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Congressional Districts

Posted on March 27, 2018 Written by Carolyn Conner

From today’s Commissioner’s meeting. UCRC Chairman Carolyn Conner’s statement encouraging the Union County Commissioners to not create a resolution in support of the PA legislature giving up their Constitutional obligation to redistrict Congressional seats.

Commissioners:

I respectfully urge you to resist any temptation to pass a resolution in support of a new process to draw Congressional districts on two important grounds.

To start,

Redistricting is not within the purview of the Union County Commissioners. I assume you each have personal opinions, opinions you should feel free to share as individuals if you so desire. But the Commonwealth’s Constitution already defines districting as a responsibility of the state legislature – a freely elected body connected to the constituents they serve.

If, in fact, change is to be made to the process of drawing districts, it must be addressed at that level. Any resolution you pass on the subject will undermine the representation rights of Union County residents. You are not representing them well if you take positions on behalf of the whole county on issues that are not within the scope and jurisdictions of your office.

Further,

So-called fair districting plans are anything but fair. While the proponents of a new process assume it will result in a non-biased districting panel, that reality has not happened elsewhere and will not occur here. We all have bias. The proposal is simply to change which biased people will draw Congressional districts.

If you look around this room you see the faces of people who may be considered for that board. It will not be Joe or Jane Smith, hardworking, most-of-the-time voter without strong party connections who will be suggested for a seat on a redistricting board.

Instead of duly elected legislators who can be opposed and returned to private life if their bias on this or other issues is incompatible with their constituents, a small panel of preferred individuals, hand-picked by state party leadership, is touted as the solution to real and imagined concerns. The very fact that the current proposals base appointments on political party affiliation decries the stated goal of fairness. And in fact, that the current State-Supreme Court issued map may violate parts of the Federal Voting Rights Act, shows that the responsibility to draw districts should be shared by many, not a few.

If changed, all power will instead rest with a very small panel of less than a dozen individuals rather than the 254 who currently draw, review and vote on district boundaries. Bias will not be reduced at all, but simply consolidated in NON-ELECTED people unaccountable to the residents of Union County. This is neither fairness nor justice.

I urge you to reject any resolution on this issue

Constitutional Crisis

Posted on February 23, 2018 Written by Carolyn Conner

In October 2016, as President Obama’s days in office waned, the Democratic National Committee announced plans to combat Republican gains previously made at the state levels. With full support of the President and Democratic Governors Association, former Attorney General Eric Holder became chair of the newly formed National Democratic Redistricting Committee. Holder began to coordinate a strategy for impacting elections through campaign activities, ballot initiatives, and challenges to state election maps. The goal was to impact the outcome of the 2018 mid-term elections and beyond by returning more power and positions to the Democrats.

In Pennsylvania, the NDRC began recruiting individuals to be party to a challenge to the current congressional map; a map passed in a bi-partisan fashion in 2011 which had already stood court tests on constitutionality. Together with the League of Women Voters – and it’s well past the time that the LWV or its chapters should be allowed to call themselves non-partisan – challenges were made to the PA courts.

A case wound its way through the Commonwealth’s judicial system and brought us to recent events where the PA Supreme Court ruled the congressional map unconstitutional, directed the legislature and Governor Wolf to create a new map, and determined to impose its own map if those entities could not agree within a few weeks. During this time the Supreme Court retained the services of a cartographer to produce its own map. Predictably, the process failed and on Monday the court mandated use of its own map.

Why Do We Care?

Underlying what some may see as the natural disagreement between members of the major parties lies a foundational issue. The United States, and the Commonwealth of PA by extension, is a republic. It is not a democracy. Don’t be fooled into thinking the two are interchangeable either in language or practice. Girding the republic is a separation and balance of powers.

The goal of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee is to undermine the rule of law, transform the Republic, and use the partisanship of state courts to incrementally create a different America. In Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court has been party to these changes.

The Commonwealth faces a Constitutional Crisis in which the PA Supreme Court has taken upon itself the power to make legislative and executive decisions. Supreme Court of the United States will now decide what action to take on the current Republican appeal and that will determine what map we use in elections. We hope SCOTUS recognizes separation of powers; specifically, that Article 1 of the US Constitution be upheld: “The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the Legislature thereof;”

If such a dramatic erosion of separation of powers is allowed to stand, where will it stop? Will the partisan PA Supreme Court dictate to the legislature on taxation and spending issues? Will it determine its own fair school funding formula? As our founders knew, it is unlikely any branch of government will restrain itself left unchecked. Why would the PA Supreme Court be any different?

Proposed map

Posted on February 12, 2018 Written by Carolyn Conner

Republican State House and Senate leaders have submitted a new congressional map to Gov. Wolf. Wolf has until Thursday to decide whether to agree with the maps. If he does not accept the proposal, the PA Supreme Court intends to draw its own map and impose it on Pennsylvania voters.

SCOTUS: No Stay!

Posted on February 5, 2018 Written by Carolyn Conner

SCOTUS refused to grant a stay in the congressional redistricting order handed down by the PA Supreme Court. The legislature is now responsible to create maps and have them to Governor Wolf by this Friday. Governor Wolf has until February 15th to approve a map. If the legislature and governor do not agree on a map, the PA Supreme Court will draw its own maps. Although this is not a power given it by the PA Constitution, it would not be the first time the Court has implemented its own maps.

Without a reprieve from the PA Supreme Court, on February 19th a new congressional map will be in place and apply to the May 15th Primary Election.

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