CIVICS 101

I started sharing information about Pennsylvania political maps being redrawn, supposedly largely based on the most recent past U.S. Census Count weeks ago here in the SCOOP Newspaper. I see a couple of problems, however, with the Census count. There are always some people who refuse to participate in the Census count, and there are some people who do participate; they fill out the paperwork, but they lie. They don’t tell the truth about how many people are living in their homes or how many of those people are not U.S. Citizens. 

Here’s some background information on Pennsylvania’s political maps that goes back to results after the U.S. Census Count of 2000. 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 in League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that the congressional districts were an unlawful partisan gerrymander; in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution. 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. That map is estimated to have a partisan balance of 10 Republican-leaning and 8 Democratic-leaning seats. 

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