Redistricting is not a game
Thank you for this opportunity to provide my opinions regarding redistricting for Pennsylvania’s State Legislative Districts necessitated by the 2020 census. First and most importantly, draft maps need to be made public with enough time for citizens to fully review and submit comments to you. And then you and your cohorts need to consider those comments, incorporating them into the maps where that can be done using constitutional requirements and good government practices. I fully expect that, despite your efforts to receive testimony before draft maps are drawn, large numbers of commenter will come forward only after they see something in the draft map that is not to their likening. This is just human nature and should be anticipated. The criteria of highest importance to me is making districts competitive where possible. I believe this is essential for re-establishing a legislature more open to addressing real problems, and embracing civil discourse and compromise which in turn will nourish a political climate that is healthier for our democracy. Please keep counties and municipalities un-split where possible. However, please consider that “better districts” might be drawn by including parts of a different municipality and keeping “communities of interest” together. Therefore, when comparing maps, the map with the fewest municipal splits is not necessarily the better map. Small school districts contained within a county and with a population smaller than that of a senatorial or PA house district should not be split. Where a small school district crosses county lines, keeping it intact may be more important than keeping the involved counties intact. Please resist the temptation to protect incumbents at the expense of the citizenry. I believe that maps should be drawn without considering where an incumbent resides. You are already aware that, because of the staggered 4 year terms held by the PA State Senators, this may create districts with either no or multiple Senators residing within newly drawn districts. I do not believe this “problem” is a good reason for drawing districts to intentionally include a current Senator’s residence. My amateur research shows that the PA Senate will decide the outcome for any districts with no or multiple Senators. This will shine a light on the problems created by the current staggered election system and may result in a better solution for the next round of redistricting in 2031. I encourage you to research what has happened in the rare instances in the past, and what is likely to playout this go-around, if there are districts with no or multiple incumbent residing within the new district, and to make your research public by the time a draft Senate map is released. Thank you again for this chance to voice my opinion. I realize you have a very difficult task of balancing constitutional and legal requirements with the input you are receiving, both from citizens and politically motivated entities on both sides of the aisle. Please look inside yourselves and evaluate if the maps you are drawing are fair for the citizens of PA. Do not look at them in terms of wins or losses for your or the other party- that implies that you consider redistricting to be just a game. The people of Pennsylvania deserve better.