Pa. lawmakers pledge transparency as they redraw congressional districts after population decline

July 13, 2021 Carley Joanou US 0

The Pennsylvania Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:16 PM PT – Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Pennsylvania legislators have promised to be transparent in their efforts to redraw congressional districts. On Monday, Republican legislators in the Keystone State launched a website to pull back the curtains on the redistricting process.

The move comes after a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in 2018 the previous congressional map had been drawn too quickly and was unfair. Images of some of those maps attracted attention online due to their strange shapes.

“When you get a district as bad as Goofy kicking Donald and its nationally known as one of the worst gerrymandered districts in the country, it’s embarrassing,” Chair of Fair District PA Carol Kuniholm explained. “People realize they can’t do that again.”

@PAHouseGOP developed https://t.co/CHW550iyiO as a one-stop tool for PA residents to engage in Congressional redistricting.

✅ Comment on 2018 maps
✅ Draw communities of interest
✅ Draw full maps
✅ Stay up to date of hearing locations and times
✅ Provide General comments

— Rep. Seth Grove – “the Architect” (@RepGrove) July 12, 2021

A series of public hearings throughout the summer season have been scheduled to encourage public participation on how congressional maps should be drawn. Through both the website and public hearings, GOP lawmakers leading the efforts assured the state’s redistricting would be the most transparent process yet.

Due to population decline Pennsylvania will lose a seat in the House, which would drop 18 seats down to 17.