case, the Republican candidate.

Do not be so naive as to believe that when Democrats are in the majority, they don't do the same thing.

They do.

But since Republicans now dominate the state house, they are the primary perpetrators of this crime against democracy and they have become devastatingly craven about it.

And while it helps them get elected, it has helped drag Pennsylania's electoral integrity down to the level of countries like Cuba, Bulgaria or Hungary. This according to a recent analysis by The Electoral Integrity Project, which is affiliated with Harvard University and the University of Sydney in Australia.

The project evaluated states' electoral systems based on interviews with more than 700 political scientists. Researchers scored states on the perceived integrity of 11 aspects of the electoral process, from how congressional and legislative districts are drawn to how votes are cast and counted.

Even Alabama, Florida and West Virginia have a better electoral integrity score than Pennsylvania. We're tied with Mississippi.

Pennsylvania overall scored 56 on the scale of 100, but particularly dismal was its score for gerrymandered districts.

“What jumps out (with Pennsylvania's results) is gerrymandering,” Harvard political scientist Pippa Norris told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in December.

She was referring to the state's score of 11 out of 100 for the way it draws legislative and congressional district boundaries. Only Wisconsin and North Carolina scored worse.

"Congressional redistricting proposals must be approved by the full Senate and House and signed by the governor. In Pennsylvania's past two redistricting processes, Republicans controlled the Senate, House and governor's mansion — effectively giving the GOP control over the drawing of congressional districts," Tribune-Review writer Tom Fontaine wrote in December.

Norris told him many districts are gerrymandered to favor one party or another in such a way that incumbents become virtually unbeatable, often resulting in less competition. That makes elected officials less accountable and less responsive to constituents and contributes to gridlock in Washington, she said.

The next redistricting will occur after the 2020 Census.

Safe races also mean incumbents are actually dis-incentivized from reaching across the aisle or taking positions out of step with their base.

They are more likely to be ousted in a primary by a base that feels betrayed than by a candidate from the other party in the general election. This means no compromising in Washington, lest they have to face the music back home.

This endless reelection of incumbents also dis-incentivizes voters from going to the polls because barring a sex scandal of the most repellent nature, nothing ever changes.

President Trump says he wants to investigate election fraud. But with gerrymandering, the fraud occurs before the votes are even cast.

Not that I hold out any hope he'll take me up on my suggestion, but if he really wants to improve the integrity of U.S. elections, he might start here.

He should contact a non-profit coalition called "Fair Districts PA," which includes Common Cause PA and the League of Women Voters and has undertaken the uphill fight to try to convince those in power that politicians should not "choose their own voters."

In the last legislative session, the coalition endorsed companion bills Senate Bill 484, introduced by Sen. Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh County), and House Bill 1835, introduced by Rep. David Parker (R-Monroe County). Both bills sought to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to establish an independent citizens redistricting commission with clear standards to ensure public input and a fair, non-partisan outcome.

Let's take back control of our government.

Otherwise, we get this: