We could soon find out if the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent ruling that current congressional maps are unconstitutional will be upheld.
“What happens in the next week really makes all the difference,” Michael Coulter, political science professor at Grove City College said in an interview with Butler Radio. “If there is a stay, then everything is normal- everything will remain as it was for the last six years. If there is no stay, then the next couple weeks are going to be furious activity to redraw districts and determine who is running.”
After a years-long argument that the 18 U.S. congressional districts in Pennsylvania were drawn to benefit one political party over another, a decision last week directed the legislature to submit new district lines by Feb. 9. A legal challenge to that decision is asking for a “stay” of the ruling or a continuation of the status quo for the time being.
According to Coulter, there has not been a case quite like this one so several things could happen- the U.S. Supreme Court could decide to allow the decision to stand, the court could delay the new maps or the court could dismiss the state Supreme Court decision entirely.
“There has not been a case where a large state like Pennsylvania required an entire new map and there has not been something even close to this where a new map was required to be drawn several years after the initial map,” Coulter said.
If the decision is upheld, the new lines must not discriminate on the basis of party registration; must be compact; and must not divide counties or municipalities unless necessary to make districts of equal population.
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