Viewpoint of Independent Voter
Chairman Nordenberg and members of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts to this body. Consider independent voters: I am an independent/unaffiliated voter, not registered with either the Republican or Democratic parties. Nationwide, independent voters comprise the largest segment of the electorate – being more numerous than Republicans or Democrats. Independent voters are the fastest growing segment of the electorate, especially among young people and veterans. Therefore, your map creations, which will last a decade, must acknowledge this trend; in other words, your maps must be neutral as to party composition. I want to ensure that data used in redistricting is blind to party registration, past election results, and other ways of profiling voters. As an independent voter, I study the issues and candidate positions. Communities of interest: There has been a lot of interest in “communities of interest” for redistricting. Yes, such consideration can create more reasonable boundaries than strict adherence to municipal boundaries. But, I urge the Commission to ensure that robust public participation is used to define such communities of interest. This Commission should not try to define or guess communities of interest. That would be another form of profiling voters. I am particularly wary of communities of interest being an excuse to profile voters as rural vs. urban. Such gerrymandered separations have been harmful over the past decades. Having lived in rural areas of the state, I know that rural people care about the viability and vitality of their nearest metropolitan area, to which they go for essential services and cultural offerings. And, urban people care about what is going on in rural areas, such as the fracking and farming – activities that increasingly affect them. The rural vs. urban demarcation has resulted in the unhelpful PA Senate Districts 20 and 22. I hope this Commission will start afresh and not see boundaries to preserve there. Your work will last a decade. There will be changing demographics and politics. In conclusion, your mandate is to draw districts in a neutral, nonpartisan manner. It is not to assume what “communities” (or incumbent politicians) have what “interests”, interjecting politics into what should be an apolitical process. Thank you for your consideration of these comments and your efforts toward effective representation in Pennsylvania.