Spotlight PA/Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania will lose a U.S. House seat after redistricting
Spotlight PA/Philadelphia Inquirer: Pennsylvania will lose a U.S. House seat after redistricting
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania will lose one of its seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Census Bureau has confirmed, setting up a high-stakes redistricting process as Democrats and Republicans battle to protect their incumbents.
The bureau released its long-awaited state population totals Monday as part of the decennial count that determines distribution of 435 congressional seats, as well as Electoral College votes.
When the 2022 midterm elections arrive, Pennsylvania will have 17 congressional districts, as opposed to the 18 currently represented evenly by Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Pennsylvania will also lose one of its 20 Electoral College votes, further decreasing its clout during presidential contests.
The state’s congressional map is drawn by the 253-member General Assembly and must be approved by the governor. In 2011, both branches were controlled by Republicans. But this time around, the GOP-majority state House and Senate will need to win the blessing of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.
Political observers expect a contentious debate between Wolf and Republican leadership, who are still at odds over the 2020 election and the administration’s pandemic response. …
“If anything, the climate is more tense now than it was 10 years ago,” said Khalif Ali, executive director of the good-government group Common Cause Pennsylvania. “Once again, I anticipate districts that don’t really reflect registered voters and the people of Pennsylvania, and I also expect a veto from Gov. Wolf and then onto the Supreme Court.”
For those reasons, and more, Ali said it’s important for Pennsylvania to adopt an independent commission to helm the state’s redistricting process — a long-sought change by advocates that has failed to gain necessary traction in Harrisburg.
“I think we have to take the politics out of it,” Ali said. “I think a lot of what we do is eating away at the integrity of democracy, and if we continue doing it, I don’t think we can expect people to participate.”