Legislative Redistricting Commission Urged to Prioritize Accessibility and Transparency

Today at 1:00 pm, the four sitting members of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission (LRC) will hold its first of two scheduled meetings to hear testimony from individuals who applied to be the Chair. 

This is the first time in the LRC’s history that the Caucus leaders committed to a public application process, including receiving and interviewing applications from the public for the Chair of the Commission. 

Common Cause Pennsylvania sent a letter to the sitting members of the LRC thanking them for opening the application process to all interested Pennsylvanians and asking that they continue the selection process in the spirit of openness and transparency.  

“If we are to both rebuild trust in our government and ensure that every Pennsylvania voter has equal opportunity to elect candidates that share their lived experiences and values, we must guarantee that the redistricting process is open, transparent, and provides ample access for public input,” Common Cause Pennsylvania Executive Director Khalif Ali said in the letter.

The letter also outlines how the LRC can demonstrate its commitment to transparency by taking the following steps in its selection process:  

• Provide public access to the names and application materials of all applicants to the LRC, with appropriate redactions of personal information such as street address and telephone number.  
• Provide a list of any applicants who are deemed unqualified to serve on the LRC along with the reason they are unqualified. 
• Schedule a public meeting, or series of meetings if necessary, to discuss, debate and appoint the fifth member of the LRC.  These meeting(s) should be in addition to the two meetings that are currently scheduled to interview the applicants.  

“Pennsylvanians deserve a redistricting process that puts our communities at the center, prioritizes accessibility and transparency, and endeavors to ensure that voters in every Pennsylvania legislative and senatorial district have an equal opportunity to elect a candidate that shares their values and lived experience,” Ali said in the letter.

Read the full letter here.